If You Can’t Appreciate the Greatness of LeBron James, You Have a Problem
In case you hadnāt heard, LeBron James won his fourth NBA championship on Sunday night as the Los Angeles Lakers closed out the Miami Heat with a 106-93 win in Game 6 of the 2020 NBA Finals. The Lakers are now tied with the Boston Celtics for the most NBA titles in history with 17 and LeBron, in just two short years, has cemented his place among the franchiseās all-time great players.
As he was all series long, LeBron James was brilliant in Game 6. With 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists, Sunday night marked the third time in his career that he clinched an NBA title with a triple-double and the fourth time that he was named NBA Finals MVP, becoming the first player to win the award with three different teams.
But despite averaging 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists in the Finals and making all sorts of history, there are still plenty of people out there that continue to knock LeBron James, which makes absolutely zero sense whatsoever. Look, you donāt have to like LeBron James. But what heās done over the course of 17 years has to be respected.
LeBron James just wants his ādamn respectā
While accepting the NBA Finals MVP trophy following Sunday nightās victory, LeBron James spoke about how the Lakers organization as a whole, from GM Rob Pelinka to head coach Frank Vogel to the other players and coaches, were simply looking for respect. He then closed things out with quite the bold statement: āAnd I want my damn respect, too.ā
The crazy thing is that there are actually still some people out there that donāt respect LeBron James. When the Lakers signed him to a four-year deal ahead of the 2018-2019 season, some thought it was a mistake because he was an aging star that wouldnāt be able to help LA contend in a tough Western Conference. So much for that argument. Yes, itās true that the Golden State Warriors werenāt at full strength this season. But letās not pretend that these Lakers couldnāt compete with them.
But even beyond just this season, how can anyone not respect LeBron James given his body of work over the last 17 years? Heās been to the Finals 10 times, won four titles, won four NBA Finals MVP trophies, won four regular NBA MVP trophies, is a 16-time All-Star, and a 16-time All-NBA selection (13 First Team, two Second Team, one Third Team). LeBron is third on the NBAās all-time regular-season scoring list with 34,241 points and is the all-time leading scorer in the postseason with 7,491 points. Heās also played in more postseason games than any other player in history (260), a record he set on Sunday night by passing Derek Fisher.
If thatās not enough to earn someoneās respect, then what is?
LeBron James would dominate in any era
One of the most ridiculous arguments out there is that LeBron James wouldnāt have survived in the Magic, Bird, and Jordan era of the 1980s and 1990s because the game was so much more physical then. ESPNās Stephen A. Smith recently said that LeBron could never be considered the GOAT because he plays in the softest era in history.
So maybe LeBron James is the GOAT and maybe he isnāt. Thatās not the topic here today. But to say that he wouldnāt survive or still dominate in another era is just asinine. Youāve seen LeBron James, right? You know, the guy thatās 6ā9ā³ and 260 pounds of solid muscle? Youāre telling me that guy couldnāt still drive the lane against the Bad Boys? Come on. Michael Jordan was able to do it and he was 50 pounds lighter.
And since Jordanās name just came up, letās go ahead and tackle that nonsense.
The comparisons to Michael Jordan or anyone else need to stop
While itās not going to happen, people really need to stop comparing LeBron James to Michael Jordan. No, LeBron James is not Michael Jordan. Nor is he Kobe Bryant or anyone else for that matter. Thatās not saying that any one of those players is better than the other because if you look at it from a talent standpoint, theyāre all really close.
Itās just that the comparisons arenāt necessary. Sure, it can be fun to talk about but getting into a serious discussion about it is a waste of time. So LeBron James hasnāt gone undefeated in the NBA Finals as Michael Jordan did. So what. Does that really make him any less great? But so many people are willing to dismiss LeBron Jamesā career because of something like that and itās absurd. Seriously, the guy has led three different NBA franchises to a championship. And thatās not enough to warrant a little respect? Come on.
Again, you donāt have to like LeBron James. But at least appreciate what heās done in his career. For 17 years now, heās been able to play at an extremely high level and heās not even close to being done as he just proved during the NBA Finals that heās still the best player on the planet. Heās provided basketball fans with so many memorable moments over the years and if youāre still one of those that canāt at least appreciate that, thatās all on you.
All stats courtesy of Basketball Reference