He's not MJ, but LeBron is King James

The new Michael Jordan — King James edition — returned to Salt Lake, Wednesday, and it's not hard to guess how that went. A lot the way it did when MJ used to come to town. A lot of hype. A lot of hope. Down-to-the-wire drama.

And a disproportionate number of hometown fans wearing the visiting team's uniform.

That's life when royalty pays a visit.

Thus, when Cleveland's LeBron James was introduced at EnergySolutions Arena, he received an ovation not quite fit for a king, but it was still on the friendly side. There was a smattering of boos but a similar rally of cheers. They had come to see if he was really as good as he looks on TV, many of them wearing rust-and-white jerseys with James' trademark No. 23 — same as Jordan.

Remember the old advertising campaign that said "Be Like Mike"? A James-related Web site asks a similar question: "Are you like LeBron?"

You wish.

As for James, he's way too sophisticated to admit to wanting to be exactly like Mike. Even so, it's hard to miss the similarities. He didn't score 51 points against the Jazz, Wednesday, as he did nearly two years ago, but he still registered a triple-double: 32 points, 13

assists, 15 rebounds in the Jazz's 103-101 victory. Just like the Jordan days, the Jazz still had to worry about him all game.

In some ways, James wasn't even at his best. He was coming off an outing at Golden State in which he took a hard shot to the eye. He said it wasn't feeling especially well prior to the game. But that didn't mean he wouldn't play. The biggest stars play even when they don't feel like it. And they still talk.

There's another thing about James: He's still six championships shy of Jordan, but he's just 22, too young to rent a car in some places.

Yet he's old enough to shoulder the burden of being the next MJ, in many ways. And he gets treated a lot like Jordan. Even by the officials.

If a lot of Jazz fans tend to become a bit enamored by a guy whose goal is to send them home dejected, that's life. James gets his due in all arenas. But nowhere on the road is James more revered than Salt Lake. When he hung 51 points on the Jazz in January 2006, he received a standing ovation after leading the Cavs to a 108-90 win in Salt Lake.

It was like a Marine thanking a drill sergeant for his abuse. Thank you Sir, may I have another!

"That's not common," said James, Wednesday, when asked about the standing ovation two years ago. "Especially in a building like this. I think they respected how I play the game of basketball. I respect that. This has been one of the best crowds I get on the road."