Lebron isn't the ideal best player, b/c of his inconsistent clutch plays. People who argue that point is 100% correct. But if you take into accounts of how many ways a player can impact a game throughout the regular season and playoffs on a consistent basis, there is no one who can rival Lebron on both ends of the floor. Simply, other players have more weaknesses than Lebron. And Lebron is younger, injury-free, and still has rooms to improve.
His physical skill-set still has room to improve but none of that means **** if his brain isn't improving. No best player in the history of NBA who won a championship has a mentality and maturity level as bad as Lebron. It's almost disgusting that someone with his talent has so little respect for the game.
Yes, quote "history" on a guy who is only 26. And Lebron is one of a handful of players who has improved his games on both ends on a consistent year in and year out since he came into the league. You appreciate players who want and are improving their games all the time. And he did that this year by seeking the help of Hakeem, just as he did the past 2 years by elevating his defense to elite status. Despite being adulated as the "best player" by many for the past several years, the guy doesn't stop trying to improve his game. Most players stay satisfied with their games with they are adored. That's the mentality/maturity that people should start looking at, not what he does in the offseason or how he went about free agency. Should Kobe's and Shaq's selfishness among one another hurt their legacy? No. We judge players by what they do on the court, and how they continue to improve themselves as players.
Why did you quote "history" as if it's not really history? Name me one player in all the years of NBA who was considered the best who has gone on the media and made a clown of himself. For that matter, tell me the last time the best player in the NBA performed as bad as Lebron did in the 4th quarter of the finals. And yes, Kobe's and Shaq's selfishness has hurt their legacy, there is no arguing that. There is a reason why people still talk about it as part of their legacy because it IS part of the legacy. I also don't know why you're arguing with me when you practically agreed with me. His physical skill set has room for improvement but none of that means **** if his brain isn't improving. And I think it's pathetic that you're excusing Lebron's behavior. It's a joke. I could care less about Lebron's personal life but if his off-season consists of a circus revolving around the NBA? That's a different story. Also, Lebron is not the only player improving. What the hell do you mean Lebron is only a "handful" of player who has improved their game consistently? That's a stupid statement. I can name you at least 30 players who has improved their game consistently since coming to the league. Don't act like Lebron improving his game is some unique trait of his not seen around NBA.
Magic Johnson was once called "Tragic" Johnson b/c he choked in the Finals. Kobe literally lost the Finals in 04 to the Pistons by himself. So Kobe didn't even need to choke, he shot his team out of every game b/c he didn't like one particular player. And that hasn't hurt Kobe's legacy one bit b/c he STARTED WINNING AGAIN. Now he's cracking people's top 10 lists and he hasn't retired yet. I disagree with you b/c I think he is the best player in the league. He has his faults, but that doesn't mean he's not arguably the best player in the league. Apparently a lot of people think so too. Just FYI, a lot of athletes don't have "brains." If they did, they would be caught cheating on their wives getting caught in rape accusations or being broke 2 years out of the league. Using "brains" for your argument is stupid. Lebron is the most hyped player in NBA history coming into this league. Most players would be satisfied with his position and stay stagnant. Sure players can improve, but for the most part of his career, he's at the top of the game. And yet he has always bring something new every year, whether it's offense or defense. The only top tier players who literally elevated their game to another level were Rose, Howard, and Westbrook (and I may miss a few here or there). And it took Howard 3-4 years before he made another leap since his 2nd year. Kevin Durant didn't improve at all last year, and even took a step back. We're not talking about average players elevating their games. We're talking about guys who are already considered good/great but continuing to elevate their games to that next level. And they have to do it EVERY year. Lebron's growth hasn't just been on one side. He's elevated himself to an elite defensive player, something most top tier players nowadays don't do, outside of Dwight Howard. And he's a perimeter player. So again, name me 30 players who have improved significantly EVERY YEAR since they came into the league. I would like to see this list. I don't even need to restrict it to top tier players. As a basketball fan, I like to see players grow as a player, and improve their games, whether it would be shooting, passing ,defense, leadership. Lebron still has a ways to grow being able to close out games consistently, playing in the post, and being a leader. But he knows those are his weakneses, and he's working on them. He's 26. You can't close the book on a guy who's only 26, just scratching the prime of his career.
Do you know that Magic Johnson won MVP and a couple of championships before he was shut down by Dennis Johnson? And you do know that Dennis Johnson is easily one of greatest defensive stoppers of all time right? Who was guarding Lebron James again? And you do know that Kobe isn't even the best player on his team when the Lakers lost to Pistons in 04 right? If you really don't think Kobe's legacy was undamaged whatsoever after his stint with the Shaq, then there's no point arguing any further (just like how you think Dirk Nowitzki is unknown in America). You want 30 players that have improved their game yearly since coming to the league? Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Kyle Lowry, Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Deron Williams. I could easily name 15 more players that have improved yearly since coming to the league, disregarding injuries and general decline due to age. I can't believe you actually think Lebron James is one of few players to have improved yearly since coming to the league. Do you even process what you typed up?
Yup, I don't like Lebron James at all. But I don't recall saying he isn't the best player in the league.
