I remember I had posted that Lebron would be better than Yao and a huge contigent of folks were calling me 'crazy' and 'stupid'. I pointed out Yao's mental state and attitude, stating he is soft and passive, rather than ruthless and aggresive(Shaq/Duncan/KG like) Yao will be nothing but a 7'6 jump shooting center who will get good #'s because he is very skilled and tall BUT he lacks the heart and desire to be great. Lebron on the other hand is putting up some of the most impressive all around stats for a rookie in a long time and he is only 18 years old, Yao is 22-23. Lebron is clearly better Yao now and will be clearly be better than Yao long term. Yao is soft and a disappointment. Just some people would own up to their horrible mistakes of judging Yao. How can a 7'6 guy who can move, jump, and has great hands have 2 rebound, 4 rebound, 5, rebound games?? How can he not get easy shots? Why does he not play physical at all? Hes softer than tissue paper. And on Christmas its goin to be even more apparent, Shaq is going to eat him for lunch. Lebron is simply the next great player for the NBA for the next 15 years. We won the #1 pick 1 year to early. Sucks..........
Waiiiit, isn't Yao a center? And isn't Steve the leading scorer on the Rockets? OH OH, and isn't LeBron the only guy that can shoot on that team? Naahhhhhh, Yao sucks.
Didn't Francis put up similar stats to Lebron's with 18 ppg, 6.6 apg, and 5 rpg in his rookie year? A perimeter player has to be pretty darned good to lead his team to a title, and Lebron hasnt even gotten his team that many wins. If you are one of those fans that judges strictly by stats, then yes, i guess you could say that James is "better" than Yao.
Doesnt suck. But will never be great. Lebron is a PG/SG/SF, he can do it all and makes everyone better. The offense was suppose to go through Yao right? As I said hes good but wont be great. Those who said they'd rather have Yao than Lebron were all wrong...thats the bottom line.
Oh I see. But like someone said, didn't Steve have similar number to LBJ when he was a rookie. 5 years later, he's still at the same level. LBJ is good, Yao is good. It's still too early and only time will tell who is going to be great, if either.
LeBron is only 18 years old. Steve was 21 in his rookie year. LeBron is taller, bigger, stonger and already smarter than Steve.
I love Steve as a person and admire his great athletic ability, but iOrange is dead right, spot-on. LeBron in his young age is already displaying more maturity and poise than Steve has ever displayed in his 5 years in the league. Here is a recent quote from Van Gundy about LeBron: "I love his demeanor, the way he plays the game," said Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, whose team gave James another of the 50-plus losses he'll absorb this season. "He's open, he shoots. He's guarded, he passes. His mind-set is to win the game. Imagine that! His game is rooted in soundness." It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see he was dropping a subtle hint to Steve, where he easily unravels.
Lebron will indeed be awesome, and he has had a better season than Yao, IMO, despite their team records. But he is already light years ahead of Francis in terms of understanding the right way to play, balancing personal and team goals. Just ask JVG...he marveled at LBJ's maturity as the primary ball handler of his team. SO while you slam Yao for LBJ's success, you might want to consider the fact that LBJ's ascension reflects more negatively on Francis' deficiencies as a veteran who cannot even match the maturity and playmaking mindset of an 18 yr old.
Lebron has the ability to change the game and become the greatest player of all-time. These type of players very rarely come around and it just happens that Cleveland was the lucky team to get him. Now that doesn't neccesarrily mean that Yao is a bust because he is not Lebron. Nobody is. What we got in Yao is the 2nd best center in the NBA and a very good player. If you are comparing Lebron to Yao you should be comparing Kenyon Martin and Kwame Brown to him also. I think Yao wins those battles, and when you compare him to previous #1's over the years he would be better then many of them.
simply put, you're a yao-basher. when you couldn't find anything else to bash him you find a guard and you compare their stats... that's just low.
Franchise4Life, You do realize that after two seasons, Shareef Abdur-Rahim looked like a better player than Kobe Bryant???? Food for thought. Maybe youll realize how silly it is to compare the progress of two young players after only a 1/2 season and 1 1/2 seasons.
Well, the guy is right, but his timing is curious considering Lebron's recent nice streak of games. I remember when we used to compare Steve with Kobe. Now we're desperately trying to hold on to this thread claiming that he averaged similar numbers in his rookie year to Lebron. If you've seen Lebron play, you wouldn't be making these arguments. The guy is on his way to a place we never even PROJECTED Steve to reach. Ofcourse, injuries are always a worry, but Lebron is just stunning at the moment. MUCH MUCH better defender than anyone expected too.
both players have a unbelieveble talent. they both may be able to change the game. Yao can be great, Lebron also has the chance to be great. but saying one wil be better then the other at this point in theyr careers is impossible. Both ar young and have shown how good they can be. only the future will tell who will bring his club a championship
While both are still young and beginning their careers I would have to disagree with you somewhat. It's not that I'm a Yao basher but Lebron has more potential than Yao does. In my eyes there has never been a more talented player at his age in the history of basketball. I see a stat line for Lebron five years down the road in the range of 35 points 8 rbs 8 asts and a lock down defensive player. But then again you never know what could happen.
And LeBron doesn't need help to be great. He just goes out and does it. Unlike Yao. It seems like Yao needs SF and CM and JVG and the refs and the stars and planets aligned to be great. I always say, great players will be great regardless they don't need help from anyone. They GIVE help.
