For weeks and weeks, we’ve been told by many in the sports media that LeBron James is the greatest basketball player EVER! He singlehandedly destroyed the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. No need for four other players on his team, he could, and did, do it all by himself. Now that LeBron’s Cavaliers have been swept by the Golden State Warriors, LeBron has gone from a champ to a chump.
Story after story tells us that an athlete’s legacy is built on championship rings and nothing else. LeBron has three but Kobe Bryant has five and Michael Jordan has six. Defensive standout Bill Russell accumulated 11 championships in his 13 years with the Boston Celtics. Does that make him the greatest basketball player of all time? Hardly.
Kobe and Michael agree that LeBron has got to figure out a way to win more championships if he wants to be ranked as an all-time great. “Legacies are bult on titles, period, with no allowances for how or why James’ teams lost in championship finals” said Bryant. Michael Jordan agreed and MVP of the recent championships, Kevin Durant joined this bandwagon.
This take obvioiusly serves Bryant, Jordan and Durant well BUT, it is terribly flawed. Are we to believe that Bill Russell is the greatest basketball player of all time because his Celtics won 11 championships? Of course not. Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn. Sam Jones and a whole host of other terrific players were part of that Celtic dynasty. Was Bill Russell the all-around player that Wilt Chamberlain was? Obviously not, 11 championship rings or not.
To take this argument to its’ ridiculous conclusion one would have to believe that Tom Tresh of the New York Yankees was a better player than Hall of Famer Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox. Tresh and his Yankees piled up World Series championships while Williams most often was off fishing when the Fall Classic was played. Would any reasonable person conclude that Tresh was a better ball player, had a greater legacy than Williams?
That’s the problem with picking a “Greatest Ever”. Different eras, different teammates, different conditions. How about we take the “est” off of the word and just use the label,
Great”?
LeBron James certainly has earned the label of “great”. However, only a few moments of watching an NBA game will allow one to note that if the game was officiated the way the rule book says instead of how it is interpreted by the NBA officials, some of that greatness might be mitigated. There is no question that the “stars” of the NBA get favorable officiating. Traveling is seldom called, ditto for offensive charging. James might be the best of all time in bullying his way to the basket as he runs through and over defenders. He would make a great NFL fullback!
I understand pride and I understand that terrific athletes have an inordinate amount of it but Kobe, Michael and Kevin would be well served to find another way, another reason, another argument, for stating whether or not their own legacy is greater than LeBron James. The Warriors beat the Cavaliers simply because they had a better team, more key players, than did the Cavaliers. LeBron’s supporting cast was not as good as the Warriors. That fact alone negates the conversation about who is the better player, who has the greater legacy!
“For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returned from wars enjoying the honor of triumph, tumultuous parades. In the procession came trumpeters, musicians and carts laden with treasure. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.”—General George S. Patton,Jr.
Buddy Tabler is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune and her views don’t necessarily reflect those of the paper. He can be reached at budtabler@gmail.com.
