LeBron James says he will be among NBA's all time greats

[Shaqdaddy11]

If you go by hardware LBJ should already be ahead of Wilt, both have 2 rings but LBJ has 2 Finals MVPs and both have 4 MVPs. Also LBJs Bball IQ is much higher despite Wilt being by far the better physical specimen.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Lebron will be a top 10 player.

Kobe will be ranked higher than him.

 

[Kold]

Those LAKER teams of 2009-2012 were loaded.
Gasol, Bynum, and Odom were at their absolute peaks.

Kobe had the luxury of playing with 3 7-foot guys with offensive skills and rebounding ferocity.
Size wins in the NBA.

You could make a strong argument that it was one of the best frontcourts in NBA history.
The versatility and meshing of individual skills was perfect.

Nobody had the luxury of size than did those Lakers finals teams.
Most teams are lucky to find one 7-foot guy who is not a complete stiff.
The LAKERS had 3 allstar level big men who did not overlap in skills and could play together.


Don't even try and frame that as the Lebron / Coach Brown Cavalier years.

I think the comparison was between those teams and Miami....but bynum didn't even have a healthy year in those title runs, barely even played. It was more about Odom and Gasol. Odom was never an all star player but he was a key piece. Those teams were well put together though

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Lebron will be a top 10 player.

Kobe will be ranked higher than him.

If Wade plays a few more years and wins another ring or 2,
people will compare him to Kobe.

James leaves both far behind in the dust.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

If Wade plays a few more years and wins another ring or 2,
people will compare him to Kobe.

James leaves both far behind in the dust.

Google 'top 10 players of all time' and tell me how often Kobe's name comes up. Now tell me how often lebron comes up.

 

[LogicMan]

Lebron vs Kobe - Please please stop this. Check out Lebrons stats his first 3 years and compare them to Kobe's. Its a shocking discovery for some of you, enlightening I believe. Yes, Lebron is a top 10 now and Crotch's list is dead on.

Miami as an All Star team- Yup, they put three greats together. Nut are you telling me Eddie Fisher/Van Excel/Kobe/Shaq were any worse? Horry was a monster off the bench, monster. Please, please reflect on your on team's history.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Yes, Lebron is a top 10 now and Crotch's list is dead on.

No he isn't. Barely makes the top 20 now. At the end of his career IF he wins any more titles, yes he will be.
But crotch's list? Magic at 5? Kareem over MJ? Give me a break!

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Kareem
4. Bill Russell
5. Wilt
6. Larry Bird
7. Kobe
8. Hakeem
9. Shaq
10. Tim Duncan

Oscar Robertson, Karl Malone, George Mikan, Bob Petit, Jerry West, Dr J and Bob Cousy rank higher than Lebron at this moment too.

 

[Louie26]

The LeBron hate is ridiculous. The guy never gets the respect he deserves. And I don't wanna hear crap about him joining with two stars. Cleveland never surrounded him with other players near his level. People seem to forget Kobe would have left the Lakers for another team with stars if Gasol wasn't traded there.

I agree! I'm definitely in the MINORITY on the Laker board with this, but I'm a fan of LBJ. Other than that little "blip" called the Decision, I think he's been a huge asset for the NBA. What more does a guy need to do in a career?

I also recall when Kobe was upset about the "cast" he was given and threatened to leave. I think he is/was scrutinized over this, right, wrong, or indifferent!

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

I have always taken Wilt Chamberlain's stats with a grain of salt.
The statistics of those eras are a little bit absurdly inflated.

The Rebounding numbers of that era are laughably "era adjusted".
I think the top 75 single season rebounding numbers all came within 1957-1974.
Average players were getting 13-17 boards a night.

Chamberlain's worst rebounding season of 18.4 is nearly FIVE REBOUNDS better than Shaq's best season. I find it hard to believe that Wilt (at his worst) was that much better a rebounder that Shaq at his best. I think Shaq would be 22-25 boards a night in the 1960s as well.

That is why "PER" is sometime an exceptionally great tool.
It is not always the best indicator. There is no perfect way to judge.
"PER" fails at many things.

But, "PER" is the best stat for "era bias" comparison.
It tends to prevent statistical bias from different playing era.

 

[rmilia1]

Oh FOR FUCKS SAKE LEBRON WHAT EVER YOUR STUPID FUCKING MIDDLE NAME IS SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!

Ahghhghh so frustrating, just shut the fuck up about that shit, he sounds dumber than Magic counting rings. He needs to take more after Kareem and less after MJ and Magic. When Kareem is asked about this shit he says something to the effect of "that it is up to the people in the bars to fight over". And LOL at his top 4, I mean I have him probably in the top 5 or 6 as of right now but I am the dude in the bar, so shut the fuck up LBJ.

I do have LBJ probably tied with Bird and Magic, maybe a little ahead, but quite behind MJ and miles behind Kareem and decades behind Russell.

The fuck??? Seriously??

