ESPN NBA Conversation

rvieville1

im curious if kevin durant ends up with more championships then james would he be ranked higher then james?
326 Days ago

coolasta

true dat!!.. or else Robert Horry would be on the list lol xD
326 Days ago

benwls

I think you're much too quick to move Lebron past Larry and Magic. Bird was a much better rebounder (10/game over his career). Magic averaged 11 assists for his career. Both were better free throw shooters (although Lebron gets to the line more) and both look fewer shots than Lebron on account of generally having better teammates. It certainly appears that he has a shot to join Magic and Bird as the best players who aren't MJ or Bill Russell, but he's not there yet.
326 Days ago

GravityKing

I'm happy for LeBron. The dude's the best basketball player on the planet. Why shouldn't he get to enjoy the spoils of victory? Wouldn't surprise me to see him surpass MJ by the time he's done. Has anyone heard anything from Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert lately? Has he joined the Witness protection program?
326 Days ago

Samtrx

He will be remembered as a guy who had to join another team to get a championship.
327 Days ago

coolasta

okay rvieville1.. get over it already.. lol dude had some bumps along the way with his fame and how he handled it.. and matured enough to win a ring.. get off his nuts
326 Days ago

Thdalmida

He will be remembered as a guy that stood up for his self and went out to win a championship instead of possibly being another player that was stuck in a small market without enough talent to win it all. I like how people are okay with teams cutting players or trading players without letting them know in order to better put themselves in position to win but since Lebron finished his contact and left to another team he's called a traitor or sell out.
326 Days ago

rvieville1

what pissed me off about how he left. he didnt go visit the teams that were going after him he made them fly to cleveland and do a presentation to try and court him to go to their teams. i dono i just feel that u should at least go to the teams that are going to pay u..
326 Days ago

bdisler

Lebron is the first person since Jordan retired, to have a legitimate chance to suprass Jordan on the all time greats list. Will he do it, the odds say no. But now that he has won his first title at 27, we have to at least consider the possibility.
327 Days ago

coolasta

blame the game and it's free agency market.. not the player.. he finished his contract of 7 damn years.. and went to a team with higher chance of getting a ring.. now get off his nuts..
326 Days ago

NTxHorn

Further more the Bulls almost won the Eastern Conference Finals w out Jordan. You have to have great teams to wins Rings. I dont know bout the rest of you but id take Rodman over Bosh...
326 Days ago

pipdmx33

Pippen finished third in the MVP voting in 1994 and seventh in 1995. He also made 5 first or second All-NBA teams. He was most definitely a top 10 player in his prime. No need to discredit Scottie to make Jordan look even better.
327 Days ago

darksideofthewalrus

No he doesn't. At the end of the day, in order to win a ring, LeBron had to play with the third best player in the league and a top 3 big man before Bosh went to the Heat. Group effort. Jordan had great players, but on no one's list was Scottie Pippen even a top 10 player in the NBA at any point in his career.
327 Days ago

MattHoover31

Will the guy do a freakin dunk contest now....jeez
327 Days ago

veltion1

WOW hollinger once again you proved how much you stay attached to his nutsack shame
327 Days ago

caldazar01

He's the best there is right now. He's starting to make a case of being an all-time great, but one great post season does not make up for years of choking. If he keeps it up, he will be remembered as one of the greatest ever. If he reverts to Lebron of last year he will not.
328 Days ago

coolasta

years of choking?? 1 ring from 3 finals.. so he made 3 finals at the least to add to his resume..
326 Days ago

euritarded

Point of Sports is competition... and in the end, you compete to win, and you win... to be champions. I'm still not convienced that LeBron is in the "Greats" area yet. I mean, Don't get me wrong, I think he's great, but all time? I don't know. Since Jordan, He's the obvious 2nd best in my mind (Kobe being 1st).
328 Days ago

euritarded

I'm still not convienced that LeBron is in the "Greats" area yet. I mean, Don't get me wrong, I think he's great, but all time? I don't know. Since Jordan, He's the obvious 2nd best in my mind (Kobe being 1st...5 rings, scoring titles, mvp...5 RINGS!) and all-time? Not even in my top ten, but, I'm sure when he retires I will change my mind if he wins more rings. Point of Sports is competition... and in the end, you compete to win, and you win... to be champions. LeBron one A ring, but not a GREAT yet.... YET!
328 Days ago

