Lebron would be a crappy center. Yao would be a crappy point guard. I would rather have a great center.
how long will it take you people to realize that unless your name is michael jordan, youre not going to win a championship without a good big man.
Honestly, there is no easy answer to this...Until last night I would have said Yao, simply because of the position they play; centers can dominate more easily than guards...but, seriously, I have never seen a kid that age play the way James did last night; I don't mean that he was hot, scoring, etc...I mean the way he played...the confidence, savvy, attitude, desire, and awareness. Blew me away, and he's got the talent to go with it. Anyone can play well for a game, and James will have his valleys, no doubt, but I honestly don't see a ceiling for this guy. Yao, on the other hand, is also amazingly aware, savvy, etc. And his clear strengths more obviously translate to success than James'; height = ability = points, rebounds, blocks...But he also has more obvious weaknesses; lateral quickness, short arms, etc. which can't be overcome, unlike James' jumpshot. I'd say that Yao has a better chance to be revolutionary, as James wil likely become something between Magic and the Big O, whereas I'm not sure we've seen what Yao is before, Kareem being the closest, but not really that close. Had Sabonis played here in his prime, maybe, but as is Yao could be an entirely new occurence for the NBA. But if I had to bet on who will more likely have the better individual career, it's close, and I don't know that I'd easily pick Yao over James.
Spot on! I didn't care much for the Lebron's hype but he really impressed me last night. His game, his demeanor, his handling of the press .... And he is a PG, you can tell a PG when he turned down a slam on a break to feed his trailing team mate ... I don't recall Steve ever done that. (It's not Steve's bashing ... it's just a little reminder of what Steve isn't )
Definitely LBJ, not to mention hes a money machine. Yao at best will be a mediocre great center, but James will become the greatest of all time.
i dont know if your updated with the world but your just basing those on one game and how dare you call yao's just a mediocre center when he's freakin unstoppable.. even shaq's havin a hard time stopping him.. even SHAQ! when lebron can stop shaq one on one, then you have the right to say yao's mediocre.. but til that day comes, shut the hell up!
Comon, man. I'm also a Yao fan. But there is a long list of great centers and yao can't compete with them: Chamberlin, Russel, Jabbar, Moses, Dream, Shaq and D. Robinson(maybe Ewing and Sabonis).
LeBron was simply brilliant and the Kings are no slouches (Bibby, Christie, Jackson, Wallace). But I want to see what LeBron can do tonight against a more athletic Suns team before I enshrine him into the Hall of Fame. That being said, I see Cleveland making a serious run for the playoffs this year if the other young and talented players on the Cavs team are willing to play ball. I take Yao, but that's got more to do with the dearth of dominating centers compared with dominating PG/SG/SF-types.
if you are talking about money machine, Itz YAO not LBJ. Yao has all the fans around the world especially in whole Asia, but LBJ is only in US
or a laker fan like yourself. Yao immediately increases our teams D when he steps on the floor. Other players are scared to drive to lane unless they are Kobe,Tmac. This in turn caused us to go from the WORST nba defense team in 2002 to 6th best in 2003 just from 1 player. Plus not to mentian Yao shoots a higher % than Lebron and also gets teamates involved since he can see over everyone. You cant put a value on the increase in team D yao brings. Its more valueable than say if Lebron averages 10 more ppg. Your just like all those people who think Jordan was better than Hakeem. Why is that Hakeem always beat the bulls and Jordan couldnt stop him? A great center is always better than a great sg . Shaq is more valueable than Kobe. Hakeem in his prime was better than Mj (see 93-95) and right now Yao is better than Lebron. I am not surprised though. I know that fans basically dont watch the games,and just pick up the next mornings paper,and look at ppg stat,and then judge everything on that. Thats stupid.
While he is talented, he is not a "complete package" until he can consistently hit from the outside. He's damn close. However, give me Yao as a cornerstone to a franchise.
I take Yao, but that's got more to do with the dearth of dominating centers compared with dominating PG/SG/SF-types. [/B][/QUOTE] The great center over a great PG/SG argument is soo played out in my opinion. Bottom line is if their greatness is at an equal level then you go with the center. But if Lebron is more talented than Yao(which he certainly seems to be) then you have to go with Lebron. No person ever, at the age of 18, could possibly do what Lebron did last night to the Kings in his first game, especially with the media circus surronding it. The sense of amazement and LEADERSHIP he brings out to his team is something that is very important to note. Lebron was the leader for the Cavs last night and hes 18. Yao is not close to being the leader of the Rockets. The great big guys, The Shaq's, the Kareems, the Wilt's, and the Hakeem's were all leaders. Yao is not verbal enough doesnt seem to motivate his team, most likely because of the language barrier. I think Lebron has more talent, more media appeal, and has one quality that all the GREATEST players have and thats the sense of inspiring their team to performances they never thought possible, much the same way Bird, MJ, and Magic did. That is why folks when the best NBA player of all time argument comes up, yes there have been great centers but the names you hear are guards/forwards. MJ, Magic, Bird, Oscar, and Dr. J. The post asked "Who would have the better career" and I go with Lebron. But Yao will be great as well, just not AS great as Lebron, forget position.
I am not sure that Yao will ever be a vocal leader. The Asians usually are quite, hard-working. You can expect that Yao leads by example, but probably not vocal.
Your points were good up until you made that statement and then I had to what the f*&k are you talking about. Kareem being the closest, come on! Obviously you didn't see Kareem play much. Either that or you are speaking in terms of your dreams and hopes. I like Yao but as of today he is not in the same league as Kareem. Kareem had it all, passing rebounding blocking scoring and the sky hook. Kareem was just voted the number one number one pick of all time of all sports. Not just basketball all sports and now you are saying he is not even close to Yao. Sorry go back and watch some old classics. I'm a diehard Rocket fan and Hakeem is my favorite Rocket of all time. But Jordan was better than Hakeem. Or let's just say more valuable than Hakeem. And he had the championships to prove it. Everyone talks about his supporting casts but his supporting cast (Pippen) came here and we did nothing. MJ was the NBA man of all time.
