Making the Case - LeBron James

Basketball is special, the size of the court and the lack of pads or helmets give fans the most intimate experience of a team sport that exists, and because of the different styles that basketball allows, players develop their own identities. distinctive and characteristic styles through their creative talent. and athletics, and although no player is successful alone, the volume of scoring and the two-way nature of the sport give individual stars almost unprecedented control over the flow and outcome of a game, for this reason players are Constantly compared to their peers and legends. from the past to answer the most controversial question in sport who is the best to do it for many the question is redundant they believe in only one correct answer their answer others may have their own personal position but recognize one or two alternatives but I think there are many More nuances to the question of greatness and more answers than you might think.

By my count, there are eight players in NBA history who have a substantial goat claim. It's subjective, although I can't give it. You have a definitive answer, all I can do is make the argument, so today I will defend Lebron James as the greatest basketball player of all time to start defending Lebron James. No, no, no, Michael Jordan is the James girl.

james

built like this there is no way no there is no way this is what you really are

lebron

you are

making

a video about no and just like that we start the

lebron

goat

case

well someone like me makes a video like this to which a certain segment of the The population reacts by getting so angry that they start bursting their blood vessels and that's a really interesting reaction to me.

I've made videos on why players like Larry Bird and Tim Duncan are the goats and I sure understand some of them from this video. It's rubbish because mj is the goat comment, but it's mostly been people having a nice chat about the merits and nuances of those players' careers. I don't expect that to be the

case

today, but why does Lebron get more than any other player? Jordan Truthers are so defensive if you're one of those volatile Jordan defenders and you're running to the comments right now I know there's nothing I can do to stop you but for the rest of you please go with the flow even if you think jordan is the goat listen to what i have to say we all still love basketball we can all still be friends when lebron

james

was a freshman at st vincent st mary's high school in akron, ohio, he posted per game averages of 18 points, six rebounds and three assists, the Irish went undefeated 27-0, won the state championship and James was named MVP of the state tournament and thus, the last year of anonymity for LeBron James ended in the summer between his freshman and sophomore years.

James' play on the AAU circuit caught the attention of every scout he encountered. Word began to spread about the Akron Ohio man-child. In his second season, he saw an increase in every box score figure. His team began playing games. at home at the University of Akron Stadium in order to seat the thousands of spectators his team lost one game all year and won the state championship again he became the first sophomore named to the USA the Today's first USA team had officially entered the territory of the phenom scouts who were in love with James for several reasons.

He had everything measurable you could want from a 16-year-old, tall, strong, with a good wingspan, outstanding athleticism, but he also had magnificent instincts, a natural enthusiasm for the game, a selfless creator of playing style, natural passing skills and strong leadership qualities, which is why in his third year he dedicated himself to sports . illustrated put lebron on its cover now this cover didn't alone trigger the outrageous expectations of lebron james, but it certainly helped the cover recognize james' unprecedented talent at such an early stage while alluding to the expectations, hopes and wonders of such incredible talent. He would have to endure starting his third year.

James and the Irish would play their home games almost exclusively at the University of Akron Stadium. Espn2 began broadcasting their matchups to the country and Time Warner Cable began selling their games on PPV for 7.95 a pop to the people of Akron, the hype was backed up by more incredible play from James, who improved from year to year as a junior. , was named to a second All-American First Team and became the first junior to be named a Gatorade National Player. of the Year as a senior he won a second National Player of the Year award and was named to an unprecedented third All-United States First Team.

James' junior year remains the turning point of his celebrity. That's when he went from being a highly touted young prospect. heir to the sport of basketball and that is what we as sports fans fetishize the potential, the allure of the future is infinite, if a player has potential he can be anything, it hasn't happened yet so he still is technically possible, no matter how outrageous the expectation. Maybe, but if they don't succeed we label them failures, failures couldn't do it, it didn't work, never mind the fact that we were the ones who set the expectations to begin with, the promise is a double edged sword and this was a promise like no other Lebron was the first real athletic prodigy of the Internet era.

