Top 5 players in the league entering the 2009/2010 season

Difference is Jordan had the efficiency of a big man, while Kobe doesn't even come close.

 

Posting up is not Kobe's game. He's more efficient at shooting long jumpers, 3's, and driving to the rack.

Jordan did have a slightly more balanced game, but they are what they are. PERIMETER PLAYERS.

Last time I checked, a 2-guard was not expected to post up.... ever...

 

Now now Bizz... just because your favorite player is an injury-prone player taking a backseat to the best center in the basketball right now, Dwight Howard, doesn't mean you have to attack Kobe Bryant. He's not another planet away... that's putting it too far.... he's still miles away though. I just think that word Planet over-exaggerates it a bit.

 

I don't understand why people think nobody will ever surpass Jordan... ever. Eventually a player will come along whose skills rival Jordan's (or even surpasses) and you all will be too arrogant and stubborn to acknowledge it. Kobe is pretty close, he's not exactly there, but he's the closest player to Jordan this league have ever seen yet.

 

I can agree with that.... One day there will be... the debate though is about today...

 

His name may very well be LeBron James. The guy has to start winning titles though and continue to improve on the defensive side of the ball.

 

1. Lebron

Undisputed best player in the league. No one else comes close to LeBron at this point and the guy's not even in his prime. If anyone is going to surpass Jordan, LeBron has the best chance.

2. Wade

Without Wade the Heat are a lottery team. He's maybe second to only Bron in slashing, but a much better midrange shooter. Not a great man to man defender, but an amazing help defender.

3. Chris Paul

Makes David West look like an all-star and puts up 23ppg on ridiculous efficiency. Hornets would also be a lottery team without cp3

4. Kobe

Fallen off a bit, but still an assasin. Best midrange shooter and closer in the league.

5. Dwight Howard

Best defender in the league. He's offensively challenged, but he can still get you 20ppg on just his athleticism and strength. Once he develops a post game it's over.

 

Undisputed?

 

lol.. You make it sound like LeBron can just start winning rings whenever he chooses to do so... IMO.. I don't think LeBron will finish with more than 3 rings in his career. He'll fall short of Jordan and Kobe in that dept.

 

I like Howard a lot, but I doubt he ever really develops a post game. Assuming he will is a mistake.

 

I don't know how it sounds like that. He needs to start winning them to be at that level. Maybe he will, maybe he won't. Winning 6 titles is a tough task, and LeBron probably has maybe 10 years to get it done, at least as the best player on his team.

 

LeBron is not going to do that, it may look like that on the stat sheet but he will never be the player Jordan was.

 

I actually agree with this 100% and wrote a very long post on this topic a while back. For some reason the conventional wisdom on Lebron is that he has an ample amount of time to chase his place in history. This is always built off the mistaken assumption that he can stay dominant into his mid 30's as did Jordan. The same argument was made for Kobe. You simply can't underestimate the effect those 2 years off had in prolonging Jordan's career, not to mention the fact that he didn't enter the league at age 18 as did these guys. Another common erroneous argument usually proffered is that modern fitness/workout/rehab methods are far superior in today's age making no mention of the fact that we haven't yet seen these factors have the proclaimed benefits of sustaining greatness.

Simply put, Lebron is running out of time. He will be 25 next year. He will still win at least 3 rings and go down as one of the 5 greatest ever when it's all said and done, but that isn't the issue at hand. He is the one guy we might ever see (until the next one comes along) that had a realistic shot at topping Jordan while being the undisputed alpha dog on all of his title teams (sorry Kobe) and Danny Ferry is doing his damn best to euthanize any chance at that.

I don't have sympathy for Lebron in this regard considering that Hakeem Olajuwon might be one of the greatest examples of a victim of his circumstances, but you can see how great an impact team management has on player historical standing and why simplistic evaluation methods only taking winning into account irregardless of other factors (yes, this is a shameless T-Mac plug) are so erroneous.

I just don't see Lebron continuing to be able to move that huge frame around so explosively for more than another 5 or 6 years. Another thing is that he is one of the few greats who hasn't added anything to his game since he entered the league. He still can't shoot or post up. Obviously, he's so far and away better than anyone else right now that he doesn't need to, but every little bit counts especially when your teammates are complete garbage. He will definitely need to improve on these aspects to stay at this herculean level into his 30's.

 

His shooting and defense have improved dramatically since entering the league.

 

The defense has definitely improved. I was talking offensively.

You could be right, but I would be interested in seeing a comparison of his hot zones from mid-range before retracting that claim. Michael and Kobe were absolutely automatic from mid-range by their 6th/7th seasons. I don't get that feeling with Lebron, though I certainly could be wrong based on the numbers from that area, if provided.

 

I was describing Kobe genius.

 

This is the other area that I was talking about maybe a couple of months back. LeBron's jumpshot is so un-orthodox and just... I can't even find a word for it.... His shot isn't fluent... he won't be that kind of player.. He can improve his shooting... but he won't be the kind of shooter that you described. He doesn't even have a post game... he doesn't have a turn around jumper... Making LeBron into a Kobe + the way he is right now is impossible... it's just not going to happen IMO.

 

to say he hasn't improved his jumpshot is clearly erroneous. his fg% was the highest of his career last yr at 48.9%, along with his ft% at 78%. he also made 34.4% of his 3s, which is the same % as kobe's.

sure his mid-range game and post up game aren't as consistent as kobe YET, but it'll get there. this guy HAS improved every facet of his game every year i've seen him in this league, except his 4th year when he stagnated.

 

he's a different type of player than kobe bryant is. he's taller, stronger, and more athletic. you can't expect lebron to have the same type of finesse game that kobe and jordan have and had. he's a different type of beast.

lebron IS already a better all-around player than kobe bryant. the only thing kobe is better than lebron right now is the jumpshot. will lebron ever develop one as consistent as kobe's? i don't think so. but he doesn't have to to exceed kobe as a player.

 

Yes. Thinking otherwise would be asinine.

I don't see why it's so far-fetched. His mentor is patrick ewing and he's only 23.