Hey folks, here's an entry from the other blogger on this site, Mackie Hilborn!“Before me there were many, after me there will be none, I am the one.” This Jay-Z quote not only rhymes and makes my head bob, but it exemplifies everything that was and is Michael Jordan to the game of basketball. From Russell and Wilt, to Magic, Bird and Kareem, before Jordan there were many exceptional superstars. However, in 1998 when MJ left the game of basketball (he was never the same in Washington), he left behind a legacy that has left the NBA community in a state of disarray.
With each generation of players, there are superstars that leave behind a legacy that forever changes the way the game is played and sold. Jordan’s legacy is second to none. His accolades speak for themselves; in 14 NBA seasons, MJ accumulated 6 championships, 11 MVP trophies, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honours, fourteen All-star game appearances and he even won Defensive Player of the Year in 1988. But it’s not just his basketball accomplishments that made Michael such a legendary sports icon. It was also the marketing efforts of MJ on a global scale that went into publicizing his accomplishment that has created the modern day media-frenzy NBA environment. From 1984 until 1998, NBA basketball and Air Jordan were one in the same. From an on-court perspective, what followed MJ was a plethora of high flying Jordan imitators who lacked the fundamentals that made Jordan such an effective player. From Carter and McGrady, to Iverson, Arenas and Richardson, every young athletic swingman with an ounce of potential was labeled as the next Jordan. But it was the same old story, they were all flash and no substance, and they all fell painfully short of living up to the expectations. Jordan had spoiled us, and perhaps we’ve now set the bar too high.
Although MJ has done so much to impact the game’s popularity, television ratings have subsequently lowered every year since his departure. “I never really knew that the talent that I possessed meant so much to people until I walked away.” said Jordan is 1996, after returning from a 2 year stint in the Major Leagues. And it’s true, Air Jordan took the NBA community by storm, and since his retirement we’ve been holding our breath, waiting for someone else we can point to and say “He’s the greatest.”
But there remains hope, and his name is LeBron James.
No player has ever entered the NBA with as much hype as LeBron James. Even as a rookie in High School NBA scouts were drooling over his potential. They saw a player with such a rare combination of size and skill, that they had no choice but to hype him beyond the realm of possibility. However, sure enough after being selected with the 1st overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, only four years later James (at age 22) had his undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers fighting for a championship in the NBA finals. (Jordan didn’t reach the finals until he was 29). Somehow, he had surpassed unsurpassable expectations as the next greatest basketball player in the world. I’ve never seen a player of LeBron’s size be able to move with such quickness and fluidity. He’s a man among boys, a Knight among soldiers… a King among commoners. The Cavs did not win the championship in 2007, but James gave the world a glimmer of hope. It was just the tip of the iceberg, and now James has no choice but to live up to the expectations once again.
Let’s cut to the chase and outline what makes James so incredibly gifted. For one, it’s his size; James stands 6’9 tall and weights in at a ‘lean’ 260 lbs. That’s enormous for a player whose skill set resembles that of an elite point guard; and when watching him play I’m convinced his body was biogenetically engineered to play basketball. James is simple an unstoppable force. But what’s more impressive is his athleticism; LeBron is extremely quick for his size, and very strong. I remember watching his first professional game against the Sacramento Kings (when he casually dropped 25 points, 9 board, 7 dimes and 4 steals on 60% from the floor), in the 1st half, James sliced through the defense and drove to the basket. A split second later he was in the paint and Brad Miller (a big and strong center who’s known for throwing his weight around) shied away when he realized the sheer size and power of an 18 year old James. It was at that moment that NBA fans from across the globe understood that he wasn’t like every other touted prospect since Jordan; King James is much more than that. He’s the real deal.