 

[rmilia1]

Lebron is already a top 10 all time player and anyone saying otherwise is out their damn mind. If you include ENTIRE game he is probably top 5 already. Considering the guy has like 8-10 more years left I think its not only a solid bet he ends up top 4 but he probably ends up top 2 or 3.

 

[trojanfan12]

I agree! I'm definitely in the MINORITY on the Laker board with this, but I'm a fan of LBJ. Other than that little "blip" called the Decision, I think he's been a huge asset for the NBA. What more does a guy need to do in a career?

I also recall when Kobe was upset about the "cast" he was given and threatened to leave. I think he is/was scrutinized over this, right, wrong, or indifferent!

I've softened my position on Lebron somewhat since The Decision. I think that the biggest reason it's still held against him is because it gets combined with what he said at The After Party and the fact that he spent most of the next year making one bad PR move after another.

Heat fans and Lebroniacs want to act like everyone hates on him just because of The Decision. They forget about:

The Decicion
The After Party with the "not 1, not 2......"
Confiscating video of him getting dunked on by some college kid
Talking about people having to go back to their lives
Making fun of Dirk being sick during the finals

Basically, he spent a year acting like a douche. He has matured a great deal over the past couple of years and deserves credit for that, imo.

As for Kobe, he demanded to be traded because he wanted a championship caliber team. However, Gasol was NOT the reason he stayed. Once the Lakers refused to trade him, he went into the season and played just as hard as always and his teammates (particularly Bynum) impressed him with their play. The Lakers were gelling and playing well when Bynum went down with his first knee injury. It was after that injury that the trade for Gasol was made and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

[RoboticDreams]

I appreciate Lebron and his game. I really never hated him. I don't like his newfound, grandiose behavior. Just be good and let that talk for you. If you crack the top 5, you earned it. Let that talk and not your mouth.

In four words, STFU and do the damn thing.

 

[Louie26]

I've softened my position on Lebron somewhat since The Decision. I think that the biggest reason it's still held against him is because it gets combined with what he said at The After Party and the fact that he spent most of the next year making one bad PR move after another.

Heat fans and Lebroniacs want to act like everyone hates on him just because of The Decision. They forget about:

The Decicion
The After Party with the "not 1, not 2......"
Confiscating video of him getting dunked on by some college kid
Talking about people having to go back to their lives
Making fun of Dirk being sick during the finals

Basically, he spent a year acting like a douche. He has matured a great deal over the past couple of years and deserves credit for that, imo.

As for Kobe, he demanded to be traded because he wanted a championship caliber team. However, Gasol was NOT the reason he stayed. Once the Lakers refused to trade him, he went into the season and played just as hard as always and his teammates (particularly Bynum) impressed him with their play. The Lakers were gelling and playing well when Bynum went down with his first knee injury. It was after that injury that the trade for Gasol was made and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

[rmilia1]

I find it ironic that a lot of people that bash on Lebron for talking also LOVE themselves some MJ. That guy was the biggest self promoter to ever play the game. At this point in their respective careers no sane person can argue Lebron isnt a better player than MJ was. Now that isnt to say he will end up that way but at the age that Lebron currently is his game puts MJs to shame.

 

[gordontrue]

People forget that he was answering a question. lol

LeBron was asked point blank whether he would end up as a top-4 player in NBA history (after he listed 4 other players who he believes are currently the top 4).

If he says yes - "LeBron proclaims to the world that he is the greatest player ever"
If he says no - "LeBron lacks confidence, doesn't even think he can end up as one of the greatest ever"

 

[trojanfan12]

People forget that he was answering a question. lol

LeBron was asked point blank whether he would end up as a top-4 player in NBA history (after he listed 4 other players who he believes are currently the top 4).

If he says yes - "LeBron proclaims to the world that he is the greatest player ever"
If he says no - "LeBron lacks confidence, doesn't even think he can end up as one of the greatest ever"

I don't think anyone is forgetting that he was asked a question, I think they are questioning how he answered it.

How about a simple: "It would be an honor to have my name up there with the all-time greats." or "I hope that I will be considered to be part of that group."?

 

[gordontrue]

How about a simple: "It would be an honor to have my name up there with the all-time greats." or "I hope that I will be considered to be part of that group."?

That would have been an artful deflection I guess, but honestly I'm getting sick of athletes having to give fake, deflecting, empty, bullshit, non-answsers to avoid the idiotic criticism that will follow any real answer.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

I think a fair comparison is Kobe to Duncan. Where ever you rank Kobe Duncan should be right there 1 spot ahead.


Both were great at their respective positions...Duncan has 1 more MVP, 1 less Finals win, 1 more Finals MVP, I would rather build around a C than a SG and Duncan is a far better teammate.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

That would have been an artful deflection I guess, but honestly I'm getting sick of athletes having to give fake, deflecting, empty, bullshit, non-answsers to avoid the idiotic criticism that will follow any real answer.

EOT