It was the first time the country was able to whip up this kind of frenzy over the next big athlete in the super-commercialized post-Jordan NBA these days. Prospects in every sport get enough smoke up their asses to host a barbecue with top-100 recruiting lists and videos with titles calling any prospect who hits three 3-pointers in a row the next Steph Curry. It's too much to say it started with Lebron, but he. It was undoubtedly the initial product of the hype machine we know today. He was so good at such a young age and so many people saw, talked and heard about him that the stakes were clear that Lebron James couldn't be a six. -time nba star couldn't win one or two mvps he couldn't be the next tracy mcgrady or the next vince carter he had to be the face of the league and go down in history as one of the greatest, if not the greatest great basketball players of all time in the Sports Illustrator article which called him the chosen one label that he embraced by tattooing it on his back the writer Grant Wall recognized the absurdity of asking if a 17-year-old who still couldn't buy cigarettes Was really the heir to basketball's next generation, but after seeing Lebron and talking to him, Wall admits that it was indeed the right question.

Was he ever in the 2004 NBA draft? Lebron James was the first overall pick of his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. He was selected. ahead of college standout chris bosh dwyane wade who had just led marquette to the final four and was named college basketball player of the year tj ford and carmelo anthony who had just led syracuse to an ncaa championship lebron left school high school was ahead of them all with the weight of a franchise a city and maybe a league on his 18 year old shoulders as the most anticipated basketball player since lou alcindor lebron james couldn't falter and if he had failed and if the shoe of $100 million The deals, the celebrity, and the fame had been too much, too soon, and honestly, how could it not have been?

How could Lebron not ruin everything? I don't know, but he didn't do it and I would be remiss if he didn't mention it. The incredible things he has done since using his platform as the country's most famous athlete to promote and advocate for social change, especially in the area of ​​civil rights, from the Trayvon Martin shooting to the Black Lives Matter movement, has been a indispensable source of good will and good fortune. For the community, he has been the most important focal point in the era of player empowerment in the NBA. He not only defied the odds by not becoming a complete madman.

He has taken advantage of his position, set an incredible example and been one of the best. role models any kid or parent could ask for, he's still playing, which means all of these accolades are subject to change and probably will, but the only assumptions I'll make are that Lebron finished at least in the top five in the MVP voting. This year he made the All-Nba First Team, meaning he has been named to 13 All-Nba First Teams and 16 All-Nba Teams in total, both records demonstrating his incredibly long reign over the sport. . He has won four MVPs in five years, a feat only matched. by bill russell and finished in the top five in MVP voting in all but three of his 17 seasons, has been selected to 16 all-star games, six all-defensive teams and is at or near the top of multiple leaderboards All-time statistics that demonstrate his all-round competence, from points scored in the playoffs to career assists, he has achieved such a universal and unique statistical position for several reasons, among them, Lebron James is the best basketball player in all the times when james and smith got nailed by a peach basket. against a wall in a gym in Massachusetts, there was no way he could have imagined the game as it is today and there is no way, even in his wildest dreams, he could have imagined an athlete like Lebron, the guy who measures six foot eight 260. built like carl malone passes like larry bird jumps like michael and surveys the court like magic johnson is not the strongest nor the fastest but he is faster than the strongest and stronger than the fastest has a cocktail The brain perception and hand-eye coordination he has made him one of the best passers in league history, he has a seven-foot wingspan, a lightning-quick first step, preternatural anticipation and an IQ on both ends of the court that comes from the brain of basketball's da vinci.

It would be enough if Lebron just built. He made a name and a career thanks to his prodigious natural talents, but he worked diligently year after year to improve as a basketball player. He received criticism for not using his Herculean frame to block opponents, so he became a lethal defender and was a two-time runner-up for defensive player of the year. Opponents would exploit James' lack of post play by assigning him smaller defenders. and fast. He spent the summer with Hakeem Elijah and became a bully to better space the court and adapt to the modern style of basketball he needed to improve his jump shot he became a master of efficiency and at his peak was a 40 three point shooter.

There is no aspect of basketball that Lebron James is not excellent at. It's a silly hypothesis, but I think it serves my point. Let's say a team of five LeBrons would beat a team of five or anyone else, he always had the complete package but he never stopped adding to it and has been adding to it for an incredibly long time. He has probably been the best basketball player in the world. since 2008 or 2009 and if your life came down to one game, he's still one of the first calls you'd make at age 35 in year 17. He can do anything and he's never had a really major injury, it wasn't until 2019 in which he missed a substantial amount of time due to a groin injury and aside from some issues with cramps and some occasional back issues, LeBron has never been a liability in that department, he is the fourth highest scoring average in the history of the NBA and with the way basketball is played.

