After announcing his “Decision” to join the Miami Heat on July 8, 2010 in a much maligned hour-long ESPN spectacle, many have speculated that LeBron James went from one of the most loved to the most hated NBA players overnight.

James faced further criticism last week after taking out a full-page newspaper ad in the Akron Beacon Journal thanking his hometown of Akron, but not mentioning Cleveland, where he played basketball for seven years.

We decided to run a sentiment chart on LeBron James to compare positive and negative sentiment over the course of 2010. After being consistently near 80% positive throughout the NBA season, negative chatter is about to overcome positive chatter for the first time. Will the trend continue once the season starts? If so, how will James react to being a villain this season after being a hero most of his career?