RealGM

Which LeBron was the better player? 2009 LeBron or 2010 LeBron These are some of some of his best statistical seasons of his career and he was in his peak athletically. List the reasons why the other player is better than the other. Name the pros and cons of each player.

Pros:

Cons:

I mean 2009 Lebron is clearly better.

He had a better Playoffs and better RS.

2010 Lebron seemed to be checking out during the Boston series.

Lebron improves, like he always does. He was. Better player in 2010 but had a worse season.

one is the best season in history, and the other didn't have as good of an rs and then proceeded to get injured during the playoffs.

No need to overthink this, its clearly 09 bron.

freethedevil wrote:one is the best season in history, and the other didn't have as good of an rs and then proceeded to get injured during the playoffs.

No need to overthink this, its clearly 09 bron.

If you’re talking about the elbow thing, I don’t think that was ever really confirmed as a real thing. Even if it was i’m not willing to just use that to explain away his performance against Boston.

Maybe in the 2010 regular season,he was better(both were amazing)but his 2009 playoffs run were just legendary!

Lebron was a better player in 2010 but played better in 2009. I think supporting cast and emotional investment were the biggest factors.

The Cavs supporting cast in 2010 was pretty meh, and was in a constant state of flux. Shaq missing so many games, Jamison trade, West drama etc.. I don't think a RS like '09 was possible to replicate all things considered, sorta same goes for the playoffs too. Still that run was an obvious disappointment from all fronts.

No-more-rings wrote:

freethedevil wrote:one is the best season in history, and the other didn't have as good of an rs and then proceeded to get injured during the playoffs.

No need to overthink this, its clearly 09 bron.

If you’re talking about the elbow thing, I don’t think that was ever really confirmed as a real thing. Even if it was i’m not willing to just use that to explain away his performance against Boston.

No-more-rings wrote:

freethedevil wrote:one is the best season in history, and the other didn't have as good of an rs and then proceeded to get injured during the playoffs.

No need to overthink this, its clearly 09 bron.

If you’re talking about the elbow thing, I don’t think that was ever really confirmed as a real thing. Even if it was i’m not willing to just use that to explain away his performance against Boston.

https://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs/2010/news/story?id=5143910

And I guess its a coincidince his shooting plummeted right after the 'make believe' elbow injury.

Conspiracy theories really are something.

freethedevil wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs/2010/news/story?id=5143910

And I guess its a coincidince his shooting plummeted right after the 'make believe' elbow injury.

Conspiracy theories really are something.

“Xray and mri showed no obvious structural damage”

He admitted it bothered him for weeks but funny it wasn’t a problem a few games earlier. Lebron’s shooting has known to be streaky at times throughout his career, it’s not all that unheard of.

Look, some think he quit on the team, some think he was injured, others just think Celtics played him really well. I don’t really buy the quitting thing, but don’t know how “hurt” he was when he managed a 27/19/10 statline in game 7. I don’t think he quit, but not sure his mind wasn’t sort of elsewhere by that point in the series.

2009 Lebron was a better player, cause he had a career top on shooting efficiency, besides 2014.

2010 LeBron had more game sense

RCM88x wrote:Lebron was a better player in 2010 but played better in 2009.

How does one play better while being a worse player?

What's the point of retrofitting predictive analysis when describing the past?

freethedevil wrote:

RCM88x wrote:Lebron was a better player in 2010 but played better in 2009.

How does one play better while being a worse player?

What's the point of retrofitting predictive analysis when describing the past?

People don't always play their best, especially in things like basketball where teammates, luck and the million other factors at play can impact the results.

If absolutely everything was equal LeBron in 2010 is a better player imo. But the team and situation around him in 2009 allowed him to perform at a higher level than in 2010.

RCM88x wrote:

freethedevil wrote:

RCM88x wrote:Lebron was a better player in 2010 but played better in 2009.

How does one play better while being a worse player?

What's the point of retrofitting predictive analysis when describing the past?

People don't always play their best, especially in things like basketball where teammates, luck and the million other factors at play can impact the results.

If absolutely everything was equal LeBron in 2010 is a better player imo. But the team and situation around him in 2009 allowed him to perform at a higher level than in 2010.

I think it's an open question on whether it was just because he played Boston, a team who had his number and when healthy was the clear best defense in the league(no disrespect to LA, Orlando and whoever else were the top defensive teams at the time). Lebron still never really had a truly dominant series against them, i guess 2012 probably qualifies but their defense while still top of the league great even then probably took a small step back with Pierce declining, no Tony Allen, or Perk etc.

I don't see what was so structurally different about the 2010 team from 2009, aside from the fact that fat old Shaq arrived on the scene.

This is one of the cases about the difference between being better and performing better.

LeBron in 2009-10 regular season improved compared to the previous season (especially his court vision and playmaking were better). He didn't play the regular season on full throttle unlike 2008-09 season, the team still won 61 games. It's the playoffs, actually the particular Celtics series that makes a difference in this comparison.

2009-10 season has a near perfect case in this one.

Odinn21 wrote:He didn't play the regular season on full throttle unlike 2008-09 season, the team still won 61 games. It's the playoffs, actually the particular Celtics series that makes a difference in this comparison.

Should probably also be noted that he was rested by Mike Brown in the last 4 games, 3 of them they lost by 1, 3 and 6 points. They likely win at least 64 games if he plays.

2010

Breakdown in 2013

Year by Year Offense

Comp of 2010 James vs. 89 Jordan

Odinn21 wrote:This is one of the cases about the difference between being better and performing better.

.

There is no difference. You are as good as you perform, not as you potentially could have performed.

He had a better season in 2009, but he was a more cerebral player in 2010, his IQ started to catch up with his elite athleticism.

How many LeBron threads do we need?

At this point I won't be surprised if the next thread posted is titled, "LeBron Has Cheerios for Breakfast"