LeBron James has Ruined the NBA
Writing this exactly twenty-four hours after the Golden State Warriors completely took the Cleveland Cavaliers to school in game 2 of the 2017 NBA Finals, I can say with conviction that LeBron James has ruined the NBA. The Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in a game that was impressive offensively for both sides, and the Warriors big 4 showed up strong with Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry making enormous contributions. It almost seems unfair to LeBron James and the Cavs, until you realize it is his fault. Has LeBron made the NBA a more talented and entertaining league? You bet. Is he the greatest basketball player to walk the earth? Debatable, but in my opinion yes. Are his intentions pure? Most likely. However, despite all of these positives, he has ruined the NBA, which only has a sliver of hope of returning to the league it was pre-King James.
Magic, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy. MJ, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan, and Tony Parker. What do all these trios have in common? The answer is that they are some of the best “Big 3’s” in NBA history. In the modern era, the Spurs and Celtics seemed like forces impossible to beat. LeBron and the Cavaliers were swept by the Spurs and their Big 3 in 2006–07. In 2007–08, they were beat out in seven games by the Celtics and their team of superstars. The next season they couldn’t get past the Celtics again. In 2010, LeBron changed basketball forever.
Teaming up with Dwyane Wage and Chris Bosh in Miami was a scrutinized decision that ended up changing the NBA today. Even with the past Big 3’s such as on the Celtics, Spurs, and Lakers, NBA fans had never before seen such a powerful trio. In the following four years, the Miami Heat would go to the finals in all four consecutive seasons. After losing the first finals series, the Big 3 won back-to-back championships and appeared in a fourth. LeBron moved on from the Big 3 to another Big 3 back in Cleveland: Kevin Love, Kyrie Erving, and himself. They have now appeared in back-to-back championships as I am writing this article.
What does this mean for the NBA? How do I take this timeline of the best basketball player the world has ever seen and interpret it as ruining the league? It all comes down to the Big 3. Yes, it had been done, but never before on the scale that LeBron escalated the concept towards. Creating a super team, whether in Miami or Cleveland creates a singular focus for the rest of the franchises in the NBA, to dethrone King James. With so much firepower around him, as well as his incredible talent, it must seem improbable that any team could take down his team in seven games. As often happens, an extreme was met with another extreme. After failing to take down the Cleveland Big 3 in last year’s NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors made the addition of superstar Kevin Durant. This move, although scrutinized by Durant fans-turned-haters, seems to have made the difference in taking down LeBron’s empire. It took four superstars (Curry, Thompson, Green, and Durant), but now the Warriors are the team to beat. The Golden State Warriors have cracked the code for bring down LeBron: Keep adding weapons until you can’t be stopped even by the best player in the league.
It is my opinion that the Big 3 LeBron formed (which now has turned into the Warrior’s Big 4, and probably will be someone’s Big 5 eventually) ruined the NBA by destroying the balance and symmetry the league possessed. Everyone knew this year that it would be the Cavs and the Warriors in the finals, and everyone knows these teams will just keep on adding superstars. Players don’t want to leave a winning super-team, and other players want to join it or take it down together. This is creating a monopoly on winning basketball seasons which is controlled by the team with the most high-caliber players.
The question remains: Will the NBA “go back to normal” after LeBron retires in several years? Personally, and feel free to debate me, I don’t think so. Not only has LeBron shifted winning prowess to one or two teams, but he has demonstrated through example that superstars can indeed play well together. The Warriors are taking this winning formula and running with it, and for good reason. Other teams will continue to do the same, or at least try. Players will chase championships, and just like in other areas of our world the strong will get stronger. The rich will get richer, which will cause the poor to get poorer. It will take more decades for the NBA to balance power in the league again, and even if they manage to do this, teams and players will be looking for a new Big 3, 4, or 5. By cracking the Big 3 code, and forcing other teams to stockpile weapons, LeBron James has ruined the NBA we once knew and loved. Yes, he is skilled beyond comprehension, and yes, I like him as a player. However, the damage he has done by his business decisions and championship chasing goals might not be repairable.
