SI Article: "LeBron's Decision Could Redefine Greatness"

WHILE playing center. Yes, he replaced Kareem (the best player in the team at the time) and LED the team to the title. As a rookie. To be honest, I don't see how LeBron can be compared to Magic at all.

 

You keep asking, and it's been answered, yet you 'keep asking'. Why not just say you've already asked, it's been answered, and you didn't like the answer?

 

Agreed.
He took the EASY Way to a Championship.

If he went to NY or Chicago . . . he would have to WORK against Miami
He is Malone in LA . . not Malone in Utah
Payton in Miami . . . not Payton in Seattle

Even if he is more of a contributor. . . .
LeBron for me . . will forever be know as a FrontRunner
and those that follow him as well.


Rocket River

 

That doesn't put anything to rest. Everyone already knew he was capable of putting up great numbers. In fact, I fully expect Wade to sit back and let his buddy LBJ pile up incredible stats this year, and only exert himself when they need someone to close out a game. Write that down.

 

I keep thinking it would be funny if LeHour chose 60 as his next number. Or 3600. Spot could be 61 or 3601.

 

Well said Tofu.

 

It seems like one of two reactions always occur: sports writers criticize LeBron or they commend him. Do they realize two other players were at work here. The three stooges have three players, not one. It really feels like if Wade and Bosh teamed up no one would have cared, but since LeBron is involved it deserves to be the centerpiece of a slow offseason.

 

1. Nobody cares about Bosh's legacy because he has no chance of being an all-time great.

2. Wade did not leave his team to join Lebron. Lebron left his team to join Wade.

3. Lebron's folding in his last playoffs series as a Cavalier will always be a stigma in his legacy.

I think the funny thing is, everybody seems to care about Lebron's legacy more than Lebron does.

 

Thats fine and dandy BUT i think your making light of how lebron wouldve have been viewed and how he is already viewed for not winning a championship, he wouldve always been one of the lower tier greats like the barkleys and the malones and never the magic bird and michaels, the fact of the matter is Lebron is the best player in the NBA and with that being the case he will be the alpha dog on this heat team he will continue to win mvps and he will take his rightful place among bird magic and michael. Now will this prove to be an easier alternative maybe, but I dont think it will tarnish lebron at all, as soon as championships are won the foolish chit chat will be put to rest.

 

There are a lot of LeBron haters in this forum, and they try to make their argument by comparing LeBron's situation to other great players like MJ and Magic of the past, but they don't seem to realize or want to acknowledge that Cleveland is different from Chicago and Los Angeles. NOONE wants to go to Cleveland, and the Cavs management has failed year after year to bring in ONE young, talented all-star that is capable of making a difference. And in this case, "all-star" does not mean just making the all-star game once or twice.

Some say LeBron should have stayed in Cleveland and, win or lose, solidify himself as someone who was the "man of his team". Some people just don't like to see him win. They think the only acceptable way of LeBron winning is when he puts up 50% or more of the team's total effort because of how talented and gifted he is. They won't settle for 25/8/8 from LeBron because if that's all he's going to dish out, then he isn't "great". No, he needs to win without a legit all-star in his prime while putting up 40/10/10 on 50% FG and losing to the likes of the Orlando Magic. We're used to seeing LeBron put up ridiculous stats, but some of you need to accept that it is OK for a great player like LeBron to relax finally and welcome 25/8/8 if it means a championship.

In the years that he's been in Cle, he's been blessed with Mo Williams, Big Z, an aging O'neal, Larry Hughes, and a soft/passive Jamison who's also in the downside of his career. Jamison is arguably the best player out of that bunch and that's not saying much, considering how he, Butler, and Arenas were barely able to make the playoffs in the years that they played together. Now, put yourself in LeBron's shoes. Kobe, a competitor and rival to LeBron, has Gasol, Artest, Odom, and Bynum (ft. Phil Jackson) and is currently winning championships. Any of those 4 players on Kobe's team, any one of them, are better than the 2-4th option on the Cavs. That's how stacked the Lakers are at the moment and how "thin" the Cavs are.

