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Gots to mass disseminate that memo into the Orlando, FL. area. Ignorance is bliss.
tee, hee.
Too slow D228.
I don't agree with LeBron being number 1 due to his lack of winning but at the same time; it's not a "shammockery" either.
SLAM: Top 50: LeBron James No 1
The ballots were cast, counted, and a victor has been decided.
LeBron Raymone James is now the best player in basketball.
There, that was easy. Or was it?
It certainly appears to be a concise and declarative statement. But as with almost all other things regarding the great debate, this too is subject to interpretation.
What exactly is now? Just this very moment, as in right now? These present times and the foreseeable future, as in nowadays? Perhaps something tentative or undefined, as in now and again?
Time is of the essence in this industry. The past was once now and the future soon will be. Those who’ve aren’t willing to wait any longer believe their time is now. Those who aren’t ready to leave believe their time is still now. Problem is, no one knows how long now will last.
It’s no secret that each time we compile one of these lists much ado is made of the criteria. Is it based on last year, next year or an entire career? The answer would seem to lie in another concise and declarative statement: Rankings are based solely on projected 09-10 performance. But it’s not always easy to separate the three. Anything a player is deemed capable of doing in the future is based entirely on what they’ve done in the past. Being the best is not a proclamation, it’s a journey and destination.
And what is it to be the best anyway? Is it the most advantageous player, the most suitable player or the most desirable? We were spoiled for a decade by the unquestionable legacy of Michael Jordan, because he was all three. He was the most advantageous player because he was the most talented and fundamentally sound. Coupling those advantages with a keen intellect and an indomitable will made him the most suitable player to lead a team. The dynasty that ensued made it downright silly to desire anyone else.
Since he’s left us, these les have been fragmented. But LeBron James could unify them and put all the semantics to rest if he’d just win a championship.
He holds a very special place in both the current and historical hierarchy. He’s the most ready made prep to pro player ever, who somehow managed to exceed the hype in leading his hometown team from the doldrums of irrelevance. He’s an unprecedented package of size, skill and athleticism, as close to a one man team as we’ve ever seen. While Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade have seemingly recaptured the essence of what made Jordan great, LeBron has redirected the collective consciousness to what is possible beyond that lengthy shadow. Triple double averages, Defensive Player of the Year, leading the league in scoring and assists, you name it. Nothing is unquestionably beyond his grasp.
Which is why it’s so maddening to see him fall short. He still hasn’t found the consistency with his midrange jumper. He has yet to shoot 80% from the line. His footwork is pedestrian and his post game is underdeveloped. These shouldn’t be the flaws of a seven year vet. Yet in spite of them, there still isn’t a team in the league that can truly stop him. Only four teams would even dare say they can contain him. But those four teams are what stand between him and indisputable greatness.
We’ve been at this for years. The awe, the anticipation, the inevitability of it all. For years he’s accelerated our expectations by exceeding them so easily, but the conversation has shifted from potential to production. He’s shown us he can do all but one thing. Every other year that it didn’t happen was nothing more than an inconvenience. This year if it doesn’t happen, it’s not only failure but possibly one of catastrophic proportions. In putting such pressure on the Cavaliers to build a contender he also put pressure on himself to produce a le. If he can’t achieve that in Cleveland, then he’s put pressure on himself to find somewhere he can.
LeBron Raymone James is the best player in basketball. But he has to win.
Gots to mass disseminate that memo into the Orlando, FL. area. Ignorance is bliss.
tee, hee.
Last year, early in the season, I would have put LeBron at #1. But over the course of the season, I realized that LeBron's flawed as a leader.
Sure, he's a great player, powerful & fast. He's completely un-selfish and an excellent passer/playmaker.
But for all his excellence, he doesn't make his teammates better.
Psssst, Al, Kobe don't either.
Everything is in its right place.
+1
I think "making your teammates better" is such a cliche statement. How the was Kobe gonna make Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and Sasha Vucjacic better? All of a sudden he's found that touch when he's playing with Gasol, Bynum, and Odom?
You have to build teams around superstars, be it Magic, Bird, MJ, Duncan, Snaq, Kobe or LBJ.
Kobe sure doesn't make his players better either. Gasol is the same exact player he was in Memphis.
True.
But Kobe can't travel legally. So I vote for Kobe.
Only Gasol is fresh meat. Kobe ran a table that was puny & weak, start to finish. Do I care? no. I tote it up on the big board and commence to huntin' Fandoms (Spurs in particular) to flame & troll. The raw numericals is sweet, but, gettin' it without O'Neal was Ground Zero, and everybody knew it, Kobe's vehement denials withstanding.
I said many times: Kobe don't make those around him better, but, better players make Kobe better, i.e. Gasol. Gasol uses his head for something other than a hat rack. Fish accepted, Gasol is the first such type (in the Manu tradition) since the Harper, Shaw, Rice days.
