Lebron won’t be on top 10 GOAT lists in 30 years

[Goomba3666]

He’ll be a top 5 guy. Period.

But I don’t think his career will age as well as we think it will.

His fans (both on message boards and in the media) understand that his game isn’t the most aesthetically appealing on offense and he’s barely playing defense. They also know that he’s been sitting out a lot of competitive games to maintain averages and etc for the last couple of years. This is why they try so hard to ‘make’ people appreciate him while he’s here as opposed to it happening organically.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. But even with all this, he’ll be a top 5-7 player.

[infinite11285]

Who are the 10 who will be above him, OP?

Who can say? 30 years ago, Lebron, Duncan, Shaq and Kobe etc weren’t on anyone’s top 10 list.

I know this may be a novel idea, but it's ok to be a fan of both MJ and LeBron.

There's no need to distort logic and reality to these lengths to prop one over the other. They're both among the best the game has ever experienced.

[dhsilv2]

Am I right or wrong?

As with almost everything you're posting. You're wrong. Even this idea lebron is just a physical player is absurd. He's a brilliant player with elite passing and knowledge of the game. Wilt in interviews after his playing days would brag about women, strength and just talked trash. Lebron likes to break down play types to the levels of detail ex players have to diagram out what he's saying so they can even picture what he's saying off the top of his head.

Meanwhile unlike wilt, we have more game film of lebron than anyone will digest in a life time...who isn't obsessed. There's nothing to compare here.

[dhsilv2]

Wilts records are so unbelievable, folks think they are lies. Just recently, the 100 point game came under question.

I know. Youngsters will question Lebron’s stats the same way in 30 years.

Lebron's games are all filmed! Wilt's 100 point game wasn't filmed...the hoops you're going through here are absurd.

[Invictus88]

Is it the offseason already?

[OdomFan]

He will. Just like the older generation did with MJ. The kids of todays older selves will continue hype Lebron just like they do now, and try to educate their kids to keep that going too. Going on about Lebron surpassing Kareems record, and all that other stuff. Leaving out that he had to jump on to teams to join up with other stars to win his ring. They will give him all the credit just like they do now, and say he's the best ever.

So itll come down to how the next generation feels about all of that compared to what Apollo Smith and the stars putting up big numbers by 2054. I can only hope that 2050s kids wont be bragging about their times players dodging asteroids to get from earth to mars and other planets at light speed in order to still do better than Lebron and co did back in 2024.

[Statlanta]

It's been 30 years since Bird and Magic retired and they are still in top 10 lists.

[Hair Jordan]

Wilt is top 10 and so is Kareem. What am I missing here?

Also, Lebron’s legacy is a lot better than Wilt’s. Lebron has:

2x more championships
3x more Finals MVPs
6x more all-NBA 1st team(kinda silly teams can only have 1 center, otherwise Wilt and Russell would have been 1st team each year)
7x more all-star

And Wilt chasing records and then coming up short in the playoffs isn’t super impressive, especially when he played in the fastest era of all time, especially 1962. There was also one year Wilt refused to practice before noon. Lebron has nothing like that.

Meh, those are all cumulative/longevity related stats you mentioned. Wilt retired as the all time leader in both points AND rebounds. In fact, his rebounding record still stands and It’s unassailable. He won 3 consecutive MVP’s (something both Bron and Jordan didn’t do). He didn’t win any FMVP’s because it didn’t exist at the time. He could quite conceivably be the all time leader in blocked shots if they recorded that stat back then. So if the all time leader in points (when he retired), scoring titles (when he retired), rebounding (still is) and blocked shots (probably is) didn’t stop Wilt from backsliding, what makes you think Lebron will hold steady?

[Hair Jordan]

Wilts records are so unbelievable, folks think they are lies. Just recently, the 100 point game came under question.

I know. Youngsters will question Lebron’s stats the same way in 30 years.

Lebron's games are all filmed! Wilt's 100 point game wasn't filmed...the hoops you're going through here are absurd.

Really? All of Jordan’s games are in film and youngsters are still comparing him unfavorably to guys like Anthony Edwards They’re saying he’s a modern day DeMar DeRozan with no left hand who played against weak athletes and competition even though Jordan’s last game and Lebron’s first game were just 6 months apart.

[dhsilv2]

I know. Youngsters will question Lebron’s stats the same way in 30 years.

Lebron's games are all filmed! Wilt's 100 point game wasn't filmed...the hoops you're going through here are absurd.

Really? All of Jordan’s games are in film and youngsters are still comparing him unfavorably to guys like Anthony Edwards They’re saying he’s a modern day DeMar DeRozan with no left hand who played against weak athletes and competition even though Jordan’s last game and Lebron’s first game were just 6 months apart.

