LeBron is by far the greatest close out game player in NBA history

[Run DLC]

But, but, but, but, KD is better.

-Stephen A and Skip Bayless

[Prophet_tt]

Please. To everyone trying to excuse Lebron's greatness. Go right now, look yourself in the mirror and conduct yourself better. Excuses waste time. They allow you to be irresponsible for your actions. Lebron like everyone in this thread isn't perfect. If you expect him to be then you are really saying how much you respect him because you think you should be God like. Please. These excuses are disgusting. Your comments are lol worthy and I'm just shaking my head at the toxicity I am seeing. The man has been to EVERY finals for the last 9 years that he has made the playoffs. He's performed bad 1 time in 10 years (twice if you want to count last year). Appreciate that. Some of y'all commenting couldn't even hold a minimum wage job for ten years much less perform at a high level. Jesus. Just look yourself in the mirror and stop the bs excuses. I feel bad for you I truly do, human to human. If y'all are trolling though.. Keep up the great work! I did not expect this tonight.. He SNAPPED in the 4 haha! Great game!

[SpaceCenter]

You would take other guys who were not nearly as efficient at winning to win games for you??

Its f&#*# embar#*$$*

Who cares, 5 rings and he came through when it counted. The league is completely different now too. Kobe played during a time when players used to single highhandedly carry their team and it was awesome to watch. Jamal Murray is the closest thing we have to this type of player currently.

What in the wild are you talking about? Kobe never single handled anything. He almost ran himself out of LA and got himself Gasol in that crossfire. He had Lamar Odom who was a notorious second half of the season player and always came to play come playoff time. Yes, Kobe was great and in some series outplayed even Shaq, but to spew out this nonsense is comical. One could even say, in the biggest game of his career, the biggest game of his life, game 7 against Boston, he was outplayed by Ron Artest and if it wasn’t for the great play of Gasol and Artest he would be sitting at home with 4 rings. But, it’s a team sport, and he had a hell of a coach for every one of those 5 championships. You need to go to sleep and rethink your strategy here, cause I’ve been watching basketball since the 90s and your weak arguments are going no where.

Two of Lebron rings have come from people bailing him out (Bosh/Allen facing elimination in Game 6 of the San Antonio final and Irving in game 7 of the GSW final). Lebron has manufactured some of the greatest teams in history on paper has lost multiple times with them or has come to the point where he has needed someone to bail him out to avoid elimination. Kobe/Jordan all day over him.

[SpaceCenter]

Please. To everyone trying to excuse Lebron's greatness. Go right now, look yourself in the mirror and conduct yourself better. Excuses waste time. They allow you to be irresponsible for your actions. Lebron like everyone in this thread isn't perfect. If you expect him to be then you are really saying how much you respect him because you think you should be God like. Please. These excuses are disgusting. Your comments are lol worthy and I'm just shaking my head at the toxicity I am seeing. The man has been to EVERY finals for the last 9 years that he has made the playoffs. He's performed bad 1 time in 10 years (twice if you want to count last year). Appreciate that. Some of y'all commenting couldn't even hold a minimum wage job for ten years much less perform at a high level. Jesus. Just look yourself in the mirror and stop the bs excuses. I feel bad for you I truly do, human to human. If y'all are trolling though.. Keep up the great work! I did not expect this tonight.. He SNAPPED in the 4 haha! Great game!

the thread title is saying that he's the greatest close out player. Its not about excusing his greatness its about putting him where he belongs which isn't at the top. He will always be a player who has needed a super-team to succeed. He himself doesn't believe in his ability that's why he needs these people.

[Jkam31]

There’s no player in NBA history that I’d rather have come playoff time than LeBron James. 10 trip to the NBA finals, 9th trip in the past 10 years.

Not that hard when you regularly play with multiple stars every year.

Let them have today

[dakomish23]

I’d still Mike over him, but that’s it. He is amazing, clear #2 IMO. Winning with other stars should not be a negative if we’re going to count his losses against him when he played with stars.

[Harry Garris]

It's weird that he also had finals where his team got completely destroyed in 4 or 5 games. Like completely anihilated.

Oh we're just giving him all the credit for all of his wins, not his losses. That's right, sorry.

Lebron does get blame for 2011 and deservedly so, but not for the losses to the Warriors. Lebron played very well in those series. If he was the reason the Cavs lost to the Warriors you'd have an argument, but that's not what happened.

[Lalouie]

then why would i rather have bird, mj, kobe, west, curry, and kd with the ball in their hands
??????????????????????????

[SpaceCenter]

then why would i rather have bird, mj, kobe, west, curry, and kd with the ball in their hands
??????????????????????????

Because they are way better. Maybe not Curry (he's not very clutch).

[JN61]

Except when it's nba finals

[loserX]

then why would i rather have bird, mj, kobe, west, curry, and kd with the ball in their hands
??????????????????????????

Probably because you severely underestimate how good a close-out game player LeBron is. That's my guess.