He played today, he can defend both point guards and centers. Add all that to a tireless work ethic, a selfless style of play, and a penchant for big moments, and he's got the queen of the chess board when it comes to playing basketball, he's the best at it. Wait, I think I hear something, it's the sound of skip bayless acolytes losing in my comments section the greatest player of all time, great moments by no means, Lebron is terrible in the clutch, he hates taking the last shot, He doesn't have the killer instinct, he doesn't. I have what it takes to get through difficult times.

I don't know where this started or how he has been able to persist, but that feeling is objectively false. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence supporting Lebron's clutch ability and killer instinct. There are statistics. that shows that James is decisive evidence analytical stuff made by people who know how to do math and use calculators and stuff, and if you don't believe them because they're nerds and because basketball isn't all about numbers, then just look at the results. the guy, he's hit clutch shots in the regular season and he's hit clutch shots in the playoffs left cleveland triggers in james two seconds and one second for victory, don't tell me he can't win games or that he doesn't have a killer instinct. or he is notclutch or anything like that, he spent a lot of time playing in the biggest games too in an absolutely playoff loaded league.

Has faced gilbert arenas chauncey billups tim duncan tony parker manu ginobili kawhi leonard james harden russell westbrook kevin durant ray allen paul pierce kevin garnett dirk nowitzki dwight howard derrick rose al horford and paul millsap steph curry clay thompson draymond green demar derozan and kyle lowry paul george victor oladipo damian lillard and so on, and the players he has faced have not only been dazzling, he has lined up against some of the most vaunted teams and franchises in NBA history. He played the Spurs, the most successful franchise in post-Jordan basketball, three times in the Finals and then faces the Warriors in four straight Finals, while LeBron's teams always seem to have great achievements.

In his first seven seasons in Cleveland, his best teammate by far was Mo Williams, yes, former star Mo Williams, you can't blame the Cavs front office for not trying to get Lebron some help, but they certainly deserve some criticism for not having done so. actually get him help anderson varejao zedronis larry hughes drew good eric snow old shack ben wallace's corpse none of them were really genuine quality contributors who in the roles they were supposed to play could compete and win a championship against the spurs or the celtics, the cavs whole philosophy during his first stint on earth was that he's so good we'll just trust him to put up ungodly numbers and lead us to a win every night, which he usually did in some way and when left looks how the cavs staggered from a league high 61 wins to 19 the second worst record in the league nothing exemplified lebron's plight more than game 5 of the 2007 eastern conference finals with the series tied at two games each lebron and the cavs They were trying to pull off an upset against the core of the former champion Detroit Pistons on their home court with about three minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Cavs, down seven, lebron was fouled on a play and Thus began one of the most impressive basketball streaks of all time. played in any series by any player to say that james at age 22 proceeded to take over the game feels like an understatement scored 29 of the cavs' final 30 points, including 25 in a row, was transcendent in finishing with 48 points after two overtime and game-winning design, it was a performance for the ages, but it was also almost entirely necessary when the Cavs played the Spurs in that year's finals and lost because the 22-year-old Lebron couldn't beat the Pop Parker Manu Dunkin Spurs by himself. about him, so is there any surprise that he wanted to go to a real team like miami where he didn't have to do everything and make no mistake, it's not like he still didn't have his atlas moments with the heat's game 6? 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat fell 3-2 after the decision in the 2011 Finals, Lebron and the Heat were under the biggest possible microscope in Boston, the Celtics had the opportunity to send the Lebron Wade Heat Bosch.

He was historically written off as a catastrophic failure, but then Lebron made this face and destroyed the Celtics. He had 30 points in the first half in classic Lebron style. He was everywhere doing everything. He sucked the oxygen out of the sand and never gave it back. coming through with an all-time performance and perhaps the biggest game of his career, games six and seven of the 2013 Finals, leading the fourth quarter charge in game six, hitting a crucial three-pointer with 20 seconds left to set up Ray Allen's legendary shot, James knocks him down. 37 12 and 4 plus the ice jumper from the series in game seven 35 for lebron james the series of games and the careers he has had will one day fill his own multi-part documentary that we will talk about later, but the general theme is lebron has lived in the playoffs and thrived under the brightest lights despite the unique brand of scrutiny, doubt and criticism that is his, but none of that matters to him because of three things, the sources of much of that doubt and reviews, the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Decision, and the 2011 Finals, all three events occurred in the span of approximately 400 days, beginning with the second round of the 2010 playoffs, Boston vs.