kevinwillunh911

mj did it first on a world wide scale(large scale media and global) which is why we consider him the greatest. Hes not number 1 in really any statistical category. For lebron to catch Jordan he has to not just surpass him numbers wise, but like they say "KNOCK the champ out"
328 Days ago

alextai356

Except if you read the article, he is number 1 by pretty much every statistical measure...
289 Days ago

veltion1

dont waste your time lbj nutsack lovers only hear praise for him and nothing else to them he has been the greatest ever since 5th grade
327 Days ago

keithrichardsonart

Everything is about Per or efficiency ratings now. What about the more abstract aspects of the game. Like Jordan pulling through with the flu or breaking Byron Russells ankles. I think its important to remember the context of when the player is playing rather than just the analytics of it all. I am only 23 and yet I can not imagine a day when players won't view Jordan as the player they want to be. Jordan is more than just a per rating, he is cultural icon that is impossible to replace by a player. Even if Lebron has statistics that completely outshine Jordan, no one is going to view him as the best, it just isn't time yet for that to happen.
329 Days ago

darksideofthewalrus

.... you mean shoving Byron Russell with his hands.
327 Days ago

rhuff1118

Championships shouldnt be the deciding factor of how great you are. If Jim Kelly ended up winning those 4 superbowls in a row (think about it, its just a couple of plays) then people would talk like he was the best ever.
329 Days ago

brauliorb

robert horry waut s a beast in the plaoffs mediocher durin the regular seson but great in da playoffs. i still remember his dagger as time expired agians the kings. had vlade divach not made that stupid error horrey wud only have 6
329 Days ago

jdale17034

So Robert Horry would be right there among the greats with his 7 rings then.
329 Days ago

CBass1317

No, all it does is begin to shut up the critics who irrationally rely on ring count, and instead allows to have an actual discussion about who the best "players" (not teams, mind you) have been.
327 Days ago

jdale17034

I think that's the point being made - everyone now states that this validates him because he has a ring, or justifies his greatenss because of a ring.
328 Days ago

Kobe 62 Mavs 61

I love when people throw out comments like these. Common sense tells you that context matters in these situations. Rings as a superstar > rings as a role player, even one as good as Horry was at certain points
328 Days ago

jdale17034

Oh and don't forget Will Perdue and his 4 rings.
329 Days ago

tom_tom21

yea but if Jim Kelly was the best ever, he would have made those plays and won those four Superbowls.
329 Days ago

ricky_golding

he did! norwood blew it!
329 Days ago

nyhoopscom

LeBron may well end up being better than Jordan in every statistical measure but I feel the only way he or anybody else can ever be considered greater is to match MJ when it comes to defining moments. MJ just has so many that as great as he was it elevates him even more, it started with the Larry Bird calling him "God disguised as Michael Jordan" after he hit them for 63 in the playoffs, then you have the shot over Ehlo, then you had the hand switch layup against the Lakers, followed by the shoulder shrug against the Blazers, the 55 points in the Garden in his 3rd game back from retirement, and then finally what should've ended his career the push and then the pose against the Jazz to clinch his 6th title. Nobody in any sport has more defining moments than Mike, and I didn't even mention all the 50+ point playoff games, that's how great he was, that he has 50 point playoff game that don't even make his top 5 career moments.
329 Days ago

alextai356

Lebron is very unlikely to catch Jordan in terms of statistics. His career stats aren't as good as Jordan's now, and Lebron still has yet to face the second half of his career where his stats will downslide a little. If Lebron is going to surpass Jordan, he's going to have to do it with achievements (Rings, MVPs, iconic moments).
289 Days ago

jdale17034

ESPN will do their darndest to compare the two as much as possible.
329 Days ago

aise5668

If LeBron was a better player, he would have won more championships.
329 Days ago

veltion1

he sure didn't checkmate none of mike's teams had the best regular season record and then got bounced out the playoffs so your post is epic failure
327 Days ago

jt563905

Jordan didn't enter the league until he was 21.
328 Days ago

mbiggmiike

Jordan didn't have any at 27.
329 Days ago