[sssssoniccccc]

Who cares, 5 rings and he came through when it counted. The league is completely different now too. Kobe played during a time when players used to single highhandedly carry their team and it was awesome to watch. Jamal Murray is the closest thing we have to this type of player currently.

What in the wild are you talking about? Kobe never single handled anything. He almost ran himself out of LA and got himself Gasol in that crossfire. He had Lamar Odom who was a notorious second half of the season player and always came to play come playoff time. Yes, Kobe was great and in some series outplayed even Shaq, but to spew out this nonsense is comical. One could even say, in the biggest game of his career, the biggest game of his life, game 7 against Boston, he was outplayed by Ron Artest and if it wasn’t for the great play of Gasol and Artest he would be sitting at home with 4 rings. But, it’s a team sport, and he had a hell of a coach for every one of those 5 championships. You need to go to sleep and rethink your strategy here, cause I’ve been watching basketball since the 90s and your weak arguments are going no where.

Two of Lebron rings have come from people bailing him out (Bosh/Allen facing elimination in Game 6 of the San Antonio final and Irving in game 7 of the GSW final). Lebron has manufactured some of the greatest teams in history on paper has lost multiple times with them or has come to the point where he has needed someone to bail him out to avoid elimination. Kobe/Jordan all day over him.

See the thing about your post, is you are searching and trying too hard to find ways to discredit LeBron for his success and I’m not going to play that game with you.
Go back and watch that game 6 4th qt vs the Spurs and you’ll find out that the Heat were down about 10 points heading into the 4th and LeBron scored 16 in that qt to bring them back and hit key shot after key shot that game. Just so happens that Allen’s 3 is the memorable moment of that game, and yes LeBron missed a 3 but had just made one before Allen’s, everyone contributes to championships. But of course you won’t mention game 7 where LeBron went for 37 points 12 reb 4 assists, since it doesn’t fit your narrative.
How exactly did Irving bail LeBron out? The game was tied 89-89 when Irving hit that shot to go up by 3 and LeBron had scored 8 straight point for the Cavs prior to that, not to mention the block on Iggy. LeBron led both teams in points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals that series lol you are a clown kid.
See I can find many examples, key defensive plays/key made FGs by teammates that helped Jordan and Kobe win championships, but I’m not going to play that game with you. Because Jordan and Kobe were as integral to the success of the team as the other guys on the team and coaches. At this point you’re just coming off as a LeBron hater and that is fine. I have no issues with you disliking LeBron and preferring Jordan and Kobe over him. But to spew out non sense and garbage is another thing. LeBron is one of the most efficient players the NBA has ever seen, his career is not even over, enjoy the show cause he’s on his way to another championship buddy.
And by the way, LeBron has a winning record vs Kobe and it wasn’t even close. 16-6.

[RB34]

It's weird that he also had finals where his team got completely destroyed in 4 or 5 games. Like completely anihilated.

Oh we're just giving him all the credit for all of his wins, not his losses. That's right, sorry.

Lebron does get blame for 2011 and deservedly so, but not for the losses to the Warriors. Lebron played very well in those series. If he was the reason the Cavs lost to the Warriors you'd have an argument, but that's not what happened.

What about the time he got swept?

[LesGrossman]

Oh well the realGM echo chamber. Luckily out there most people havent forgotten who MJ, Kobe, KAJ were. Havent forgotten Brons superteam construction antics. He got how many votes for MVP? Thats right, because hes not remotely the best player on his own team. CAnt remember ever thinking that about MJ. Enjoy „your“ victory guys, „you‘re“ going to the finals! But best you spare us the GOAT stuff because he missed the post season last year and got swept on a superteam the year before. Oh wait, its the RealGM echo chamber...

[toodles23]

Lebron has had easier than anyone on that list. Wade's championship with Shaq, Dirk with Dallas, Kawhi with Toronto and even Kobe with Shaq/Gasol were all far more impressive than Lebron on a super team winning a ring. This Lakers team will be the worst team he has ever won with likely but there is no competition. All the teams that were a legit threat were knocked out (Raptors/Clippers). The west has never been weaker.

Lol this Laker team is absolutely not worse than his pervious championship teams, it's the second best team he's played on, the only better team being the regular season 2013 Heat before Wade got injured. The only reason you would think it was worse is if you look for the flashiest names on the roster and have no ability to analyze any other context whatsoever.

The 2012 team had no depth at all, their 4th best player was an old Shane Battier and they were starting Mario Chalmers, a guy who had no business being a starter on a playoff team who quickly washed out of the league after the big 3 era not because of age, but because he sucked. I don't have any advanced numbers to back this up but he's probably the worst PnR passing PG I've ever seen. Wade was banged up during the playoffs with a knee injury and was wildly inconsistent from game to game, and Bosh missed 9 games in the playoffs which forced them to play complete scrubs Ronny Turiaf and Joel Athony big minutes.