Stop with the made up nonsense. I'm sure you can find a random troll sick of older guys talking crap, but nobody seriously thinks any of this. It isn't being said here. You're just making crap up.

[Hair Jordan]

Who are the 10 who will be above him, OP?

Who can say? 30 years ago, Lebron, Duncan, Shaq and Kobe etc weren’t on anyone’s top 10 list.

I know this may be a novel idea, but it's ok to be a fan of both MJ and LeBron.

There's no need to distort logic and reality to these lengths to prop one over the other. They're both among the best the game has ever experienced.

How am I distorting reality? Wilt retired as the leading scorer AND rebounder in history. He won two titles, 3 consecutive MVP’s, 7 consecutive scoring titles, led the league in rebounding 11 times, assists once, scored 100 in a game, averaged 50/28 in one season, played every minute of every game plus overtime’s one season etc. You know his resume. Yet, I’ve seen top 10 lists from reputable people that don’t include him. My contention is that his losing Finals record in addition to being an overwhelmingly dominant physical specimen goes against him and it will go against Lebron just the same. History repeating. Is that not a legitimate thing to ponder?

[Hair Jordan]

It's been 30 years since Bird and Magic retired and they are still in top 10 lists.

Bird was a top 5 GOAT level player when he retired but now he’s on the back end of most top 10 lists. He’s sliding. Magic hasn’t slid as much which is surprising because the modern league is tailor made for Bird. He’d kill it in this era.

[cupcakesnake]

In the 90’s, Wilt was on most everyone’s top 10 list but over the last ten years he’s dropped off of most top 10 lists. I think the same will happen to Lebron.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a top 10 list without Wilt.

[knicksfan974]

LeBron hate is next level sometimes.

I've been watching since early 90s and rank LeBron #1 alltime. It's him or MJ.

[HMFFL]

All time LBJ hater here, but I think you're wrong. He will be, at worst, at top 5 all time player in 30 years. I have him at #2 now and no way someone like Jokic or Giannis will surpass his greatness. Of the players now, Wemby-of course-could become the undisputed GOAT, but that's highly unlikely.

Giannis doesn't have a case unless he wins more MVP's or championships.

Jokic will win his third MVP this year but really needs to be a 3x Champion before he comes close to surpassing Lebron. We'll see if it happened but the chances are slim like you said.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

[Hair Jordan]

He’ll be a top 5 guy. Period.

But I don’t think his career will age as well as we think it will.

His fans (both on message boards and in the media) understand that his game isn’t the most aesthetically appealing on offense and he’s barely playing defense. They also know that he’s been sitting out a lot of competitive games to maintain averages and etc for the last couple of years. This is why they try so hard to ‘make’ people appreciate him while he’s here as opposed to it happening organically.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. But even with all this, he’ll be a top 5-7 player.

Doubtful. Imagine you’re a 15 year old kid in 1974, the year Wilt retired. It would’ve been inconceivable at the time to think Wilt and the statistical records he owned would ever dip below 1 or 2 in GOAT debates but here we are. If it could happen to the guy who owns the entire record book it’ll happen to the guy who owns less than 1% of the record book.

[Hair Jordan]

LeBron hate is next level sometimes.

I've been watching since early 90s and rank LeBron #1 alltime. It's him or MJ.

How am I being hateful? It’s legitimate question. GOATness has a shelf life. Some players age well and others age poorly. I think Lebron wil age poorly for the same reasons Wilt has aged poorly; namely because he’s upside down in the Finals and he’s an overdog physically.

[Hair Jordan]

All time LBJ hater here, but I think you're wrong. He will be, at worst, at top 5 all time player in 30 years. I have him at #2 now and no way someone like Jokic or Giannis will surpass his greatness. Of the players now, Wemby-of course-could become the undisputed GOAT, but that's highly unlikely.

Giannis doesn't even need to be mentioned in this case until he wins another MVP or a couple of more championships.

Jokic will win his third MVP this year but really needs to be a 3x Champion before he comes close to surpassing Lebron. We'll see if it happened but the chances are slim like you said.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

Giannis is criminally overrated. He’s a modern day Moses Malone. Two MVP’s are two too many. If he ever gets a 3rd it’ll make him the worst three time MVP in history

[DOT]

If anyone starts falling off in 30 years, it'll be MJ first, not LeBron

Also the reason why Wilt has aged poorly isn't because of his Finals record, if anything it's because people have access to game film from that time and what they see isn't matching up with the legends told. It'll be more similar for MJ in 30 years when people talk about how mystical he is but then you go back and watch the film and he isn't nearly as perfect as people say

But at the same time, Wilt is still pretty universally in the top 10, top 15 at worst among people being serious.

[Capn'O]

What?