Lebron’s not on the Mount Rushmore of bball (Jordan, Kareem, Shaq and Magic.) He’s amazing, great, etc. but he could never take over and score like the other GOATS do. In the crunch, we’ve seen him disappear in a few game 7s and other key stretches — like his first against the Mavs, several shellackings from the Spurs, and even including the almighty 3–1 comeback where Kyrie finally hit the bucket which Lebron had already missed several times. Is Lebron even in anybody’s top-10 to take the final shot in a close game with the highest stakes? Sure, his all-around game is great, IQ is high, physical athleticism is probably the best too… but he’s not an elite scorer because he’s too often lacked a fearless killer instinct. He’ll settle for long jumpers, and gets frazzled when his only real move — the bull rush — fails.

Hot take out.