The Greatness of LeBron James
How do you define greatness?
Is it by counting the number of houses you sell if you are a real estate agent? If you are an AP teacher, is it by how many of your students get 5s on the exam? And if you are a professional athlete, is it by counting the number of rings you have on your hand?
This is the age-old question when it comes to evaluating players. It’s why many do not regard Peyton Manning as the greatest quarterback of all time. 2–2 in Super Bowl’s and numerous one-and-dones in the playoffs. His first championship came against a Bears team that had Sexy Rexy under center. His second? Well, let’s just say that even I, a die-hard Broncos fan, knew he was one of the biggest game managers of all time during the Super Bowl run and got his ring by leaning on what us Denver fans call “The No-Fly Zone”. Oh, and what about his two losses in the big game? The first, he threw the game sealing interception as Tracy Porter ran it all the way back to New Orleans. The second one, uh, let’s just pretend this never happened.
(Editor’s Note: as a sad Chargers fan with not many good memories to hold on to, that Broncos drubbing at the hands of the Seahawks is always fun to bring up.)
In some aspects, LeBron James is viewed the same way as the elder Manning. A generational player, who, at times, can receive unfair treatment by the talking heads on TV (see: Bayless, Skip). We fault him for losing to a far superior Spurs team in the 2007 NBA Finals, as well as failing to show up against the Mavs in 2011 (despite coming back the following year and doing this). Sometimes, we even have the audacity to nitpick at him for hitting the game-tying shot!
Time and time again, we see LeBron do amazing things in the months April, May, and June. There’s no denying it. Everyone loves to watch “playoff LeBron”. It’s a thing of beauty. A large chunk of my memories associated with the NBA Playoffs have to do with LeBron because he truly has shaped the collective memories of this generation of basketball fans.
In the midst of the 2017 NBA playoffs, we are witnessing what seems to be the beginning of another phenomenal run by The King. Recently he moved into second place on the all-time postseason scoring list, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and only trailing His Airness, Michael Jordan. This is not the only area where James trails the established GOAT; currently, James has three rings, a mere half of what Jordan amassed over his illustrious career.
But, that doesn’t mean Jordan’s achievements are out of reach for The King. Moreover, even with James proclaiming recently that he has nothing left to prove, it sure does not seem like he lacks the motivation. In a Sports Illustrated feature last year following the Cavs improbable upset over the Warriors, LeBron told a group of teens at the Nike Skills Academy what drives him. He described it as a ghost who “…played in Chicago”.
Right now, the biggest knock on LeBron is he is only three of seven in the NBA Finals compared to Jordan going six for six. In some people’s minds, the four losses mean that James will never be able to catch up to Jordan, regardless of his future accomplishments.
A counter to that argument is to look at Tom Brady and Joe Montana. Montana and his 49ers appeared in a total of four Super Bowl’s, winning all four. Tom Brady has led the New England Patriots to SEVEN Super Bowl’s, winning five. Prior to Super Bowl LI, many viewed Brady as an all-time great. After he led New England from 25 points down in the 3rd quarter, just about everyone now views him as the all-time great.
If you still think it is Montana, I’ll listen to your argument. Even though you’re wrong.
So, my question is, why can’t we view LeBron in the same light as Brady? If you think about it, Brady’s two losses in the Super Bowl are almost worse than LeBron’s in the Finals. Tom Terrific had his first loss come in a David vs. Goliath matchup as New England was 19–0 going up against the 10–6 New York Giants. I think we all know what happened in that game.
Brady’s second loss came four seasons later, once again at the hands of the Giants. This time, New England was 13–3 going up against the 9–7 Giants. And yet again, a great throw and catch sealed the Patriots’ fate.
I know LeBron has double the number of losses in the Finals as Brady does in the Super Bowl. I get that. But, two of them get a pass. Are we really going to fault LeBron for losing to the Spurs in ’07 when the Cavaliers second-best scorer was Larry Hughes? I sure hope not. Once again, is it really LeBron’s fault he lost the 2015 NBA Finals when he averaged 35–13–9 and his second-best scorer was Timofey Mozgov?
No offense, Timofey. I’m sure you enjoyed going Hollywood on one of the richest contracts in the league.
This brings us to LeBron’s two other losses in the Finals. 2011 to Dallas and 2014 to San Antonio. 2011 is all on LeBron. It really is. He failed to show up for the majority of the series and was not the best player on the court night in and night out. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry were a better duo than LeBron and Dwyane Wade.
2014 is a little trickier to analyze in my opinion. LeBron shot 57% from the field, 51% from three, while averaging 28–8–4. On paper, those numbers are great. They’re what we expect from LeBron. But in watching that series, it never felt like he was truly dominating the floor despite what his stats suggest. Series MVP Kawhi Leonard played outstanding defense on The King every game, making it difficult for James to feel comfortable.
So, back to the Brady and James comparison. We’ve giving LeBron a pass for two of his losses, garnering an equal number of losses in championships for the pair. Nine times out of ten, the ’07 Patriots probably win the Super Bowl, completing the first ever 19–0 season. In 2011, more often than not, the Heat are going to beat the Mavericks in a 7 game series. Losing every so often is acceptable, especially when you come back stronger than ever to win it all the following season, something both Brady and LeBron have done.
While LeBron may have a few more points to score, a couple more series to win, and a ring or two more to add to the collection before becoming the basketball GOAT, he is well positioned to do so in the next three or four years. And when his career is all said and done, don’t hold those losses in the Finals against him.
Instead, view him like we view Brady, mesmerized by his accomplishments. Remember the championships, the blocks, and his never ending strive for greatness.
