LeBron legacy if he wins title with Lakers

[alko]

There is this unwritten ranking of the greatest of all.

Where will be LeBron, if he push Kings (pardon Lakers) to another title?

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[KapG]

Well, he hand picks all his teams and has to collaborate with other superstars. One of the greats but will never actually be the GOAT. I don’t think you can put him in the top 3 either tbh.

one of the biggest whiners ive ever seen play the sport of basketball too.

 

[Dr Salt]

Well, he hand picks all his teams and has to collaborate with other superstars. One of the greats but will never actually be the GOAT. I don’t think you can put him in the top 3 either tbh.

one of the biggest whiners ive ever seen play the sport of basketball too.

How can you not put him top 3? His level of individual greatness is at historic levels. He's the best not named Jordan.

 

[John Price]

Second only to Jordan

 

[John Price]

Well, he hand picks all his teams and has to collaborate with other superstars. One of the greats but will never actually be the GOAT. I don’t think you can put him in the top 3 either tbh.

one of the biggest whiners ive ever seen play the sport of basketball too.

So what

 

[Perennial]

How can you not put him top 3? His level of individual greatness is at historic levels. He's the best not named Jordan.

Just playing Devil's advocate here, but couldn't a reasonable argument be made for Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar, and Chamberlain as the top 3?

I'm baffled anytime someone doesn't have Lemieux in their hockey top 3, but there are plenty who don't...

 

[Cassano]

Doesn't move the needle for me, but #2-3 all time.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

How can you not put him top 3? His level of individual greatness is at historic levels. He's the best not named Jordan.

Agreed. He’s number two. That win of the title against Golden State was probably the best win of any of the greats given the lopsided nature of the two teams apart from LJames. Cleveland had no business even being in that series but James willed that team to victory. That cemented his legacy imo. If he wins with LA it’s just more icing on the cake.

 

[Terry Yake]

he's #3 all time for me, behind MJ and magic

 

[NMF78]

Will remain 2e all time, not much he can do at this point to change that ranking.

 

[InjuredChoker]

#2 or #3, depending where i rank kareem and this title wouldn't change much. this current playoff run isn't in his top 5 and imo it's closer to #10. arguably he hasn't been even the best player on his own team.

 

[GKJ]

Not sure brining the Lakers back to glory would move enough of the needle. Might be different if he did it for the Knicks, or if he did it for someone who has never won or has otherwise been underwater for extended periods of time aka non-glamour franchise

 

[bambamcam4ever]

It doesn't matter what he does from here on out. He's the best basketball player to ever walk this earth.

 

[Suiteness]

He's #3. Jordan and Kareem can't be touched.

This Lakers run is the easiest he had in his career, he didn't have to beat anyone.

 

[Deficient Mode]

Lebron's case for GOAT from a "legacy" standpoint will stem from his longevity, and specifically as the best playoff player in the game. He will never have the perfect untouched story of Jordan. Winning a title at age 35 as the best player on his team would solidify that claim down the road, whether people want to reevaluate now or not. IMO he already has the best combo of longevity and peak performance - the player who has added the most value over an entire career. Maybe someday the storytelling will reflect that.

Just playing Devil's advocate here, but couldn't a reasonable argument be made for Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar, and Chamberlain as the top 3?

I'm baffled anytime someone doesn't have Lemieux in their hockey top 3, but there are plenty who don't...

There really isn't a good argument for Chamberlain top 3. His box score stats look incredible but there are a lot of things that reel that back a ton (terrible FT shooting; faster pace back then meaning more possessions per game and more shot attempts for him inflating his per game scoring; inability to be a playmaker and high level scorer at the same time; his team's offenses weren't much worse with him off the court).

 

[Centrum Hockey]

Well, he hand picks all his teams and has to collaborate with other superstars. One of the greats but will never actually be the GOAT. I don’t think you can put him in the top 3 either tbh.

one of the biggest whiners ive ever seen play the sport of basketball too.

Not sure brining the Lakers back to glory would move enough of the needle. Might be different if he did it for the Knicks, or if he did it for someone who has never won or has otherwise been underwater for extended periods of time aka non-glamour franchise

Jordan didn't have a David Falk client force his way to the bulls.

 

[Perennial]

There really isn't a good argument for Chamberlain top 3. His box score stats look incredible but there are a lot of things that reel that back a ton (terrible FT shooting; faster pace back then meaning more possessions per game and more shot attempts for him inflating his per game scoring; inability to be a playmaker and high level scorer at the same time; his team's offenses weren't much worse with him off the court).

