2020 End of Season / Playoffs

[KeonClark]

What about 2018-2019 Lakers season?

He was 34 years old, and played in 55 games.

Also, they were 28-27 (playoff team) with him, and 9-18 (bottom 5 teams) without him. So his impact was still fairly huge, a difference in about 14 or 15 wins if you extrapolate those sample sizes

[G__Deane]

I'm just looking at the roster he carried to his first Finals appearance in 2006-2007 ...wild stuff.

Durrant, Kawhi, Giannis, Curry all are capable of individual greatness with the right players around them, but LeBron is the only player in the history of the game whom could take the worst team and make them a contender. Not going to see another player like him.

Never say never.

The next lebron has probably already been born. Kids today are doing magic with basketballs that lebron couldn't have dreamed of when he was young. Advances in fitness, health products and education that lebron benefits from today but didn't have 15 years ago. Physical specimens today right out of HS/college.

lebron is unique and special on the court but there'll be another along in the next decade or two.

[G__Deane]

I don't watch a lot of NFL so with the NHL and NBA over and MLB winding down, what to do for November and December besides survive? Get out for some hikes with the dog, play a little tennis, shoot some outdoor hoops? Lots of raking to do ....

[planetmars]

There won't be another Lebron. But Doncic will be the next super star. The kid is only 21 and he's special. His issue is he's not an American born player so won't get the same type of buzz that Bird/Magic/MJ/Lebron got their entire career.

[planetmars]

I don't watch a lot of NFL so with the NHL and NBA over and MLB winding down, what to do for November and December besides survive? Get out for some hikes with the dog, play a little tennis, shoot some outdoor hoops? Lots of raking to do ....

It'll only be for a couple of months. I think most leagues are aiming to start back up in January. December usually flies by anyway due to the holidays.

[LJ2]

What about 2018-2019 Lakers season?

He didn't play the full season that year...which is the first time in a long time I can remember him missing a significant chunk of the season.

[LJ2]

Never say never.

The next lebron has probably already been born. Kids today are doing magic with basketballs that lebron couldn't have dreamed of when he was young. Advances in fitness, health products and education that lebron benefits from today but didn't have 15 years ago. Physical specimens today right out of HS/college.

lebron is unique and special on the court but there'll be another along in the next decade or two.

I honestly don't think there will be another player like him in a decade or two. It's been near 20 years since Jordan played in the NBA and is still talked about being the greatest ever. Only LeBron and maybe Kobe get talked about as being in the conversation.

[S.R.]

I honestly don't think there will be another player like him in a decade or two. It's been near 20 years since Jordan played in the NBA and is still talked about being the greatest ever. Only LeBron and maybe Kobe get talked about as being in the conversation.

Cliche to say it but Lebron's size, skill, IQ are all differentiators. There are superstars with 1 or 2 of those ingredients but not all 3. Especially the size. And the skill - guys have skill, but Lebron can literally do everything. All of it! He's had seasons where he's shot 37-40% from 3. He can lead your team in points/rebounds/assists. Besides being framed as 'not a scorer,' he's leading or nearing the top of all kinds of all-time scoring lists. At his athletic peak he could legitimately guard and play all 5 positions. He can post up, he can run in transition, he can be your best defensive player.

Honestly I'm not a Lebron homer because some of the off court stuff is mildly irritating, but I think you can pretty easily make the case there's never been a player with the all around talent and ability of Lebron. We may go 50 years without seeing another total package like that.

Back to GreatOne's point - all that is definitely lost in all the off-season, off-court, non-basketball chatter around Lebron (a lot of it negative). Got to try to appreciate what the guy is on the basketball court, it's the kind of thing you tell kids about one day and complain 'people today' don't really understand what a player like Lebron was.

Edit: the gap between Lebron vs everyone else really stood out in the Finals. Jimmy Butler has two Lebron-type games (out of 6) and he's suddenly catapulted into 'top 10 player!' 'Is Jimmy Butler a superstar!' 'career defining performances' type conversations. Lebron literally has those same games night in and night out, playoff triple doubles, 28-8-8 for the series, team can't win with him off the court, and it's all 'Was that the easiest championship run ever?' Completely take for granted Lebron doing what he does. He's normalized it too much by this point and makes it look too easy. If Luka had the exact same run (and a chip) that Lebron just had, did the exact same thing, the Luka-hype would be ballistic. Lebron does it though, and mostly meh. Just another Lebron run. Probably not like MJ's runs. That was too easy. Got to have some asterisks.

[slaw]

Cliche to say it but Lebron's size, skill, IQ are all differentiators. There are superstars with 1 or 2 of those ingredients but not all 3. Especially the size. And the skill - guys have skill, but Lebron can literally do everything. All of it! He's had seasons where he's shot 37-40% from 3. He can lead your team in points/rebounds/assists. Besides being framed as 'not a scorer,' he's leading or nearing the top of all kinds of all-time scoring lists. At his athletic peak he could legitimately guard and play all 5 positions. He can post up, he can run in transition, he can be your best defensive player.

Personally don't care for Lebron but he is the best basketball player I have ever seen play the game. The only other player that I watched who had the combination of size and skill to completely distort the game just by simply walking on the floor was Shaq. Lebron has done it for almost 20. And that kind of longevity is unmatched outside of Kareem.

Jordan will never be eclipsed because of his impact on the league during his time. That will never be matched.

[MixxAOR]

We'll miss a guy of Lebron's talent for sure. I don't see anybody replacing him for a while.

comparing college kids to established pros seems premature these days. Look at the way they were talking about him lmao

[Puffer]

Culture

Wonder if he hired a choreographer to work with him on that little routine, or just worked on it himself with a couple of mirrors so he could check out the different angles?

[S.R.]

Personally don't care for Lebron but he is the best basketball player I have ever seen play the game. The only other player that I watched who had the combination of size and skill to completely distort the game just by simply walking on the floor was Shaq. Lebron has done it for almost 20. And that kind of longevity is unmatched outside of Kareem.

Jordan will never be eclipsed because of his impact on the league during his time. That will never be matched.

Yeah, Jordan was an international superstar far beyond Lebron, Curry, etc. - even though the NBA has grown in the meantime.

I really wonder how MJ would be viewed now. There's so much negativity in social media, fandom, the hot takes. Would there be more anti-Jordan sentiment if he were in his prime in 2020? I'd guess so.

[A.I]

Yeah, Jordan was an international superstar far beyond Lebron, Curry, etc. - even though the NBA has grown in the meantime.

I really wonder how MJ would be viewed now. There's so much negativity in social media, fandom, the hot takes. Would there be more anti-Jordan sentiment if he were in his prime in 2020? I'd guess so.

All the stuff about MJ punching Kerr in practice and anything else he did would definitely be overblown and get him a ton of negativity.

[G__Deane]

MJ was also known around the world on a scale that was almost Ali-esque. It could be argued that in this day of internet and social media, Jordan would be even more popular today. Not in the SJW sort of way but from a purely sports talent angle.

[KeonClark]

Wonder if he hired a choreographer to work with him on that little routine, or just worked on it himself with a couple of mirrors so he could check out the different angles?

He got it from Nick Van Exel