Lebron's Legacy After Tonight

[H2S]

Try being primarily a CFB fan and your team is the Ducks. Many look at 47 wins in 4 years, 4 straight BCS bowls as a failure because they havent took home the Crystal.

Toxin had it right about social media...the less stellar your team's performance ::: the thicker your skin better be when supporting them. (It's always been that way, but is just more evident with social media.)

Lebron's legacy? pfft...he's no Royal Tenenbaum. But I'll remember him as more than one of the greatest NBA players of all time if his epitaph reads something like this: Died Tragically Rescuing His Family From The Wreckage Of A Destroyed Sinking Battleship

WM? count your blessings. As a Spartan fan, I've spent more on new sofas over the years than I have on new cars!

 

[t0nyintransit]

Montsho you are a fucking moron, you do know that?....The reality is if he loses tonight and plays poorly he's going to take an Enormous hit to his legacy. He'll be 1-3 in the finals, and the sports world is going to let you know about it....What if they lose this one, but he wins 5 more before his career is over? The only thing anyone would remember about this series is how good the Spurs were and how Lebron got two triple/dubs.

....if he wins, the media will continue to Gush over him, and give him all this false praise which he doesn't deserve...Butthurt much?

Clearly Lebron has a had a poor series, (starting every game off 3-13) and is the reason we're now at game 7. Mia has 5 times the talent and team as the Spurs do, and the series should've been over a long time ago. However Lebron played so bad, especially game 6 and closing minutes that the Spurs should've won by now...That's reality...Media will ignore this should the heat win, and forget that Lebron really lost the series minus the luck and bailout by Ray A...And they will through a nauseating parade for Lebron.
Every single basketball expert would completely disagree with you.
That's the answer to your question.

Artard.

 

[lakersrule]

I don't think losing tonight impacts his legacy as one of the best/most talented to ever play. What would get hurt though is Lebron's ranking amongst the best. If his career ends with only one title, then he can't be ranked near the top. Uber-talented players like Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson get dropped in people's rankings based on lack of titles won. I think Lebron would too. Fortunately for Lebron, he still has plenty of seasons (including the big game tonight) to cement his ranking amongst the greatest.

 

[t0nyintransit]

I don't think losing tonight impacts his legacy as one of the best/most talented to ever play. What would get hurt though is Lebron's ranking amongst the best. If his career ends with only one title, then he can't be ranked near the top. Uber-talented players like Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson get dropped in people's rankings based on lack of titles won. I think Lebron would too. Fortunately for Lebron, he still has plenty of seasons (including the big game tonight) to cement his ranking amongst the greatest.

Agreed. Don't know why some people think he will only be judged up until tonight. If he has a career as long as Kobe's then he still has 10+ years to shut his haters up!

Btw, nice Arrested Development reference! I burned through the new season in a couple days.

 

[lakersrule]

Agreed. Don't know why some people think he will only be judged up until tonight. If he has a career as long as Kobe's then he still has 10+ years to shut his haters up!

Btw, nice Arrested Development reference! I burned through the new season in a couple days.

Me too! Tobias is the man! I thought it started off a little slow, but picked up. I need to marathon it a few more times. I'm sure there were a lot of jokes/references that were missed.

 

[lakersrule]

ANUSTART is sort of what all of us SeeBS exiles got here at the SportsHoopla!

 

[t0nyintransit]

ANUSTART is sort of what all of us SeeBS exiles got here at the SportsHoopla!

Hahaha! We may need a good analyst/therapist, or analrapist, to help us through the transition!

 

[t0nyintransit]

 

[tlance]

Too much emphasis is placed on titles in the legacy debate. Titles are important but they aren't everything. Unless LeBron plays out of his mind well or really poorly this game should not have much impact on his legacy.

The reality however, is that if the Heat win his legacy will be enhanced and if they lose it will take a hit. Right or wrong, that is the truth and it has little bearing to how he performs tonight.

Someone asked whether LeBron would me Finals MVP if he played really badly tonight. How could anyone else get the award? What other player has had more than 2 good games in the series? It is Lebron's MVP no matter what if the Heat win.