The 2013 team got a much needed infusion of depth with Ray Allen and Birdman and were playing at a truly historic level during the regular season, finishing the last 39 games with a 37-2 record, but Wade got injured late in the season and was so hobbled during the playoffs that the Heat played significantly better with him on the bench. Wade averaging just 16/5/5 on under 50 TS% for the playoffs and the Heat were a whopping 14.6 points per 100 possessions better when he sat during that postseason.

As far as 2016, I mean the idea that it was somehow super stacked is completely laughable. That was a solid cast with plenty of shooting and good (but far from great) defense, but are we really gonna pretend like Kyrie or Love have ever done anything without Lebron? Speaking of Kevin Love, the guy averaged 9 points and 7 boards on 36% shooting in the 2016 Finals and the Cavs won by 30 when he missed game 3 with a concussion. Not exactly some sort of indispensable superstar.

[packforfreedom]

Except when it's nba finals

except LeBron won every close out game in the finals.

[Baski]

It's weird that he also had finals where his team got completely destroyed in 4 or 5 games. Like completely anihilated.

Oh we're just giving him all the credit for all of his wins, not his losses. That's right, sorry.

This is dumb. Usain Bolt has lost races before. Federer has lost matches. Do you see anyone listing their losses when praising them? Goodness gracious some of you, just smh

[Bergmaniac]

But the RealGM General Board experts told him that LeBron is an overrated choker, so it must be true.

[Lalouie]

then why would i rather have bird, mj, kobe, west, curry, and kd with the ball in their hands
??????????????????????????

Probably because you severely underestimate how good a close-out game player LeBron is. That's my guess.

doubt it. he doesn't like the free throw line is a severe handicap for closing a game. his questionable end game decision making,,,you've heard it all, I don't have to explain. he was always in the throws of should I shoot or should I pass. 2 of his 3 rings someone else took the shot. if at game's end you want lebron over THOSE GUYS then you are OVERestimating lebron and you'll lose more games than you should. or put it thisa way, if lebron had THEM as teammates HE'D BE PASSING TO THEM for the shot. or maybe they wouldn't give him the ball,,they'd say "don't worry young fella, I got it."

look, it's not a bad thing to be behind those guys lebron is great at many things,,,just not that

[Prophet_tt]

What in the wild are you talking about? Kobe never single handled anything. He almost ran himself out of LA and got himself Gasol in that crossfire. He had Lamar Odom who was a notorious second half of the season player and always came to play come playoff time. Yes, Kobe was great and in some series outplayed even Shaq, but to spew out this nonsense is comical. One could even say, in the biggest game of his career, the biggest game of his life, game 7 against Boston, he was outplayed by Ron Artest and if it wasn’t for the great play of Gasol and Artest he would be sitting at home with 4 rings. But, it’s a team sport, and he had a hell of a coach for every one of those 5 championships. You need to go to sleep and rethink your strategy here, cause I’ve been watching basketball since the 90s and your weak arguments are going no where.

Two of Lebron rings have come from people bailing him out (Bosh/Allen facing elimination in Game 6 of the San Antonio final and Irving in game 7 of the GSW final). Lebron has manufactured some of the greatest teams in history on paper has lost multiple times with them or has come to the point where he has needed someone to bail him out to avoid elimination. Kobe/Jordan all day over him.

See the thing about your post, is you are searching and trying too hard to find ways to discredit LeBron for his success and I’m not going to play that game with you.
Go back and watch that game 6 4th qt vs the Spurs and you’ll find out that the Heat were down about 10 points heading into the 4th and LeBron scored 16 in that qt to bring them back and hit key shot after key shot that game. Just so happens that Allen’s 3 is the memorable moment of that game, and yes LeBron missed a 3 but had just made one before Allen’s, everyone contributes to championships. But of course you won’t mention game 7 where LeBron went for 37 points 12 reb 4 assists, since it doesn’t fit your narrative.
How exactly did Irving bail LeBron out? The game was tied 89-89 when Irving hit that shot to go up by 3 and LeBron had scored 8 straight point for the Cavs prior to that, not to mention the block on Iggy. LeBron led both teams in points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals that series lol you are a clown kid.
See I can find many examples, key defensive plays/key made FGs by teammates that helped Jordan and Kobe win championships, but I’m not going to play that game with you. Because Jordan and Kobe were as integral to the success of the team as the other guys on the team and coaches. At this point you’re just coming off as a LeBron hater and that is fine. I have no issues with you disliking LeBron and preferring Jordan and Kobe over him. But to spew out non sense and garbage is another thing. LeBron is one of the most efficient players the NBA has ever seen, his career is not even over, enjoy the show cause he’s on his way to another championship buddy.
And by the way, LeBron has a winning record vs Kobe and it wasn’t even close. 16-6.

Bro it's not worth your effort. They way these people think seems to be inherently flawed. It's not a lebron thing. If they bring up such a weak sauce excuse like "he got bailed out" instead of he put them in that position to begin with, clearly they have no value recognition abilities in their life. Don't stress yourself out trying to show a blind man how to see. Have a great day, go LAKERS (Lebron) hehe