Don't tell all the sports commentators that. He gets better teammates, and all of a sudden, he's better than Dirk and KG.
I think he does Sir.
You look at the guys LeBron plays with and see that Cleveland was a 1 man show despite having 4 past/present All-Stars on the team.
Then you look at the Lakers with 1 All-Star but don't think of it as the Kobe show.
Everybody says the Lakers are good because Kobe has a great team.
Is this the truth or is it really that the Lakers are a great team because of Kobe?
I agree that young Kobe did not make his teammates better; but current day Kobe is probably the best team leader right now who turns under-achieving dudes into a "great team".
- Pau was known as being soft as tissue paper in Memphis and lucky if he made a top 50 NBA list; now he's ranked in the Top 15 NBA players and no longer "soft". I even saw him ranked as the 3rd best Power Forward in the game recently.
- Lamar Odom was known as a weed smoker; now he's the most feared 6th man outside of Manu.
- Ariza was buried in the bench of the Knicks and then the Magic before coming to the Lakers. Very few people knew who Ariza was before he joined the Lakers.
- Andrew Bynum went from an un-heralded 10th pick to being the "Most Improved" candidate this year and probably an All Star.
- The Lakers are considered a very deep team with the likes of Jordan Farmar, Vujacic, Shannon Brown, Powell, Luke, mBenga, Gaffney. They make one of the most potent bench mobs in the NBA. Seriously, look at those names...if they weren't playing with Kobe, would we even know who they are?
The Lakers have a very deep and talented team because they play with Kobe. If these guys were elsewhere, they would be nowhere near as good as they are now.
Last edited by Allanon; 10-23-2009 at 12:24 PM.
I don't like it, but Kobe > Lebron.
Both guys can carry a team, but Bryant has done so with better results. Kobe has won many times on the biggest levels. Lebron has not.
Lebron is all muscle, athleticism, and hype. Kobe is a downright assassin on the court, and has been even after losing some of his athleticism.
Kobe has hit countless big playoff shots. ESPN lost its load last spring when "King James" hit what seemed to be his first.
But yeah, let's give it to the guy that can run fast and dunk hard.Never mind that Finals sweep.
[[[Pau was known as being soft as tissue paper in Memphis and lucky if he made a top 30 NBA list; now he's ranked in the Top 15 NBA players and no longer "soft".]]]
Is that true, Spurs Fandom, is Gasol now "no longer "soft"?"
- "Careful."
- "John Coffey" - "The Green Mile"
And for this year, Kobe's gonna add another "bad player" becomes "great player" in Ron Artest.
Everybody right now says Ron Artest is a timebomb, powder keg, ballhog, etc that is going to blow up the Lakers.
By the end of the year, they'll be saying Kobe's lucky because he got a great player like Ron Artest for cheap. And another "collusion" trade by the Lakers.
It's much easier to come up with conspiracy theories and point to cliche's rather than acknowledge that ballhog Kobe finally "gets it" when it comes to being a team leader and true MVP.
And Al, Kobe has also failed miserably with players as well. He phoned Radmo a minute after Midnite free agent nite and begged him to come to Los Angeles. Unfortunately Radmo gave in and a few years later Kobe ran him off. It was either run him off, or, kill him.
And Walton is a nuisance as well and a fellow that Kobe has failed to impact. "First, do no harm" is my charter insistence, but, for Christ's sakes, 8 years later that's all one can hope/pray/hold Walton accountable to?
Farmar can't even perform to acceptable standards at the FT line. That's a death knell if he continues in such a manner.
Kobe does not possess nurturing qualities. It's just the way it is. Magic Johnson had those qualities. Kobe wants to browbeat one into doing things because he knows no other way. Magic held Riley, Scott, Worthy and Jabbar literally in his arms as he traversed Boston, Massachusetts in the Mid 80s. Let's see Kobe do likewise in the Summer of '10 in Boston, Massachusetts. If he does, I'll be bowin' at the waist, tipin' the Tam.
Lebron = best with athleticism
Kobe = best skilled
Kone Nryant ?
damn son your quick with the refresh..in before i even edited.
No problem with this.
Luke Walton shouldn't even be in the D-League, but he's still a Laker and part of a Lakers "deep bench".
Radmo was one nut Kobe couldn't crack.
As for the rest, get ready to be bowin' at the waist, tipin' the Tam, Dale.
Lebron can be #1 for the rest of Kobe's career. As long as Lakers win, its fine with me.
"making teammates better" is dumbest cliche in sports.
Or, will Artest end up on line with Tracy Murray, Mitch Richmond, Radmo, et al incapable of performing at the level they'd enjoyed 4 months earlier before becoming a Laker. I ain't worried about Artest goin' bozonuts. That's the least of my worries. I'm worried he'll "Radmo" on us.
Glorious day it would be indeed. Not since June 9, 1985 would I be so happy to bow & tip.
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