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I always contemplate if Lebron had gone to college 1 season before going pro.

Likely NC, Duke, Kentucky, Ohio State even.

I have a hard time picturing him not having the greatest single season in college basketball history even as a freshmen.

Would the GOAT have the GOAT college season? It's tough to compete with guys like Kareem, but yes most likely. He was so strong and advanced. He would have demolished college bball.

i voted and i'll repeat...NO

and he would gone to osu...this duke stuff is BS. he's a hardcore ohioan. it's one of those situations where the people who live in ohio would have felt he let them down.................even though yes he is fully capable of letting his fans down as we've seen

No…

What college would Lebron get in?

There are guys who came into the league at something like MVP level play. LeBron's 2nd season was very good for someone that young but not MVP tier yet. Expecting him to be better the year before he came into the league than Kareem (on a stacked team) or Bird (on a weaker roster) or other older players isn't reasonable.

If you amend it to greatest freshman season, then yes, at least in modern NCAA history. Obviously neither he nor anyone else is putting up 44 a game like Pete Maravich did.

LeBron was a shrinking violet early in his career, so i think he would have shot poorly in Final Four or NCAA championship game or deferred to his teammates too much... Even in 2011 he was too scared to lead the Heat!

And if LeBron played for Duke or Kentucky or someone like that he'd love the unselfish brand of basketball so he could "make the right play" instead of dominating...

His lack of alpha is why he's won less rings than Kobe and MJ.
LeBron would have played the Pippen role if he played for the the 90s Bulls.

No, college game is much different. Some of the all time greats in the NBA didn't have those types of seasons in college. A lot of that comes down to the situation you're in, the coaching that you're a part of. Some college coaches won't let you go off like that no matter how talented of a high school product you are.

I think probably not. Guys his size usually play out of position. He was more of a PG/SG at the time, while he most likely would have been playing PF in college basketball. Even shooters like KD were PFs in the NCAA system.

In addition, the college game is slower and without a reliable jump shot or reliable floor spacing from his teammates I don't see how he'd have the GOAT college season.

His game was clearly built for the NBA.

Rookie Lebron client shoot particularly well or consistently, that could affect him. He would have a very great season, but greatest doesn't seem likely when we're comparing to guys who played multiple college seasons and were more polished in college.

Absolutely not. Alcindor, Walton, and even more modern players like Shaq and Duncan were just too great in college.

Now, if you want to change it to LeBron staying a few years in college. Or limit it to only the recent one and done era, where his compeition is Davis, Zion, etc. Then, there would definitely be an argument.

College has a way of making great NBA players not look so great.

Different animal.

How to say you don't understand college basketball without saying you don't understand college basketball.

He would have gone to Ohio State so probably would have had poor spacing. He would have faced packed paints and refs that call blocks charges. He couldn't shoot so would have relied on driving past a guy playing off him and into a help defender just waiting under the basket not worried about a defensive 3 second call.

He also had no post game so would have relied solely on dribble drives and face ups. I have a hard time seeing him doing more than Zion on offense who had a much better situation while being a better athlete and shooter than Lebron (not close in bbiq though).

I've seen enough college basketball and know the benchmarks enough to say, nope, not even close

No, because he is not GOAT. MJ is GOAT.

Given that LeBron would only play his freshman season in college and that he was still a bit raw when entering the NBA: No, not likely. There have been so many great polished players who had time to develop their game that I think even a top 10 season would be quite a stretch.
Guys like Kareem, Walton, Shaq, The Admiral, Bird, Duncan, Oscar Robertson and else (Maravich if you like volume scoring) set a very high bar.

Assuming it's a one-and-done situation, I doubt that he would have been able accomplish more than Melo the year prior at Syracuse.

Gregoire wrote:No, because he is not GOAT. MJ is GOAT.

Usually the way to find out someone doesn't understand NCAA play is when they claim MJ 'led' UNC to the 82 title.