CLEVELAND — He bathed in the applause, yelled to the heavens, earning the biggest cheers among all the current players in the All-Star Game.
Later, when LeBron James stood among so many of the NBA’s greatest players in its 75 years, only a few could relate to being the face of the game.
One by one, they all played a part in molding the game into what it is: the texture, the depth and even its warts. But being an ambassador is something different.
Carrying the torch of what the NBA is currently and aims to be in the future is almost as tough a task as saving a franchise, or resurrecting one, or assimilating into one — and James has done all three while being “That Guy.”
“I’ve held that title of ambassador,” James said. “Nobody told me to do it, but I felt like if I wasn’t gonna do it, who was gonna do it? So I took that responsibility, and I’ll continue to do it till I’m done playing the game.”
He’s the game’s biggest name, even if he’s no longer the…