The LeBron Thread 2021 Off-Season Edition

[Dupp]

KD is the best player in the world no question. Steph couldnt do anything close to that in a playoff series. No Kyrie, Harris and harden no shows. It was very lebron like and he beat a great bucks team by himself.... except his foot was just on the line..



However it does show you how insane Lebrons load was. 8 years straight carrying teams a lot of the time. Heavy minutes and deep runs. KD was completely gassed. Not sure how he’s go doing this for a few years straight in the playoffs.

[falcolombardi]

also a great looking team that is injured or underperformed in the playoffs, making his carry look less impressive at first glance than it actually was

like 2013 or 2015 lebron

[trickshot]

For an anti-Durant crowd it's a good day. They wasted one of 3(?) shots at the title and I don't see how the Nets can be better from a roster standpoint next season. Obviously if healthy they are overwhelming favs, but it's just hard to imagine Kyrie being without injuries in the POs again

Would prefer to think this isn't an anti-durant crowd but also maybe anti-Lebron crowd can also start to appreciate that making the finals in any conference isn't always easy, and losing isn't always damaging for one's legacy.

I thought KD solidified himself as a great as I had actually forgotten what he looked like playing alone. I don't think the Bucks are necessary better than every team lebron's teams beat, if Lebron beat the Bucks they too would be slandered and discredited. The people saying these things aren't exactly the brightest bulbs. They flip positions according to the results they like. How did the east suddenly become formidable the moment Lebron left? That goes beyond extreme coincidence.

[nolang1]

I mean, I dunno if Durant is the best player in the world now, not exactly buying that. But it surely isn't LeBron in 2021. And tbh LeBron hasn't been the best since 2018. There just hasn't been a clear #1 since then. A few guys are at the top in given years. LeBron is still an elite player and hovers around but isn't that guy anymore. I saw it coming a few years ahead and only now are people catching up, it always takes awhile for narratives to change and perception to be cast and set.

I agree there are a lot of players in the conversation today, but it seems strange to not have LeBron in it. If you talk about narratives changing, the Suns very well could win the championship with their closest series coming against the Lakers, who were up 2-1 and got a negative amount from AD over the last 4 games.

[Mos_Heat]

Lebron even if healthy isn't the best player, it's pretty clear. Maybe he can crack top 5 next season

[Mos_Heat]

For an anti-Durant crowd it's a good day. They wasted one of 3(?) shots at the title and I don't see how the Nets can be better from a roster standpoint next season. Obviously if healthy they are overwhelming favs, but it's just hard to imagine Kyrie being without injuries in the POs again

Would prefer to think this isn't an anti-durant crowd but also maybe anti-Lebron crowd can also start to appreciate that making the finals in any conference isn't always easy, and losing isn't always damaging for one's legacy.

I thought KD solidified himself as a great as I had actually forgotten what he looked like playing alone. I don't think the Bucks are necessary better than every team lebron's teams beat, if Lebron beat the Bucks they too would be slandered and discredited. The people saying these things aren't exactly the brightest bulbs. They flip positions according to the results they like. How did the east suddenly become formidable the moment Lebron left? That goes beyond extreme coincidence.

Maybe 2012 Celts has a case, but otherwise - yes, these Bucks are better than any other East team that Lebron beat

[trickshot]

For an anti-Durant crowd it's a good day. They wasted one of 3(?) shots at the title and I don't see how the Nets can be better from a roster standpoint next season. Obviously if healthy they are overwhelming favs, but it's just hard to imagine Kyrie being without injuries in the POs again

Would prefer to think this isn't an anti-durant crowd but also maybe anti-Lebron crowd can also start to appreciate that making the finals in any conference isn't always easy, and losing isn't always damaging for one's legacy.

I thought KD solidified himself as a great as I had actually forgotten what he looked like playing alone. I don't think the Bucks are necessary better than every team lebron's teams beat, if Lebron beat the Bucks they too would be slandered and discredited. The people saying these things aren't exactly the brightest bulbs. They flip positions according to the results they like. How did the east suddenly become formidable the moment Lebron left? That goes beyond extreme coincidence.

Maybe 2012 Celts has a case, but otherwise - yes, these Bucks are better than any other East team that Lebron beat

they are up there but the same people will go back to discrediting them very soon. There's always a lot of hindsight going on. A lot of the luster of the eastern teams got knocked off after they lost. If Nets won for example people would go back to calling Giannis and the Bucks frauds. It was all over the front page a week ago. They were this close to being historically discredited

edit 2019 Raptors are actually the ones I think could have beaten any Lebron team. I'm rooting for the Bucks this year but feel they still don't always play to their talent level. They aren't matchup bulletproof.

[PaulieWal]

Lebron even if healthy isn't the best player, it's pretty clear. Maybe he can crack top 5 next season

Before he got injured, clearly looked like in the mix for the best player to me.

[Mos_Heat]

Lebron even if healthy isn't the best player, it's pretty clear. Maybe he can crack top 5 next season

Before he got injured, clearly looked like in the mix for the best player to me.

To me he's too limited offensively to be in this conversation

[JVL]

Lebron too limited offensively? Can’t wait to hear this.

[PaulieWal]

Lebron even if healthy isn't the best player, it's pretty clear. Maybe he can crack top 5 next season

Before he got injured, clearly looked like in the mix for the best player to me.

To me he's too limited offensively to be in this conversation

News to me that he's limited offensively.

[kayess]

I feel like I've been thrown into a vortex where things don't make sense anymore.

