Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron = MVP…is He Better Than Jordan? Kobe?

Rookie

In 2003, the Cleveland Cavaliers hit the Ohio Lottery Mega Millions Jackpot and landed the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School superstar, LeBron James.

June 26, 2003, was the night of the NBA Draft and one that I will never forget. I was at the Cavs draft party at Gund Arena (in late 2005, the name was changed to Quicken Loans Arena).

I ended up buying a No. 23 jersey that night, in hopes of LeBron James becoming the same great player that the original 23 from my childhood was (Michael Jordan).

When LeBron first entered the league, I started to have major questions about whether he would ever be a great player.

Don’t get me wrong, statistically speaking, LeBron’s rookie year was about as impressive as any player I had ever seen suit up in a Cleveland uniform, but would it lead to greatness? 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game average are nothing to laugh at.

But when a player comes into the league regarded as the next Michael Jordan, people will critique EVERY aspect of your game.

In Jordan’s rookie year he averaged 28.2 points (edge goes to Jordan), 5.9 assists (tie), 6.5 rebounds (edge Jordan).

My first major concern was just how badly King James struggled from the free throw line.

In LeBron’s first year he shot a rather pedestrian 75.4 percent.

In MJ’s rookie year he shot 84.5 percent.

Throughout Jordan’s career he always seemed to nail clutch free throws. Heck, there were times when “His Airness” would shoot with his eyes closed or left handed because he was just that good at the foul line.

When LeBron first entered the league I looked at him much like I currently look at Dwight Howard, an athletic big man that has an ability to jump out of the building and dunk the ball.

LBJ was an athlete playing basketball. He has since become a basketball player with elite athletic skills.

MVP

The 2008-2009 season is the one that people will look back on five to ten years down the road and say that this was the year that LeBron just started chiseling away at his statue of greatness.

LeBron’s stats this year were NOT the best of his career when it comes to points, rebounds, and assists with 28.4, 7.6, and 7.2 respectively. But they didn’t need to be.

The addition of All-Star guard Mo Williams is one that may not get huge recognition nationally but his ability to hit jump shots helped the Cavs turn the corner into a championship contender.

Because of Mo Williams, the King was able to play the fewest minutes of his CAREER  (37.7).

The Cavs dominated so many games this year and had such a solid supporting cast that James could sit the bench for most, if not all of the fourth quarter this year, and he still won the league MVP.

Playing the Beijing Olympics in the summer of ’08 really helped LeBron and his ability to shoot the basketball. Anyone from Cleveland will tell you that he never shot the ball this well in his entire career.

His field goal percentage is 48.8 percent which is the best of his career, 34.4 percent three-point percentage was the second best of his career, but the stat I LOVE the most is 78 percent which is far above the King’s career average at the free throw line.

That still isn’t Jordan territory from the foul line but it’s almost a seven percent increase from last season.

Defense

The area that I haven’t even scratched the surface of yet is LeBron’s defense.

Head Coach Mike Brown had never been high on my list of head coaches coming into this season. That’s thanks in large part to the fact that the Cavs offense under his guidance always seemed to be stagnant and struggle to do anything but watch LeBron.

Then Mo Williams arrived this off-season and everyone seems to have relaxed and have no problem hitting jump shots in key moments of games.

But let’s get back to LeBron and his defensive presence this season.

This is an area that is a lot more difficult to judge because other than steals and blocks, this is a part of the game that is not easily measured by stats. Perfect example…Anderson Varejao.

LeBron set his career high this year with 93 blocked shots.

As LeBron said when he won the MVP this year, it’s not all him, it’s about the TEAM. Keeping with that theme, here’s how the Cavs stack up this year compared to past squads that James was on in Cleveland.

Year           Cavs PPG          Opponents PPG         

03-04               92.9                      95.5

04-05               96.5                      95.7

05-06               97.6                      95.4

06-07               96.8                      92.9

07-08               96.4                      96.7

08-09               100.3                    91.4

The numbers this season speak for themselves. The Cleveland Cavaliers finished with the top seed in the NBA this year because they finally put together a great offense AND a great defense.