I hate Lebron. I've hated him longer than most people. Doesn't stop him from being the best in the NBA
1) The reason I brought up Magic was b/c there was a "negative" perception about Magic after that series despite him ALREADY winning, hence the nickname. Just like there are nicknames for Lebron right now like LeChoke. All i'm saying is the book for Lebron is still unwritten. And he has a long career left ahead of him to cement his legacy, whether it'd be a choker or a winner. 2) Kobe WAS the best player on that Laker team. Shaq was injured and unmotivated for most of the year that year, coming into training camp fat. And Shaq's stats proved it that year. Again, Kobe's legacy took a hit, but not when he started winning again. Winning solves everything in sports. That's the thing with most fans. They are short-sighted: it's about what have you done for me lately. Everybody was against Kobe in the next 2 years, now everybody is on his jock, and deservedly so. Again, my point for bringing Kobe up is to prove that Lebron still has A LOT of years to rewrite his career. 3) Those are your players? -Did those guys improve EVERY YEAR? Like Lebron. A HELL NO Tmac's improvement stopped after the 02-03 season. Lowry took 3-4 years before he became relevant. Yao's too injured to improve. Chris Paul hasn't improved in several years due to injury. Dwill took a step back last year. and I can go on. Lebron has been injury-free, and he's been able to make improvements to his game every year. So no, please name me exactly 30 players you claim that have made improvements EVERY YEAR in their career the moment they stepped into the league till now? Only a very select handful of players can do that (Duncan/Kobe/Wade/Rose/Westbrook in your list). And Lebron came into this league putting up 20/5/5, deemed as a star already. It's like you don't get my question before answering, so what's the point. If you do not disagree that he is the best player in the league, what are we discussing here? It's like posting just to post. Who cares about the other irrelevant crap that you posted purely b/c you don't like him. The post isn't to talk about who likes or dislike a player, it's whether you agree a player is #1 or not. That's not the point. There are people who hate Lebron but still believe he is the best player in the league b/c they're objective (and that's the majority), and those people also acknowledge his weaknesses. Look Lebron isn't a perfect player. He still has a ways to go. But when people use what he does "off the court" or during the "offseason" as reasons to negate his greatness as a player, that's just plain stupid.
D-Will took a step back because of injury. I understood your question perfectly but you don't seem to understand sentences. Chris Paul and D-Will are all players that have improved consistently barring injuries, and that includes Yao and McGrady. Did Yao not improve every year until an injury? You can't fault a player for having their growth stagnant due to injury, the only that matters is that they improve when they are healthy. And this is ridiculous, Lebron is the most gifted player in the league right now so obviously floor and ceiling would be much higher than the average player. You can't use that to compare against other players and say they haven't improved. Also, Kyle Lowry has improved every year since coming to the league. It's not even an argument. He isn't Lebron, he doesn't start off at 20/5/5. He starts off way lower than Lebron but just because he doesn't put up eye popping stats doesn't mean he hasn't improved. You don't seem to get the concept of improvement. Improving doesn't mean becoming relevant, it means becoming better. A TON of NBA players have improved every year, literally at least half the players in the NBA have improved every year, whether that improvement leads to some eye popping stats is another question but that doesn't mean they haven't improved. And for that matter, no I don't know what we're arguing about. My point is unless Lebron improves mentally all his physical talents and improvement won't take him anywhere. You got all defensive and started saying how Lebron improved every year therefore he has great mentality and what not leading to the argument now.
You still do not get it. My question asks if a particular player improve EVERY YEAR they are in the league, whether it's a minor or quantum leap of improvement. So if it's a 5-year veteran, that means he improves from year 1 to year 2 to year 3 to year 4 to year 5. That's hard to do, and only a handful of players do that. Take your example of our own Lowry. Lowry took a step back in his years 3 and 4, after a decent improvement in year 2 (hence his minutes dropped in Memphis, and never made it as a starter). And he made a big leap against last year. But it took a different circumstance, and opportunities. If Lowry stayed in Memphis, he would never be who he is right now. And injuries are PART of the game. You have to take that into account. That factors into a player's development big time. There's a reason TMAC or Yao never developed into something more, b/c injuries played a big part in their career. And we haven't seen the growth in Chris Paul's game since 08, his best year, and thats largely due to injuries. But again, you have to take that into account. That's why the Kobes (he's still trying to perfect his post game, which already is the best right now for a perimeter player)/Duncans/Jordans/Hakeems are so great. They bring something new into their game every year, and they do it year in and year out despite the high expectations/competition. Most players who are in Lebron's situation would be satisfied ala a Joe Johnson or a Paul Pierce or a Melo. Melo has so much greatness in him, and yet you don't see any improvements on either end. Kevin Durant didn't improve any aspect of his game last year. It took Dwight Howard 3 freakin' years to develop any semblance of a post game. And those guys were already great. So do you see how hard it is to be great, and elevate your game even more? And that is what Lebron is doing, despite his ridiculous expectations/ceiling. He's already the #1 player to most, and yet he's still striving to be even better. That's my appreciation for Lebron. But what are we even discussing? You and I agree he is the #1 player in the league.
Ok if you think Lebron improved every single year, then you haven't seen his small drop off after 2005-2006. And injuries don't factor because your point was Lebron is one of a handful people with the mentality to improve. Injuries don't say anything about a person's mentality to improve and for that matter I was saying how stupid your point was that Lebron is one of few to improve consistently. And yes I'm tired of long posts so I'm out.
I don't understand how anyone can say Lebron isn't the best player. He's a great rebounder, playmaker, his mid range game is now top 5 in terms of efficiency, he has improved his 3s, he's unstoppable on the break and he can shut down pretty much everyone.
All of these haters know the truth, they just dont want to admit it When pro's who cover the NBA for a living overwhelming say he's no. 1, there really isn't anything to argue about.
Except the majorities of NBA players still take Kobe over LeBron if their life is dependent on it. Those are real pros.