Cleveland, despite having the best record in the league, the cavs lost in six to the pierce kg, ray island celtics, lebron's. The numbers look good, but if you remember watching at the time or go back now and look, you can tell that Lebron is just not there, he's been checked, there's no aggression, there's no urgency, stretches of total detachment, I don't know. introduced and no one still definitively knows why. but salacious rumors persist that you can find him for yourself whatever the reason for the loss expanded the noise around lebron to new levels he can't do it he doesn't have it the basketball world prepared for one of the hottest free agents important decisions they got was the decision in a one-hour nationally televised special.

Lebron was going to announce his decision on live television. How could this go wrong? The answer to the question. Everyone wants to know Lebron. What is your decision? and this fall I'm taking my talents to South Beach and joining Miami. The best basketball player in the world left his hometown team. The most tortured sports city in America. Live on TV to join a super team with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. he had quit cleveland in the playoffs and continued with the mother of all backstabbing the decision remains perhaps the worst thing an athlete has ever done to his franchise it was absurd, superficial, insulting and selfish in a profound way, Lebron quickly went from being one of the most popular and celebrated athletes in the country to the most hated Cavs owner Dan Gilbert published an infamous letter that destroyed James.

Fans burned his shirt in the streets. Conversations about how LeBron was connected and whether he could be the man flooded the airwaves, but the funny thing is, I don't think anyone really criticized him for wanting out of Cleveland. It was clear that he did not receive the help that a superstar needs to capitalize on his talents. The criticism was, above all, the execution. in a self-aggrandizing live television special, the criticism quickly devolved into stupid, meaningless clichés and false narratives. The same Lebron who was being praised for his ability to cultivate camaraderie and his success on loathsome teams was now being criticized for not

making

his teammates fear him, whatever that may be. it means the decision was the dumbest thing lebron could have done yes it was a knife in the back of the community that had supported him as he rose from chosen one to superstar yes most of this criticism of his mental makeup and desire of winning were unfounded and spiteful too yes, but it probably didn't feel that way to many NBA fans at the time when they hated him, he had quit and betrayed his team, so when the Heat lost the 2011 finals, the erections of hate raged in full force and the heat didn't just lose because the mavs were better, they lost because lebron drowned.

His scoring average plummeted to 17 points per game, down from 26 during the regular season and of those 17 points per game only three came during the fourth quarter, which is especially damning considering how tight the series was, James became in public enemy number one, he promised jewelry boxes full of rings and when the world was watching he completely failed, there are no excuses, I can't tell you that Lebron actually played very well or that his team let him down. It sucked, it disappointed them and they lost, it's a fact, it should define it forever, no, because if we take a trip back in time we can look at a young point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 finals by the name of Ervin Magic Johnson.

The series was the first championship meeting between Larry Bird and Magic since their record-breaking collegiate showdown. the two were now the faces of a rising NBA revitalized by their dominance and rivalry. What did the magic do? He choked pretty hard in the second game. the last 11 seconds in regulation of a tied game without making a shot the Lakers lost in overtime in game four. Magic had his pass intercepted with four seconds left in regulation in a tied game and then in overtime he missed both free throws with 35 seconds left. with the score tied again the lakers lost in game 7 magic fumbled the ball twice in the last 90 seconds of a close game the lakers lost the basketball runners were ruthless and cutting the fact is he didn't have what it took to get ahead in the big moments despite previous evidence to the contrary and that's not how we remember magic johnson, we remember him as a player who excelled in the big games, had great performances and who you wanted to have the ball to when the game got close, could it be because?

He led the Lakers to three championships after their '84 collapse. So why haven't some people's opinions of Lebron James changed in the last nine years? How were three championships and seven consecutive finals plus no kind of redemption because of this? The magic bullet three and six in the final series is not that he has won three championships or that he has reached nine finals or that he spent almost the entire 2010s playing basketball in June, it is that he has achieved it nine times and lost six times, would it be better? if it were three and oh or three and three, it is not a meaningful or revealing conversation in any way to summarize a player's entire career, his contributions, strengths, weaknesses and subtleties up to his record in the NBA Finals, how is it possible reach the NBA finals? finals and losing is worse than going nowhere if you take the time to look at how he finished in those series and what he actually did in them.

