Ending the debate

The elimination of the Los Angeles Lakers once again gives rise to the argument against LeBron James as the greatest NBA player of all time. But frankly, it was a tenuous argument, at best. The evidence weighs much to the contrary, that James (whom this writer has defended on multiple occasions) is a phenomenal generational talent, an all-time great, but not the greatest, by a long stretch.

Let’s filter the different points of view. First of all, many of those siding with James never saw Michael Jordan play, save for highlights and the propaganda film “The Last Dance.” They want someone they can call their own champion, someone from their generation. But the theory will not stand. Statistically, as an individual, Jordan is superior, at least over the extended time where he won titles with the Chicago Bulls. It took His Airness seven years to win his first championship; King James needed nine. LBJ had more help, and has always had more of the NBA’s greatest players alongside him. Jordan had Scottie Pippen for all six title runs. Granted, LeBron’s individual achievements are indelible. But that does not make him the all-time best. Seriously, if you look at the NBA’s list of 75 greatest, his career resembles Karl Malone, who was more of a compiler (minus the championships, which went to… Michael Jordan).

Winning championships is another gauge of excellence. If so, then Bill Russell tops them all with 11, including eight straight, and a couple as playing coach. So why isn’t Russ part of the conversation? A lot of his accomplishments happened before television carried the league to a wider audience. In fact, they didn’t even track blocked shots when he started with the Boston Celtics. And since the general public doesn’t do research, his name will be left for historians like us to bring up. In the same vein, we might want to mention Wilt Chamberlain. He went to the NBA Finals six times, but lost four: two to the Boston Celtics, two to the New York Knicks. Two of those losses were in a Game 7. Wilt often had inferior teammates and bad coaching. And if those two Game 7s had gone his way, he would have finished with four NBA crowns, same as James, but with better scoring and rebounding numbers. So close, and yet so far.

Kobe Bryant is also a solid candidate, even though he acknowledged that he got most of what he developed from Jordan. More championships, less mouthing off compared to James. And when each of them injured their shooting hand, Bryant learned to shoot with his left hand until it practically equaled his right. Not James. Greatness is also finding ways to win within yourself.

But the single biggest argument against LeBron currently is the four times he has been swept in the playoffs. No one else in the discussion comes close. In addition, though James is a solid citizen whose personal life and personal care is flawless, on the basketball court, he has said many things that are unseemly for someone of his status. Among them are proclaiming himself the greatest; making teams come to him when he was leaving Cleveland; criticizing the unanimous selection of Steph Curry as Most Valuable Player. Let’s not overlook the flopping, constant haranguing of the referees, or his attitude in the last playoff series, pouting when he didn’t get the ball.

As much as current fans want to believe that they have witnessed his ascension in their own lifetime, LeBron is far from being the ideal representation of basketball. While we may even debate if Michael Jordan is worthy of being the greatest of all time, especially if we add the two seasons with the Washington Wizards, with James, there is no debate. Four titles with three different teams, including one watered down bubble title where other teams did not play, is amazing. But there are just too many other question marks.

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