Being bad at free throws isn't a big enough issue, IMO, to disqualify someone from contention for the greatest of all-time...

LeBron is .734% from the line for his career, and has had multiple seasons where he shot under 70%

And why wouldn't Chamberlain shoot a lot? He had a career FG% of .540...

So, while I'm generally dismissive of players from previous eras when comparing them to the players of today, Chamberlain was such an athletic freak, it would've been very interesting to see how his game would've fared in the various decades since his retirement...

 

[John Price]

9 finals in 10 years

only Russell has even come close to doing that

 

[John Price]

He's #3. Jordan and Kareem can't be touched.

This Lakers run is the easiest he had in his career, he didn't have to beat anyone.

lmao what

he beat the Nuggets who rebounded from 3-1 down

he beat the most explosive offense in Houston

he beat Lillard and the Blazers

 

[WetcoastOrca]

A clear number two. If he wins two or three with the Lakers at his age then he’s in the discussion with MJ. His 9 finals in the last 10 years on three different teams is a remarkable feat in itself.
You have to wonder how many titles he would have had if he hadn’t been in the league at the same time as that stacked Golden State team that added Durant. That team was one of the best and deepest teams ever which is why I don’t put a lot of weight on his not so great record in the NBA finals. That and the fact his first finals with the Cavs was a complete one man show that dragged a mediocre team where it shouldn’t have even been.
That first finals loss ranks up there with his best performances.

 

[Deficient Mode]

Being bad at free throws isn't a big enough issue, IMO, to disqualify someone from contention for the greatest of all-time...

LeBron is .734% from the line for his career, and has had multiple seasons where he shot under 70%

And why wouldn't Chamberlain shoot a lot? He had a career FG% of .540...

So, while I'm generally dismissive of players from previous eras when comparing them to the players of today, Chamberlain was such an athletic freak, it would've been very interesting to see how his game would've fared in the various decades since his retirement...

73.4% career is tenable but not a strength. 51.1% is a huge weakness especially when you take 13+ attempts per game and as you say, his field goal shooting was actually higher. Then it becomes a good strategy to foul a player intentionally.

He was a great two way player and toward the lower part of the top 10 all time but he just wasn't close to one of the best offensive players ever that his points per game stats suggest for the reasons I mentioned. The total combo of high volume scoring, high efficiency scoring, and an acceptable level of passing/playmaking never came together at the same time the way it did for Jordan, Lebron, and a good number of other players who had a better offensive package.

 

[Perennial]

73.4% career is tenable but not a strength. 51.1% is a huge weakness especially when you take 13+ attempts per game and as you say, his field goal shooting was actually higher. Then it becomes a good strategy to foul a player intentionally.

He was a great two way player and toward the lower part of the top 10 all time but he just wasn't close to one of the best offensive players ever that his points per game stats suggest for the reasons I mentioned. The total combo of high volume scoring, high efficiency scoring, and an acceptable level of passing/playmaking never came together at the same time the way it did for Jordan, Lebron, and a good number of other players who had a better offensive package.

There was no 3 point line during his career, so with every shot being worth 2 points, there would be very little incentive for a scorer as efficient as Wilt to pass to a teammate

With that said, Chamberlain lead the league in assists one year, how many bigmen have accomplished that?

 

[FiveTacos]

There was no 3 point line during his career, so with every shot being worth 2 points, there would be very little incentive for a scorer as efficient as Wilt to pass to a teammate

With that said, Chamberlain lead the league in assists one year, how many bigmen have accomplished that?

Younger people seem to think Wilt was like Shaq, all athlete minimal skill. But Wilt apparently an excellent FT shooter in HS, and had an array of skill moves that he could shoot during the flow of the game (like his fadeaway) with no problem. His FT woes were largely psychological, as teammates have said he would often shoot over 80% FTs in practice.

 

[Voight]

It doesn't matter what he does from here on out. He's the best basketball player to ever walk this earth.

Thread is about LeBron, not Jordan.

He's #3. Jordan and Kareem can't be touched.

This Lakers run is the easiest he had in his career, he didn't have to beat anyone.

Nevermind he didnt even make the playoffs last year and needed Davis to come over and help.

Jordan didn't have a David Falk client force his way to the bulls.

Exactly. Nor did he ever ask for extra help.

9 finals in 10 years

only Russell has even come close to doing that

More impressive is going 6-0 in the finals.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

I’m going to just leave this here, guy makes many great points.