Harden is the best player in the NBA right now but the real “King” for the next few years will be KD. Especially if the Nets win this year
KD without Harden would be tbe pick but he can just kind of coast to b2b most likely, but doubt more than that. So none of the nets big 3. Curry has his chance with Klay back but I think they need a shake up- i can see them getting 1 minimun. Luka is the most likely as an individual, but the team isn't really there to dominate. Truth is, no one of LeBron caliber is going to recruit superstar team ups just as their prime starts. We could be in a weird 70s phase where small market teams were in the finals every year like Milwaukee, Portland, Phoenix, Washington, Seattle(OKC). Can you imagine back to back years of the Washington Bullets vs the Supersonics following a Portland title in the modern NBA? Not a chance. The NBA nearly died during that time. It won't take time until the major market teams form more super team build ups and thats why its hard to pick 1 true king when its really teams of multiple kings trying to reach Emperor Jordan status. Luka will go through his trials and build his legacy as a great, but will he take the b**** made move/strategy of teaming up for tbe easy route to rings to enter the GOAT convo? Worked for bron.
Harden is built for the long-haul. His PG skills are a step behind CP3. If he got the King James treatment he can have a late dynasty for years to come... not unlike the one he has now.
KD is the best player right now, but I wouldn't crown him king. I actually wouldn't crown anyone king at this point. Maybe @ me once the Finals are over.
LeBron is obviously on the decline right now, but the timing here is silly. There is probably not a player in history who could have led these Lakers past these Suns for two more wins after Davis went down. Durant isn't even the best player on his own team... And arguably hasn't been since 2016.
I think 2018 Lebron could’ve done it 2015 finals Lebron could as well This current Bron coming off the ankle injury looking like he’s lost a step and was just settling for threes and didn’t even have a single 30 point game? No way in hell
Well I'm not doubting this LeBron is worse, but I find it unlikely any version of LeBron (or Jordan) could have. They'd have a better shot, but I think you're either underrating this Suns team or overrating the Lakers supporting cast. I'd give him a puncher's chance in his prime, but that's it.
2015 Bron got 2 games off the Warriors and was very competitive in a 3rd that they eventually lost at Oracle, and the Warriors were a better team than this PHX squad...that was an absolutely atrocious supporting cast minus Kyrie and Love 2018 Bron could conjure up 40+ point games seemingly on command including 51 against the KD Warriors in game 1 of the finals 2018 Bron could have 45 and 10 type performances while playing all 48 minutes and completely controlling tempo and playing great defense when needed...this current Bron was averaging 23 ppg, 4 free throws a game, and just settling for threes because he simply wasn’t the same after the ankle injury and is just older
Yeah, I was thinking about how competitive those Cavs were, but for one thing, they won one of those games with Kyrie (IIRC, he left the game very late). For another, while those Cavs were bad after Kyrie and Love went down, I'm not convinced they're much worse than these Lakers without Davis (and sometimes KCP). I always thought Lebron + Davis didn't get quite enough credit for how well they carried those scrubs in last year's playoffs. But fine, maybe the Lakers are slightly better. We're splitting hairs here. Again, the Lakers would have a shot with prime Bron, but I think you'd be nuts to call it anything close to a sure thing. The Suns would still be the favorites, that's all I'm saying. I'm not doubting LA would be better off with a younger Bron. EDIT: Oh wow, I thought you were quoting regular season numbers for LeBron. I just checked and those were his playoff numbers this year... That is definitely a new low for him. Still, they were getting totally blown out after Davis went down, so I struggle to see them winning two games even in his prime (though they might have finished the series before Davis ever went down if they had prime Bron).
What did he do to you? Because he did nothing to me except give me a legitimate hope that we could be champions since we traded Hakeem. Its sad that you can forget all of the good times because of this year.
Define "on his own"? I would argue that neither has Stephen Curry, or a few other people on that list. No Paul is just cuz the dude's old now. No NBA king torch is being passed to a 36-year-old.
I meant without Harden. He has never really been on his own he has always had talented teams and most have had multiple all stars.
nah, the one with Kyrie they lost in OT, then they won the next 2 with Bron dropping 39, 16, and 11 and 40, 12, and 8 in B2B games they were also very competitive in game 5 at Oracle...it was a 2 point game with barely 4 minutes left...Bron had 40, 14, and 11 in that one that 2015 Cavs roster minus Kyrie and Love might not be significantly worse than this Lakers roster minus AD, but that Warriors team is definitely better than this Suns team, and Bron got 2 games, and almost won a 3rd...2015 Bron definitely could’ve won 2 games against this Suns team with this Lakers roster to win the series after AD went down...these Suns ain’t the KD Warriors or even the Steph, Klay, and Draymond Warriors all I’m saying is that there’s 2 previous versions of Lebron that could’ve won this series after AD went down since u said there’s probably not a player in history that could’ve done it...younger Bron is like 10x better than this washed version we just saw play in the postseason
One thing mid 2010s LeBron did was put fear into the opposing team's superstars. He didn't even have to personally guard the player, they just got shook because LeBron was intimidating. He did it to Curry. I could imagine Booker reacting badly to him. Another thing he did was get fouled and put opponents in foul trouble. I could see him messing with Ayton in that way. Lastly, he made the game easier for his teammates on offense and defense. He would swallow these Suns. I say all of that and I don't even like LeBron at all.