LeBron deserves a lot of credit for his leadership and talent but his teammates also need to be mentioned. This is the first time James has had a championship worthy supporting cast.

Mo Williams averaged over 17 points per game, over 43 percent from three-point land, and over 91 percent from the free throw line which is one of the best percentages in Cavaliers history.

Legacy

Is LeBron better than Jordan?

If I were to sit here and say yes, I would lose all credibility with myself, along with everyone who reads this article.

LeBron has shown he is becoming a VERY complete player who can dominate a game.

But it don’t mean a thing, if you ain’t got that RING.

When you’re being compared to Jordan you need at least six rings for me to consider you better than him.

Statistically speaking, LeBron may never surpass Jordan’s greatest years in the NBA because LBJ is one of the few great players in NBA history who ALWAYS puts the team’s best interest above his own.

Could LeBron have better numbers?

YES.

Will he? Probably not.

Will that hurt his legacy?

It shouldn’t, but then again a lot of people love to only look at raw numbers when comparing current stars to legends of the past.

If the Cavs can keep a strong supporting cast around LeBron, skies the limit for how many championships he can bring to a city that is in desperate need for a winner.

MJ was one of the best scorers in NBA history especially when it came down to crunch time.

LeBron will go down as one of the best distributors of the ball from a guy that stands at 6"8 or taller. LBJ may end up as the most complete player of all-time but at this current point in history the debate is simple.

Jordan > LeBron (at the current point in history)

I will love to be able to switch that around in 15 years when the King hangs up the sneakers for the final time and hopefully has enough rings for each hand.

Is LeBron better than Kobe?

Kobe won three championship from 2000-2002. All three of those championships came while playing alongside one of the most dominant big men of all-time, Shaquille O’Neal.

This is a critical point to make when rating just how great Kobe is.

When Michael Jordan won his rings, yes he had Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and lots of shooters along the way, but he never had a big man that could be argued as being the best player on the team.

Kobe, on the other hand, was a superstar but Shaq was too.

Until Kobe wins championships without Shaq, I think that takes him down a couple notches.

As far as LeBron versus Kobe, it’s clear that Kobe is the guy you want at the end of the game shooting a deep jumper or three-pointer because of his 13 years of NBA experience in big-time games.

But, if it comes down to needing a drive to the basket and getting an easy bucket, there is no guy on the planet right now who can handle the task with the ease that King James does.

LeBron has improved his jumper this year and his defense is at a championship level, so I rule LBJ a more complete player.

Kobe will always win when it comes running your finger down the points per game column on the stats sheet, but that’s because Kobe is a ME-first player.

LeBron currently does not have a championship ring, but he did come close in 2007 with a team that had guys like Donyell Marshall who could not hit a clutch three-pointer to save his life.

The one area to show LeBron’s greatness over Kobe is that LBJ’s worst seasons in the NBA were his first couple years when the Cavs just missed the playoffs in the final week of the season.

Players like Jeff McInnis and Dajuan Wagner were the point guards back then.

To refresh everyone’s memory, Kobe’s Lakers barely made the playoffs in 2 out of 3 years from 2004-2006 and the team was so poor talent-wise that Kobe was begging to get out of Los Angeles.

Last year near the trade deadline, the Memphis Grizzlies gave away Pau Gasol for a bag of peanuts to be named later and the Lakers have been championship contenders since.

Regardless of all this information, Kobe has three championships and LeBron currently sits at zero.

So for now, Kobe’s legacy is greater because of the championships. If you’re comparing who the better overall talent is, I give an edge to LeBron who hasn’t even entered his prime yet.

In a couple years, LeBron’s legacy may just blow Kobe out of the water, if he can win the big one multiple times.

We may not have to wait long to find out who is better.

24 or 23

23 or 24

Prediction: 2009 NBA Finals….Cavs defeat Lakers 4-3.