Is LeBron The Greatest? Watch & See.
Ever since there were more than one item people would make lists. Something urges us to rank and file just about everything. So much so that there’s a website dedicated to doing just that (ranker.com) which is, itself, ranked #549 in the US on Alexa.com.
Professional athletes undergo some of the most dour scrutiny, which stands to reason. They are highly visible, perform at a level we wish we could, make millions of dollars, and seemingly win or lose single-handedly. Civic pride is regularly connected to the home team’s success or failure.
This can lead to mythical stardom in the Yankees franchise to pinning decades of drought on being cursed.
Unimaginable hype rested on LeBron James well before he made his first NBA appearance. Who gets a $25 million shoe contract offer while still in high school?
Its all but impossible to live up to such magnificent standards and expectations. Even if you accomplish historic and stratospheric feats, people will still yearn for more. Ask the youngest Heavyweight Champion of all-time, Mike Tyson. Mario Lemieux knew this as well.
In the case of LeBron; is he the greatest NBA player ever? These types of questions are subjective and are so difficult to arrive at universally. There are many nuances including the era in which he’s played, style and speed of the game, physicality, and otherwise.
I believe we have a sense of sticking with our childhood idols because of the awe-inspiring experience of it all. Athletes are like super heroes doing remarkable things on screen with thousands of people cheering them on. Complete with names like Larry Legend, Magic, or The Ice Man — the romanticism is intoxicating to onlooking youths.
I also believe that its easier to appreciate greatness once its passed. Not knowing what’s to come and whether that means more rings or less production keeps fans glued to the present. Only once the greats pass the torch on to the new era does a legend fully form in their place.
With this year’s ultra-dramatic NBA Finals in the bank for James, more chatter has crept up surrounding his place in the annals of history.
Being subject to personal opinion, you may find a way to do this via statistics:
He’s been the youngest player ever to do just about anything worth noting. From his 1,000th all the way through his 26,000th point, check. Youngest to average 30PPG in a season. To be an All-NBA selection, First Teamer at that.
Beyond being the youngest he is the only NBA player ever to do several other things, including: average 27PPG/7RPG/6APG or better for a career, 12 consecutive seasons of 25PPG+, and to be in the top 5 for career playoff points, rebounds, and assists.
His statistical accomplishments are absolutely daunting and bedazzled with sparkly allure. You can see them all here.
Stats aren’t everything, so lets talk achievements.
His four MVPs stand tall. Twelve consecutive all-star appearances sound good. Ten times an All-NBA first team member. Six consecutive NBA Finals appearances and three rings between two different teams.
Getting emotional about bringing a championship back home to Cleveland is a feel good story but should not earn him a lot of points. However, winning 3 of the last 5 NBA Finals and competing with two separate teams to do so should.
Finally, lets talk about the intangible opinions.
Bron lacks the “competitive fire” notable of Kobe and MJ. He blows up in the playoffs and is a cry baby.
Much of the competitive fire discussion has been snuffed out with this third championship victory. LeBron doesn’t have six rings, like Jordan, and isn’t likely to ever hold eleven like Bill Russell. However, LeBron hasn’t always enjoyed a supporting cast as competent as Pippen, Rodman, or Kerr. Similarly, Russell enjoyed a much smaller NBA league and never played in more than 19 playoff games in any given year.
LeBron completely took Game 5 over against the Pistons almost 10 years ago and still had his heart questioned.
The very first comment on that YouTube video is as expected:
Jordan carried an equally bad, if not worse, team as the 2007 Cavs to 6 games against a much better opponent than the 2007 Spurs in the 1989 Pistons. Of course, he didn’t make the Finals because he didn’t have the luxury of facing two 0.500 teams and a Pistons team without their best defender (4x DPOY Ben Wallace) or their Hall of Fame coach (Larry Brown)
Going to six straight Finals isn’t as good as three-peating twice. No matter who the supporting cast was.
So in the end, the question about LeBron’s spot at numero uno will likely continue in an ongoing debate until years after his career has had time to caramelize.
The can do anything, big body ball handler comes less often than a perennial scoring champion (a la Kobe, Iverson, Jordan, and Durant). We may not be able to say that he’s the greatest, yet, but I would soak it in over the next few years before he hands over the tights to the next superhero.
