I think the sporting world will never accept Lebron as the GOAT unless he gets ring number seven. Which he is still far, far away from doing. That said, he is the best player I have ever had the privilege of watching, bar none.
He's lost in the finals twice. Won't pass Jordan unless he wins 7 which is highly doubtful. I expect he will finish with 3-4 rings. I think he will finish #2 on GOAT list for all he's already done, but i've got a feeling several players will surpass him as the best in the league when he reaches 32. All that athleticism won't last forever and be able to carry that big body.
I don't think he can surpass MJ. That ship sailed. Rings are not everything for me when it comes to judging players. Furthermore, as skilled as James is, I think Jordan was still the more skilled player in his prime. I think he's got a solid shot at being right behind MJ though if he continues what he's doing. Jordan is in a tier with guys like Ali, Gretzky, Pele, Ruth, Bo, etc. I think LeBron is the next tier down.
When he can win MVP, FMVP, and DPOY all in one season. There's only one GOAT in my heart. (But definitely two more would have him being up there.)
If he keeps adding MVP awards and wins at least 2 more titles, he'll be pretty close. 4 more title and 4 more MVP would really seal it for sure.
5 MVPS, 5 Rings, 5 Finals MVP's, Win a DPOY maybe, Keep his usual 27, 8, and 7, and then that'll probably do it in my mind. Biggest issue he'll have to overcome is the God-like status Jordan has been given. Some dudes simply don't acknowledge the possibility of somebody surpassing Jordan. I do think the performance he put up in the 2011 Finals was pretty awful. That's a part of his legacy he'll always have going against him.
He has been impressive for the last 2 years but you cant discount how un-clutch he has been in the past. The way he played down the stretch against the Mavs to me is a really black mark on his resume. It may be unfair but I cant recall Jordan ever performing like that in such a big series/game. As of right now, I dont think he should be anywhere in the discussion of GOAT. Give him a few more years and championships and he may be in the discussion. If we just go by a 2 or 3 year span, I dont think I would put anyone above Dream those during those 2 championship runs, Jordan included.
winning 3 more rings or 5+ should be the options not 1 or 2... which is essentially the same thing. If lebron wins 5 or more rings as the defacto best player/mvp of those teams, you'll have to rate him equal or better than MJ IMO.
Was Jordan also unclutch before he won? He won his 1st ring 1 or 2 seasons before LeBron won his. And he had more help earlier on in his career. Jordan had Pippen/Grant for 3 seasons before winning a title. Before getting either player he couldn't get out of round 1. LeBron didn't have a star teammate until he got to Miami and he won in his 2nd season with star support. Prior to getting star support he still got out of round 1 and even got to the Finals. Folks sometimes act like Jordan's career started in 1991. He was a "loser" until then.
Bill Russell says hi, 11/11. In deciding games in the finals, Russell averaged 17 pts and 30 rebs. If Jordan can surpass Russell in most peoples minds with almost half the hardware that everyone thinks is so necessary than why can't James surpass Jordan if he reached 4-5 rings. Most Consider Kobe better than Duncan, Duncan who is 4/4 and Kobe is what 5/8 now. Sometimes it's just not your year, great players have lost in the finals, no one holds Magic's losses in the finals against him, most probably don't even remember his loss to the bulls.
