LeBron James, King James and the Chosen One are just a few (three actually) of the names we give to the greatest basketball player of our current generation. 3 time NBA World Champion, 3 time NBA Finals MVP, and 4 time NBA MVP are some of the accolades used to describe the most dominant force in basketball today. Praised for his ability and dominance, criticized for his arrogance and perceived lack of killer instinct and hated for his career choices, he is polarizing and likable in both senses, a family man from humble beginnings whose sound bites and actions have led many to “hate” him as a player so to speak. Moving beyond the flops, flight, and fighting we’ve come to expect from him, LeBron James deserves the level of respect typically afforded to the greats. Here are three major reasons why his legacy deserves respect:
LeBron is the Most Complete Player Ever
- Lebron James is the most well-rounded basketball player we’ve ever seen. Oscar Robertson, a Hall of Fame point guard and fellow world champion, is viewed as the complete package, a guard with the ability to not handle the ball adeptly, but also able to score and play defense. LeBron’s ability to pass the ball at 6’8 while not unheard of (a la Magic Johnson) is impressive as LeBron and Robertson remain the only two players to be top 20 in points and assists. Chris Broussard, an ESPN journalist spoke on the topic a few days past, bringing to everyone’s collective attention the fact that at his current rate Lebron is poised to retire top five in scoring overall and top ten in assists.
Lebron Revitalizes Teams
LeBron’s impact on the Cavaliers, and in the past the Heat, alone show how impactful he is to any team he plays against. Cleveland’s record the year after LeBron left was 19-63, the worst since 2002-2003 when LeBron entered the league. The following years saw 21-45, 24-58, 33-49, and then 53-29 upon his return. Prior to his first championship in Miami, LeBron was able to take one of the league’s most beleaguered franchises to the top of their division for years, even taking them to the NBA championship with a severely underperforming cast. Despite the criticism over his pairing with players such as Wade and Bosh and now Kevin Love and Irving, the cast he took to the finals against the Spurs in 2007 was far from a championship caliber. Their roster could only be rivaled by the 2000-2001 76ers in regards to a championship caliber team.
LeBron’s Efficiency In The Finals is Unprecedented
As of now, LeBron has been to 6 finals along with Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant, all of whom’s ELO rating are significantly higher than LeBron’s and all of whom supporting cast significantly rivaled his own team. No one expected LeBron to beat the team with the best record in NBA history (73-9). Cleveland doing the impossible and coming back from a 3-1 record to win the NBA finals would not have been possible if not for the play of LeBron, whose back to back 40 point games spurred the comeback trail. His record of 2-4 in the finals not withstanding, he’s still the only NBA player thus far to lead both teams in a Finals game in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals, the second player to win Finals MVP on different teams and the third player to get a triple-double in a Game 7. In short, all hail the king!!!
Wright World 