“He plays for USA basketball.”
“That’s awesome.”
“He took his team to the NBA finals.
“Even better.”
“He is one of the leading candidates for MVP this year.”
“Amazing!!!”
“He is the “heir apparent” to Michael Jordan!”
“WHAT?!?!?”
You probably know by now that I am talking about the one and only LeBron James. After all, all of the aforementioned attributes describe him don’t they? Well…all except one of these that is. Well, you are probably thinking about now, “I don’t understand. They all describe him. What are you talking about?”
What I am talking about is the belief that LeBron is the “heir apparent” to MJ, and the bull about us all being witnesses.
Skip Bayless from ESPN has it exactly right when he refers to LeBron as “Prince James.” LeBron will never, ever be on the same plain as Michael Jordan! It is utterly ridiculous to think such a thing!
Sure LeBron is putting up a staggering 30.8 points, 8.1 boards, 7.4 assists, two steals, and one block per game, but last time I checked the measure of greatness was about winning ballgames, and beyond that, especially beyond that, championships.
Don’t get me wrong, James is a superb player. He has a freakishly great ability to get to the hoop whenever he wants, but there is more to the game than showing off your ability to dunk on anyone at anytime. Fans love to see that, don’t get me wrong, but I’m pretty sure that if you were to offer a fan, or even LeBron himself for that matter, being remembered as the “guy who could dunk really well” or being known as the guy who won all of those championship’s, anyone in their right mind would take the latter.
Now I know that there is still time for him to do this and surpass Jordan, maybe even win seven or eight championships, but it seems kind of silly to me to deem someone as the next in line to become the greatest basketball player of all time until he has actually shown us something to merit that attention.
For one thing, LeBron needs to work on his shooting…a lot. A lot of you are probably thinking to yourselves right now, “But what about those couple games a week ago where he was almost automatic from three?”
Big whoop. Until he starts doing that on a much more consistent basis, I’m not convinced. Are you going to tell me that if Yao goes out and makes a couple of threes in a few consecutive games, that all of a sudden, we’ll just deem him a three-point shooter? I don’t think so.
So why don’t we hold off the awards ceremony until it has actually been earned? Go get it LeBron.
Oh, and another thing. Stop copying Kevin Garnett on the talc powder.
11 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Anonymous about 1 year ago
are you an idiot?
again are you an idiot?
did lebron steal your girl?
are you an idiot?
How old was MJ before he won his 1st championship?
are you an idiot?
shooting 3's?
Reggie Miller must be better than Jordan?
again are you an idiot?
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
No need to call the writer an idiot. BUT the writer should do his homework, actually WATCH Lebron play -- not just one game here and there, but game in, game out. He'll find that Lebron is far more than a dunker. He'll also see that Lebron's game has grown exponentially this year. It's scary, but Lebron has gotten SO MUCH BETTER every year that he's played, that it IS conceivable that he'll overtake MJ. He's also spectacular, the most fun player to watch.
And one more thing: why shouldn't we speculate that he COULD be the heir apparent? I don't want to live my life thinking that the best player ever is BEHIND us. I want to think that he's AHEAD of us. Or maybe even that he's on the floor right now. That's one reason that we watch the game. Isn't it?
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Dallin Page about 1 year ago
I went to great lengths to say that LeBron is a spectacular player. And he is a very fun player to watch, up there with Kobe and Dwight in that category.
This article was meant to get people to stop saying that he ALREADY IS the heir apparent. He very well could be. I was saying that he has a few more things he needs to get better at first. That's exactly what MJ did. People told him what he couldn't do and then he got better at it. At first, all MJ was was a dunker.
I just don't think we should be handing out awards before they are earned. We can speculate all we want
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
I agree: let's not hand out the awards until they're earned. As a fan of Lebron's game I am loving it every night. I haven't felt that way since watching MJ. So for me, he is, on a personal level, already the heir. But in terms of his game, yes, let's wait. He has some rings to win and some things to prove. Give him time. And enjoy the ride.
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Dallin Page about 1 year ago
Thanks, that is exactly what I was trying to state with this article. I think LeBron is an excellent player, just not quite to that point yet
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Divya Parmar about 1 year ago
Five words: Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.
Every player needs help around him. LeBron gets no help.
A one-man team won't win a championship.
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Divya Parmar about 1 year ago
Also, LeBron has proven himself in the playoffs.
Did anyone watch the Eastern Conference Finals last year? That says it all.
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Dallin Page about 1 year ago
Yea, they beat Detroit, but did they get done what really mattered? The fact of the matter is no they didn't. Are you gonna say your a proven runner if you are winning the marathon the whole race, but then get burned badly at the very end? I don't think so, cuz that's not what it's about.
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Jeffrey Santon about 1 year ago
So Divya sucks because you don't agree with him?? hahahaha. I wouldn't go that far. Simply put LBJ is still very young and while he still has a way to go before mentioned in the same breath as your airness,his crazy ability and skill is what makes people get excited about the possibilities. NOBODY EVER has been this good this young,so lets see...
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Bob Warja about 1 year ago
Good article, Dallin. I caught the intent of the piece right away - you're not saying that he isn't a fantastic player, and maybe could be one of the all-time greats before he is done, you are simply saying let's hold off on annointing him as the second coming until he's actually done something, like win a championship. We all know that the NBA, right or wrong, determines its best players by the number of rings.
I wrote an article yesterday lamenting LeBron's Vogue cover. I mean, too much too soon is not good for a young player anyway.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
LBJs had an impressive career so far but its still way too early to rank him with the All-time greats. If his career ended today, has he really accomplished enough to be considered up there with Jordan? Only a championship ring can do that.
Remember that anything can happen. Serious injuries or worse could end his career at anytime. Remember how injuries derailed the very promising careers of Penny Hardaway and Grant Hill? Remember Alonzo Mourning and how a disease that came out of nowhere altered the course of his career? Remember Magic Johnson?
Now I do not wish any ill on Lebron but lets be realistic here and realize that what Lebron is today doesnt guarantee what he will accomplish in the future. Patience guys.
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