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Gregg Doyle aka Cleveland Columnist
The opposing view is here:
LeBron needs a ring before we can think of crowning him king
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127315
Recognize LeBron's greatness now ... or your own stupidity later
By Gregg Doyel
CBSSports.com National Columnist
It seems a little early for this, and a lot foolish for this, but here we are: The LeBron James backlash has begun. He's only 24, but writers are tired of writing about him. Readers are tired of reading about him.
All of you silly people who are tired of LeBron James, do me a favor. Maybe you're a sportswriter or a blogger and you've written something like my friend at the Orlando Sentinel, Mike Bianchi, wrote on Monday. Maybe you're a reader and you've gone onto a message board and nodded along with something like you'll find here at CBSSports.com on Monday.
Here's the favor I need: Print out whatever you wrote. Print out whatever you read. The story, the message-board post, whatever. Print it. And save it. And 20 years from now, go back and read it.
You'll be humiliated.
Because by then it will be obvious: The game's greatest player was right in front of your eyes. And you missed it.
The same thing is happening in golf. Tiger Woods is the greatest player in that sport's history. He hasn't played long enough to wipe every last vestige of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer from the record book, but he will. He'll get there. And when he does, when Tiger Woods is officially and not just subjectively recognized as the greatest golfer of all time, who will you be? Will you be one of the people who recognized his greatness -- I don't care if you appreciate it, just recognize it -- or will you be one of the people who didn't?
This is like being alive in the year 25. If Jesus was really around back then, healing dead people and turning water to wine, imagine being one of the negative knuckleheads who didn't believe.
Did I just compare LeBron to Jesus?
Looks like I did.
At least I didn't compare LeBron to Tim Tebow. That would be blasphemy.
Moving on ...
This story isn't just about LeBron. It's about you. Take some personal inventory and try to decide, if you're one of the growing number of people sick of LeBron James, why that is. Maybe you're a Magic fan, at which point I understand. You're excused. Your compe ive juices are flowing, and NBA game officials are giving James too much leeway for your liking, and so for the moment you dig your feet into the ground and refuse to buy into the Nike slogan and be a witness to King James. Fine. Completely understandable. But when this series ends, one way or the other, acknowledge James' greatness or risk ridicule -- your own ridicule -- 20 years from now when his greatness is stated as a matter of fact.
Kind of like the way we now state Michael Jordan's greatness.
Which brings me to the other group of people who would deny LeBron: the le worshippers.
Mentally, you're weak. Know why? Because you're not strong enough to sift through all the evidence to determine the greatest players of all time. Forget all that. Forget the way a player plays, the things he does. All you want -- all you can handle -- is a great player's number of championship rings. Michael Jordan won six. LeBron has none. Therefore, Jordan is greater than LeBron.
Well, here's the thing. LeBron is only 24 years old. He'll probably get there, and get his ring or two or five. But if he doesn't, develop the intellectual acuity it takes to understand that a great player's supporting cast will determine if he wins a le, and if so, how many he wins.
Put it this way: Tim Duncan won four NBA les. Wilt Chamberlain won two. Does that make Duncan twice the player? Please. Chamberlain is the dominant big man in NBA history. Duncan is a very good player, maybe one of the top 25 at any position, ever. But between the two, there is no comparison.
Wilt didn't win his first le until he was 30. And he won it with a supporting cast that included two Hall of Famers in their prime, Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham, and 18,000-point scorer Chet Walker. Look at LeBron's supporting cast. Who are his Hall of Fame teammates? , who is his Chet Walker? None. And nobody. Mo Williams is the only legitimate starter in that lineup, and still the Cavs went 66-16 this season.
Imagine this. Imagine LeBron switching places with Los Angeles' Kobe Bryant. Give James a frontcourt of Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. LeBron and those Lakers would have gone 78-4.
The greatest player in college basketball history, Pete Maravich, never won a le. The greatest quarterback in the NFL, Dan Marino, never won a Super Bowl. The greatest baseball player, statistically, of all time -- Barry Bonds -- never won a World Series. You can argue Bonds' legitimacy, what with the steroid question, but you cannot argue that he was the best player in baseball for almost 15 years. By a large margin. And he only played in one World Series, losing in 2002.
So here we are. LeBron James. An annual threat to win the NBA scoring le, as he did last year, and one of the best passers in the game. And the second-leading vote getter for the 2009 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He does it all, and he makes it look easy.