It's a shame to see everyone demanding so much of LeBron that they would prefer to see him try so hard year-in and year-out, putting up 30/8/8 (50% FG) and fail rather than embracing the idea that he also deserves help. Sure, he could have stayed in CLE and continued what he was doing for another 8 years and MAYBE win 1 championship, but that's not what he wanted. Not many other players would do that either. When it's all said and done, people will bring up championships. Kobe got 3 early in his career by playing with a top 5* player in NBA history, and then he got 2 more playing with the most stacked team in the league. What do you want from LeBron? KG himself has stated that he would have made a different choice if he were able to instead of wasting his prime in MIN. It would have been very sweet for him to bring his "hometown" a championship, and a lone ring there would probably have more meaning than 3 in Miami, but it would have taken a decade and is an unlikely scenario to begin with.

We will see just how important LeBron was to that Cavs team this year when they fail to win 30 games. You anti-LeBrons need to take a step back and realize that every team that has won multiple championships has had multiple consistent all-stars that contributed with meaningful stats. It's not a coincidence that this recent turn of events has given the Kobe/Laker bandwagoners something to throw at LeBron because they now know that LeBron has help and they don't like what that means LeBron/Wade's legacy. If LeBron puts up 27/8/8 and wins a few finals MVPs, these trolls will say that despite his numbers, he "ring-chased" and played with a stacked team. Well, the same can be said of Kobe. Playing alongside a prime Shaq isn't something that every star gets. Gasol/Artest/Odom/Bynum isn't exactly a weak line-up, either.

In the minds of anti-LeBrons, they would rather have him stay in CLE and put up great stats and fail to win the ring. That way, they can blindly say "5>0" or whatever else they "think" is a logical argument. This way, when LeBron and Kobe's careers are over, they can say 5>0 or 6>1. LeBron choosing Miami has threaten their only happiness in life and they now are saying he is a "robin" or he is on Wade's team, etc. They are comfortable saying this without having seen them play together. LeBron can easily average 27/8/8, something that Kobe isn't even doing and they'll still say with confidence Kobe's contribution > LeBron's.

Anyway, my rant is coming to an end. Hopefully you people understand LeBron's choice. It was classless, yes, but other than that, he's a basketball player concerned with where he stands after he retires. Is that wrong? Will Mo williams ever be on national TV again? Does "no" that hurt your feelings?

Basically, stop hating and know that LeBron is also JUST ANOTHER PLAYER. He needs help. He deserves help.

LeBron's career:
option 1) 15 years of 30/8/8 and maybe 1 championship
or
option 2) 7 years of 30/8/8, 0 rings and then going 27/8/8 and potentially 5 championships

Option 2 is causing LeBron haters to lose sleep because LeBron will no longer have to go 40/10/10 and potentially have an asthma attack to win a game.

 

Fixed.

 

This is a really good point. While I don't like Lebron, and I hated the fact that he would accept "The Decision" type of hype, and I hated his playoff performance and pouting this year...

I respect that maybe he wants to enjoy the game of basketball and play with other players he loves playing with. That he wants to be as successful as possible and chose the corresponding option. I respect all that.

He could have handled that, and even announced it, professionally and honestly.

 

Exactly it makes no difference how a team is formed, whether its the draft, trades or free agency a team that wins championships is a team that wins championships.

 

nuh huh!

http://www.hoopsnotes.com/2010/07/lebron-i-dont-want-to-go-ring-chasing/

This is what he said in ESPN The Magazine four years ago about the Cleveland Cavaliers: “I don’t want to go ring-chasing. I want to stay with the Cavs and build a champion.”

 

Lebron left a team with ton of talent? Who on the cav's has really any talent that would help any team win a ring? The only reason those players looked any good and the team was winning was because of him, and him alone. Just look at what he had to do during the finals.

 

Magic was only Finals MVP 3/5 times. Tim Duncan only won it 3/4 times. Larry Bird only won 2/3. What's important is not who has the best finals series, but who is remembered as the best player on the team that season.

 

There's a difference between being the best player on the court in the Finals and being the best player on the team. Was James Worthy really the best player on the Lakers in 1987? He won the Finals MVP. Was Cedrick Maxwell really the best player on the Celtics in 1981? He won the Finals MVP.

 

Winning does cure everything. It worked for Kobe.

How do you know that Lebron ever wanted to be MJ? Because he wore the same jersey number? Maybe Lebron doesn't want to be either MJ. Maybe Lebron James wants to be the first Lebron James. Maybe he cares more about winning and having a good time playing with his best friends in the league than he does about what people think about his legacy. Good for him.

There is so much hate in this post (and a lot of the anti-Lebron posts) that I find it hard to believe that he didn't run over your dog or something.