James also has very good hands, and great basketball instinct. There isn’t a significant flaw in his game, but that’s not to say he is perfect. The form on his jump shot is somewhat awkward, and he hasn’t developed much of a mid range game. But as of right now, in his 6th NBA season and at the ripe age of 24, James has his Cavaliers with the best record in the NBA heading into the final 2 weeks of the season, and statistically he’s on pace to finish with the 3rd best PER in NBA history (Take one guess at which former player holds the top 2 slots). To lay it out, he’s (roughly) averaging 28 point, 8 boards, 7 dimes, 2 steals and 1 block on 49% FG, 34% 3PT and 78% FT shooting, all in just 37 minutes of play. The last player to put up a stat-line of that magnitude while leading his team to 60 or more wins was… well you get the picture.
Offensively James is a force to be reckoned with. What makes him such a nightmare to guard is that he is too big for an average defender, and too fast for a larger one, and he’s extremely skilled and durable. He can also shoot over top of any defender brave enough to take him on, and his unselfishness makes him a nightmare for other teams to try and double or triple team. He can finish at the rim, and he knows when to shoot and when to pass. The scariest part – the part that separates him from the rest of the best - is that while using his size and skill to score buckets, King James also has the type of court vision that is only shared by a handful of NBA players, past or present. His basketball IQ is through the roof. As a small forward who averages nearly 30 points per game, James consistently finishes in the top ten players for assists per game average. He is leading the Cavaliers in an NBA-best four regulatory statistical categories; points, assists, rebounds, and steals. That is something even Jordan never accomplished.
He’s no slough on the other side of the court, either. Defensively LeBron can be stifling, using his large size and quick feet to stay in front of opponents and smother them with athleticism. He also has a tendency to stay out of foul trouble, and he uses his length to quickly cover a lot of ground as a help defender. LeBron also cleans up well around the basket, pulling in a career average of 7.0 rebounds per game. He’s a tenacious man-to-man defender, an excellent help defender, and a very good defensive rebounder. It’s no wonder the Cavs are 1st in the league in points allowed per game and 2nd in opponent field goal percentage. In a nutshell, at age 24 King James is already the best basketball player on the planet… and he’s still improving.
The criterion that really separates the great players from the legends is the intangibles and James has proven that he possesses a lot of them. He’s proven that he has the ability to lead his team. In the 2007 playoffs, James scored 29 points in the forth quarter against the most poised team of the decade in the Detroit Pistons, and led his underdog Cavs past the Pistons and into the finals. He’s proven that he has the ability to make his teammates better, too. Mo Williams, a career 44.9% field goal shooter, is shooting 46.6% from the field in his first season with the Cavs. Williams’s 3pt percentage has also gone up by five percent and he made his first all-star game this season. Lastly, James knows how to strike fear into the heart of his opponents. In 2006, James told his rival, Gilbert Arenas, that he wouldn’t make the game tying free throws in a crucial playoff game against the Wizards. Surely enough, Arenas missed both shots, and the Cavs went on to win the game and subsequently, the series.
It would be impossible to forget what Michael Jordan’s has done for the game of basketball. But it’s been a decade now since he last laced up his Nike’s for the Bulls, and the NBA community as a whole is still waiting for a player to sweep us off our feet. With an era of wing player who’ve failed to live up to the high expectations set by Michael, we’ve finally been blessed with a player capable of surpassing his legacy. The odds are still not in his favour, but LeBron James does possess the key elements that make up a truly great player, and with a bit of luck, he could vary well overcome Jordan’s accomplishments. Those who were able to watch Jordan throughout his entire career (including his glory days at North Carolina) are lucky. However, records are made to be broken, and with this new generation of media-frenzy fans, they want nothing more than to watch first hand as a player climbs up to the top of the Greatest of All-Time list. They’re hungry for greatness and James has what it takes to feed them. He is about to win his first MVP and has his Cavaliers in a position to possibly win a championship this season. It’s one of the biggest mountains to climb, but King James has what it takes to do it. Now only time will tell who will retire as the greatest player to wear the number 23.