And you're sick of him?
Or, more galling, you don't even understand what you're watching?
Maybe the problem isn't LeBron. Maybe the problem is you. Try watching lacrosse. Because you can't handle basketball.
Last edited by duncan228; 05-26-2009 at 04:25 PM.
Gregg Doyle aka Cleveland Columnist
I'll take the latter and recognize my stupidity later, thankyouverymuch.
Duncan was a lot better at age 22 than Lebron is now. Duncan had just turned 23 when he got his first MVP and first ring. He was robbed for the regular season MVP. Duncan was clearly the best palyer in the NBA by the time he was 22/23. Lebron is 18 months older than Duncan was, and has 6 season of experience, instead of just 2.
In 1999, the Spurs finished the season with 46 wins and only 5 losses, including the playoffs. This is the most devastating finish in NBA history.
Duncan followed up his banner 1999 season with 3 more rings, 4 more MVPs, and 7 more 1st team All-NBA selections.
The fact is Lebron, is behind Duncan's torrid pace for greatness.
ill admit to stupidity later aswell
Wait, is he pre-apologizing for Lebron-Love if he never does win a le?
This guy is an idiot if he thinks Marino is the best QB ever, IMHO. Montana wins that one hands down. And if he thinks it's about stats, than Manning will probably pass Marino before everything's over.
Barry Bonds was not a better player than Babe Ruth. I don't think he was even better than Ted Williams.
Really, the only sport that seems to have an uncontested "Best Player Ever" is hockey. And even then, some fans will argue for other players like Gordie Howe or Bobby Orr, etc etc.
sons what a ing class-A bag. this is just another reason why I hate the Cavs and their "fans" more than any other team in the NBA.
This article is no more than a glorified message board post.
i hope that writer gets hit by a truck and dies.
Actually, if you go by individual performance over a career, Brett Favre is the best QB ever, even though he only won one SB ring...but that's neither here nor there.
Sammy Baugh, Johnny Unitas, and Dan Marino > Favre
Who has all the big QB records? Favre.
I will say Slingin' Sammy Baugh was the greatest overall, because he set records as QB, punter, and DB...that, and I'm a huge Redskins fan...
Aren't all aritlcesThis article is no more than a glorified message board post.
The good posters have well researched, thought-out and knowledgeable posts on a variety of topics that could easily be transformed into articles.
Lebron is great.
The opposing view? What the heck? He's kissing LeBron's ass like every other writer.
This crap makes my head hurt.
Please kick Cleveland's ass tonight, Orlando!
Is this addressed to the media? Because it should be.
The media and writers need to stop writing about him, if they know that fans are tired of reading about him. Lebron is not holding the AP and other media outlets hostage and forcing them to write about him. It's the ing media's fault for idolizing him. What is Lebron gonna do? Hold a press confrence telling the media to STFU.
rings are the most overrated way to compare how good a player is to another
its hilarious how spurs fans instantly bring Timmy into the equation, when it had nothing to do with him from the get go. especially since he inherited a pretty solid team when coming into the league. Lebron inherited jack . if Lebron was dropped onto a team with guys like David Robinson, Sean Elliott, etc... I'm sure he would have gotten multiple les by now as well.
cuatro anillos puta
Timmy came into the league on a 50 win team.
Lebron came into the league on a 17 win team.
The article brought Duncan into the conversation.
Put it this way: Tim Duncan won four NBA les. Wilt Chamberlain won two. Does that make Duncan twice the player? Please. Chamberlain is the dominant big man in NBA history. Duncan is a very good player, maybe one of the top 25 at any position, ever. But between the two, there is no comparison.
But no where did it compare Lebron to Timmy.
And I'd build a team beginning with Timmy before Wilt.
Sorry, the confusion is my fault, I presented it bad.The opposing view? What the heck? He's kissing LeBron's ass like every other writer.
Please kick Cleveland's ass tonight, Orlando!
There are 2 articles from CBS sports that offer opposing views. The link in the first post is to the opposite view of this one.
LeBron needs a ring before we can think of crowning him king
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127315
Yeah in all honesty I think that Duncan was a far more skilled player than Wilt. People typically overlook who Wilt had to play against in the type of era he played and how he scored his points.
Yes, I know he played against Bill Russel like twice and once agains KAJ.
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