 

[lakersrule]

Classic! That is one of my favorite AD jokes!!

 

[Shanemansj13]

To answer my own questions:

I think that if Lebron has a sub-par game and the Heat win, it will help his legacy!! He will have a 2nd ring and likely, a 2nd finals MVP. Outside of a few haters, most don't remember that Kobe shot 6 for 24 in Game 7 vs. the Celtics in 2010. Most just remember that he got his 5th ring and 2nd finals MVP.

On the other hand, if he has a great game and the Heat lose, I think it will hurt his legacy. The narrative is likely to be that even with a "stacked team", he couldn't get the job done!!

Thoughts?

It is more about winning, then him have a great game. If he does both, then it adds to it.

He has to win though!

 

[Heatles84]

His legacy will be remembered in a multitude of ways. Here's every permutation that I can think of:

Heat win and Lebron plays big: No brainer here, he'll win the Finals MVP and moves further through the all-time NBA ranks.

Heat win and Lebron plays subpar game: I've knocked Kobe for game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. But the Celtics were a smart cerebral defensive minded team. You're not always going to ball out every single game. However, if Wade is the one who lights the Spurs up then there will still be doubt with those that are on the fence about Lebron.

Spurs win and Lebron plays great (both blow out or close): If Lebron plays great I just can't see the former playing out, but it will all depend on how Lebron is at the defensive end. If the Spurs win an all-time class and Lebron has a line similar to last night with let's say 45% shooting, then I say he just happened to lose one of those class game 7's. Shit happens.

Spurs win and Lebron plays subpar: I'd have to say that his mental state will be brought into serious question here. Lebron's game 7's over the last few years have shown he's more than capable of stepping up to the plate. However, this will be his first game 7 in the Finals. The Spurs have the advantage considering their core has seen a game 7 in the 2007 Finals against the Pistons.

 

[wildturkey]

Lebron's legacy tonight will be...who the fuck cares. Just sit back and enjoy the guy play. You can't properly put a guy into context until after his career is over. At the very least, he has to be at the tail end of his career (ala Duncan). Any other debate suffers from Prisoner of the Moment syndrome in that no matter what a player accomplishes, it gets trumped by whatever happens next.

 

[trojanfan12]

Clearly, with his performance last night, Lebron has definitely enhanced his legacy!! I agree with what Dan Patrick said this morning: "No star player has been asked to do more for his team than Lebron"!!

Need scoring? He provides it. Need defense on a Hall of Fame point guard? He provides it. Need someone to distribute the ball? He'd rather do that than score!!

Great performance!!

 

[shitsho]

Maybe its just me but I dont get how he enchanced it. I knew he could do it all along. I dont think any differently about him now than I did yesterday.

 

[ckhokie]

Clearly, with his performance last night, Lebron has definitely enhanced his legacy!! I agree with what Dan Patrick said this morning: "No star player has been asked to do more for his team than Lebron"!!

Need scoring? He provides it. Need defense on a Hall of Fame point guard? He provides it. Need someone to distribute the ball? He'd rather do that than score!!

Great performance!!

What seemed crazy in Game 6 and 7, he was called to do all of these things with virtually no rest. I don't understand how when everyone else (even the All-Star caliber players) is dead, he's still on the court playing at the highest level we've seen.

 

[lakersrule]

Maybe its just me but I dont get how he enchanced it. I knew he could do it all along. I dont think any differently about him now than I did yesterday.

Last night did not surprise me either. I figured Lebron would have a big game. It's now about enhancing his legacy compared to the all-time greats. This is when rings matter. Two now with several years of basketball left.

 

[trojanfan12]

Last night did not surprise me either. I figured Lebron would have a big game. It's now about enhancing his legacy compared to the all-time greats. This is when rings matter. Two now with several years of basketball left.

Mont, this is what I meant by enhanced his legacy!! We all knew that he was capable of doing what he did last night, he just hadn't done it on this scale yet!!

 

[shitsho]

OK. I guess I misunderstood what everyone saying.

 

[trojanfan12]

OK. I guess I misunderstood what everyone saying.

Nah, after re-reading what I wrote and comparing it to what rule wrote, he was much more clear than I was!!