I have no idea how you can misinterpret their final performances as an obstacle to their Case we talked about 07 11 12 and 13. Of those four, the first was a loss to a team with a real squad and a head coach, the second was a loss that can be attributed entirely to James and the last two were wins in 2014, the Spurs. You played absolutely divine basketball, you can't play the game better. Lebron and Chris Bosh were the only players on the roster who appeared. No one else, whether due to age or mileage, could bear the physical toll of a fourth consecutive final.

Lebron led the series in all stats, but blocks, he averaged 28, 7, and 4 while shooting 57, 51, 79 splits, as Mike Tyson told Sports Illustrator, the Spurs won because they deserved it, not because of what LeBron didn't do . You're crazy if you think the 2015 finals is a black mark on lebron's legacy. the cavs lost kevin love in the first round and kyrie irving in the first game of the finals against the warriors, but lebron was so impressive that cleveland he actually hoped to win the series which earned him finals mvp votes despite being on the losing team, his averages were unreal and andre iguodala won the award specifically because he prevented lebron from doing any more damage in 2017 after a super strange regular season, the cavs flipped the switch and advanced to the finals against the new warriors with kevin.

Durant LeBron became the first player to average a triple-double in the Finals, but the Cavs lost in five, preventing the Warriors from making their way through the entire playoffs in 2018 without Kyrie LeBron had an eerily similar streak to his 2007 winning game streak. crazy numbers game seven the whole thing the culmination of the streak occurred in game one of the finals when lebron scored an impressive 51 points, giving the cavs the opportunity to take a 1-0 lead in the series and then this happens, the rebound goes to the cavs jr smith brings it back he froze the hill he will shoot for the last 13 years in a row, every team lebron james has played on has been in contention to win the championship, Regardless of the roster around him, we're not going to play the what-if game, but he's shown that he doesn't need the league's all-time leading scorer as a teammate or the Zen master as a coach.

He also doesn't need time off between finals. He took eight finals in a row before. he finally wore himself out, give him any coach, give him any teammate and by the brilliance of his play, your team is now a championship contender and I don't have to argue that 3 rings are better than 5, 6 or 11 because that's not it. how we evaluate these players, we don't just look at ring totals, otherwise robert orry would be on mount rushmore, yes it's about winning, but it's not really, we try to synthesize things like style of play, competition, success, achievements, accolades and the like in a coherent and complete picture simply asking if they won when it comes to defending the greatest basketball player of all time is the wrong question because you know thatIt is a team sport.

The better question is which player gave his team the best chance to win, who meant it. the best for their teams and the answer to that question is Lebron James. Is there any better example of this than the 2016 finals? What other player in that situation could have done? What Lebron did. He didn't try to get his team to do it. The victory by just firing shots perfectly chose the places he involved his teammates and inspired the belief that they could win despite the odds. The series is the perfect testimony to the value of Lebron James. They were facing the Warriors 73 and 9.

The best record in single-digit losses in NBA history in an 82-game season culminates in a title and they instantly have the right to be the best basketball team of all time. times and after the first four games of the series they have a 3-1 lead that no team in that position has ever had. ever lost that lead in that series has proven throughout history to be insurmountable fifth game in oakland kyrie shoots 70 from the court to accumulate 41 points lebron matches him with 41 of his own plus 16 rebounds and seven assists tristan thompson is the only other knight in sixth double-digit game in cleveland lebron leads a blowout with another 41-point performance with eight rebounds and 11 assists along with the momentum of the series has palpably changed game seven had the legacy about to explode it seemed like something historic was going to happen no matter how the game ended the warriors were about to culminate the most successful basketball season in history where the cavs were going to do the unthinkable a 3-1 comeback their first franchise title cleveland's first championship in 52 years everything was possible thanks to lebron james cleveland winning in the seventh game represented the most significant feat that any player has ever accomplished the most anticipated high school basketball player in his life who became the chosen one 45 minutes from the team who would draft him who took that team to new heights who broke the heart of that city in an amazing way came back to try to make things right and was now one game away from fulfilling his promise in an unprecedented comeback against an opponent he beat records.

He's not Michael Jordan. Don't expect it to be. He is not magic johnson, he is not larry bird, nor bill russell, nor wilt chamberlain, he is lebron james, the most valuable basketball player of all time, the most complete basketball player who has ever existed, the best basketball player of all time, ah, you.