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LeBron James: The Best NBA Player Of All-Time

On Father’s Day, the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, defeated the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA Championship. It was the first time in the history of the league that a team trailed 3-1 and went on to win a title. In light of recent events, I would like to present a case in defense of LeBron James. Specifically, I am here to prove once and for all that he is the greatest player of all-time.
Of course, the LeBron “haters” present several ideas trying to prove that James is worthy of the title. But by the time this hearing is concluded, the man they call “The King” will be guilty of only one thing… Being the greatest basketball player of all time.
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The prosecution looking to strip LeBron of his would-be title often brings forth the same two key arguments. Below, I cross-examine both and see which, if either, have any merit.
Argument #1: Michael Jordan is the best player of all-time because he was 6-0 in the NBA Finals.
Jordan’s accomplishment is truly legendary. James has a record of 3-4 in 7 finals appearances. But either way, the argument isn’t valid. Jerry West, the NBA’s logo, was 1-8 in the finals. Steve Kerr has 5 rings; does that mean he was a better shooting guard than West? Robert Horry has 7 titles; does that mean that he was better than Jordan or LeBron? The answer is no. Magic Johnson played in 9 Championships and won 5; I see that as a greater achievement than Jordan going to six. I grew up watching those Bulls teams for years; the truth is they struggled to get by Boston and Detroit. So yes, 6 rings are great but it can’t be the “end all” when deciding the G.O.A.T.
Argument #2: Jordan, Magic and Larry Bird never had to “chase a ring.” They stayed with their teams.
NBA Finals - June 10, 2016This argument is, again, invalid. Kevin Garnett, one of the best Power Forwards of all time, has played for 3 teams; Shaquille O’Neal played for 6 teams. When James took Cleveland to the Finals in 2007, not one player was a consistent all-star, and no one had a higher career average than 15 points-per-game. Larry Hughes was the second lead scorer on the Cavs team; his career average is 14.1 PPG.
“The King” had to leave Cleveland due to a lack of quality players around him. Jordan had Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and a plethora of shooters like Steve Kerr and John Paxson. Magic had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and Byron Scott. Bird had one of the greatest rosters of all time. LeBron, unlike these Hall of Fame players, has always done it on his own. Against the best regular season team in history (The Warriors were 73-9), he led both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. His NBA Finals numbers are better than his regular season stats and he’s become the third player in NBA history to have a triple-double in Game 7. (The other two were James Worthy and Jerry West.)
Closing Argument:
With the exception of his first year in Miami (in 2011), LeBron has always led his team in the post-season in points, rebounds and assists. He has been to 7 NBA Finals with 4 different coaches. Mike Brown won coach of the year in 2009 with James; he has been fired 3 times since he stopped coaching “The Chosen One.” Erik Spoelstra went to 4 straight finals winning two titles with James; his team missed the playoffs 2 years ago without “The King.” When LeBron left Cleveland to go play for Miami, the Cavs went from 61 wins to 19; when Jordan retired from the Bulls, they went from 57 wins to 55. James is 5th all-time in points-per-game, averaging 27.19. There has never been a player who can play and defend all 5 positions like James. He is guilty of only one thing: Being the most complete, and the greatest, NBA player of all-time. I rest my case.
Lebron James
For more from Monte Perez, follow The Sports Whisperer on Twitter @Montetjwitter11, and listen to the Monte Cristo Sports Thing on WRNJ Radio.


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