ESPN Player Rankings: Why LeBron James Isn't the Best Player in the NBA

What does it mean to be the greatest?

Most rings won? Most MVP awards won? It’s difficult to say.

Recently, ESPN named LeBron James the best player in the NBA.

LeBron is a physical specimen. His athleticism and size at his position is unmatched. But what are his skills as a basketball player?

Up to this point, he has been deemed great because of the stats he has put up and accolades he has acquired. Why, though, are we not looking past that and considering his skills?

Sure, he will make the occasional jump shot, but his game is largely built around overpowering defenders as he makes his way to the hoop. His skills pale in comparison to those of Kobe Bryant, for example. Kobe will beat you in any way imaginable.

Not only is Kobe a more skilled offensive player than LeBron, but he is also a more skilled defensive player. In this regard, Dwyane Wade is also a better basketball player than his superstar teammate.

If stats and accolades are so important then why weren’t Kemba Walker, the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and Jimmer Fredette, the NCAA’s leading scorer, the top picks in the NBA Draft? Skills are important coming out of college, that’s why.

The Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick selected Kyrie Irving, who played a mere 11 games with Duke. NBA owners, coaches, scouts, and people alike looked at Irving’s skill-set, not his stats or accolades.

If stats and accolades mattered so much, Bill Russell, who won 11 rings, would be arguably the greatest player of all time. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, would also join the conversation. But again, Michael Jordan is considered the greatest player in NBA history because of all the different ways he could beat you on the basketball court.

Skill-sets, however, apparently seem to be unimportant once a player has started his NBA career. Stats, awards, and championships won are what a player is measured by.

It’s ridiculous to consider LeBron James the best player in the NBA when he doesn’t have a reliable jump shot or a post game. He doesn’t possess the array of skills that the likes of Wade, Bryant, and Chris Paul have.

LeBron’s game is raw. It has no finesse to it. One could argue that once his strength, speed, quickness, and leaping ability begin to diminish as his career goes on, his stats will diminish as well.

LeBron will turn 27 this year. He is in the prime of his career and at the height of his powers.  

By this point in his career, many people expected to see LeBron flourish into an unstoppable force. A post game was expected because of his size and strength. Posting other small forwards would surely be a non-issue. A reliable jump shot or a Jordan-esque fade away was also expected, but basketball fans have been terribly let down.

His lack of skills was evident in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Once the Mavericks took away the middle, LeBron couldn't do much of anything.

Bullying his way to the hoop is all he knows. He hasn't developed that second facet to his game that all great players have. A second facet to his game would have allowed him to score on the Mavericks in other ways. 

James is undoubtedly a good player, his court vision and ball handling skills are exceptional for a player his size and at his position. Teams have to game plan for him, but he is not the best player in the NBA.

He still has time though, Kobe didn't fully develop his post game until just a few years back, but everyone knows Kobe is one of the most competitive and hard working players the league has ever seen. LeBron hasn't displayed that sense of wanting to get better and of being the ultimate competitor.

So the question remains, how bad does LeBron want to become the complete basketball player everyone imagined he would be by this point?

LeBron has all the potential in the world and all the tools needed to become one of the greatest basketball players ever, if not the greatest. Sadly, he hasn't lived up to his potential yet.

Maybe he will live up to it and prove to be the greatest player since “His Airness.”

Or maybe he will be like Shaquille O’Neal, another player with incredible potential, who could have been the greatest center ever, and settle for being just good enough. 

The tattoo on his back reads "Chosen 1." It's time for him to live up to the hype.

The first eight years of his career have been memorable, but haven't quite surpassed expectations. ESPN, the crown of best player in the league doesn't belong to the self-proclaimed "King." 

It's a harsh reality, but it's the truth.