Durant is the best player in the world? He had an all-timer (like, G6 2016 Finals level) game in G5 of the ECSF?? LeBron is too limited offensively?

What in the **** world has happened lmao

[Freighttrain]

Before he got injured, clearly looked like in the mix for the best player to me.

To me he's too limited offensively to be in this conversation

News to me that he's limited offensively.

I might make that my sig. Like what the hell

On a serious note, I do think that:

shaq wasn't that dominant
Magic's passing wasn't that great
Bird was just average guy who got pumped because he's white
Curry can't shoot under pressure
LeBron is offensively limited

Anyone else wants to chime in?

[homecourtloss]

I feel like I've been thrown into a vortex where things don't make sense anymore.

Durant is the best player in the world? He had an all-timer (like, G6 2016 Finals level) game in G5 of the ECSF?? LeBron is too limited offensively?

What in the **** world has happened lmao

Different rules apply for LeBron than they do for any other player quite clearly.

[kayess]

I feel like I've been thrown into a vortex where things don't make sense anymore.

Durant is the best player in the world? He had an all-timer (like, G6 2016 Finals level) game in G5 of the ECSF?? LeBron is too limited offensively?

What in the **** world has happened lmao

Different rules apply for LeBron than they do for any other player quite clearly.

It's like when republicans spout the same bull over and over again that it actually makes you, the sane one, start to question your sanity.

Was it not just a few months ago when LeBron was carrying the team and was in the MVP race with Embiid and Jokic? Yes, that was partially due to some bull "lifetime achievement award" boost that Kobe got in 08 [which, tbh, I don't mind because LeBron's been on the wrong end of narrative for the majority of his career], but they weren't way off. LEBRON still had him as one of the 5-10 best players on O, so idk what that guy was smoking about being limited on O.

Yes he looked terrible in the half court post-injury, but guy clearly wasn't 100%

[falcolombardi]

I feel like I've been thrown into a vortex where things don't make sense anymore.

Durant is the best player in the world? He had an all-timer (like, G6 2016 Finals level) game in G5 of the ECSF?? LeBron is too limited offensively?

What in the **** world has happened lmao

Different rules apply for LeBron than they do for any other player quite clearly.

It's like when republicans spout the same bull over and over again that it actually makes you, the sane one, start to question your sanity.

Was it not just a few months ago when LeBron was carrying the team and was in the MVP race with Embiid and Jokic? Yes, that was partially due to some bull "lifetime achievement award" boost that Kobe got in 08 [which, tbh, I don't mind because LeBron's been on the wrong end of narrative for the majority of his career], but they weren't way off. LEBRON still had him as one of the 5-10 best players on O, so idk what that guy was smoking about being limited on O.

Yes he looked terrible in the half court post-injury, but guy clearly wasn't 100%

some people confuse aesthetics for effectiveness as a scorer or fetishize certain skills like midrange jumpers

is the only explanation i can think of, if your idea of offensive limitations is related to how many moves a player has, you will underrate Great passer or physically dominant players cause their offense doesnt look varias enough

[trickshot]

Lebron even if healthy isn't the best player, it's pretty clear. Maybe he can crack top 5 next season

Before he got injured, clearly looked like in the mix for the best player to me.

To me he's too limited offensively to be in this conversation

Lebron is no longer my best player in the league but saying stuff like that looks like not having a good reason to justify it.. The talent isn't the problem, he has lost a huge chunk of his motor and can't sustain best player in the league effort even when healthy.

[FC93]

For an anti-Durant crowd it's a good day. They wasted one of 3(?) shots at the title and I don't see how the Nets can be better from a roster standpoint next season. Obviously if healthy they are overwhelming favs, but it's just hard to imagine Kyrie being without injuries in the POs again

Would prefer to think this isn't an anti-durant crowd but also maybe anti-Lebron crowd can also start to appreciate that making the finals in any conference isn't always easy, and losing isn't always damaging for one's legacy.

I thought KD solidified himself as a great as I had actually forgotten what he looked like playing alone. I don't think the Bucks are necessary better than every team lebron's teams beat, if Lebron beat the Bucks they too would be slandered and discredited. The people saying these things aren't exactly the brightest bulbs. They flip positions according to the results they like. How did the east suddenly become formidable the moment Lebron left? That goes beyond extreme coincidence.

Yep. East is “formidable” because now a team without LeBron can be the top seed and they aren’t getting beat by a guy whose dominance and brilliance is a tier above anyone not named Michael Jordan. Put LeBron in the West or if he’s injured those years and suddenly people will talk about Toronto not as a disappointing non-dynasty but instead a brilliant team that was unfortunate to run up against a juggernaut in GSW.

Same thing with 2020. LeBron had a difficult path and definitely wasn’t going to make it to, let alone win, the Finals until he did. So people working from the pre-conceived idea that LeBron at or near his best isn’t a tier above everyone else we’ve seen in forever/anyone active have to decide that actually those teams were bad when in fact it’s just that LeBron (and AD) were so good they made them look bad.

[MisterHibachi]

I hope if LeBron uses the #WashedKing hashtag next year like he did in 2020, people don't pop in here claiming that no one said he was washed after the last couple of pages of comments here.

People said the same thing heading into 2020, and then we had posters in here and elsewhere claiming that no one called him washed. Felt like I was being gas light all year.

[Greatness]

Pretty crazy that despite the flawed roster, the Lakers likely repeat if AD doesn't get hurt in game 4.