Which versions of Lebron are better than peak Giannis?

[Asianiac_24]

09, 12-14, 16-18

Why not 2010? I get the celtics series ended with a very bad 3 last games but overall he is mostly the samw player he was in 09

He was the same player but he basically quit on the team.

[Colbinii]

09, 12-14, 16-18

Why not 2010? I get the celtics series ended with a very bad 3 last games but overall he is mostly the samw player he was in 09

He was the same player but he basically quit on the team.

He was injured.

[rk2023]

Looking through the model of championship equity and how much value one brings across situations (as a guesstimate and boiled down to an average), I would go with 09-13 without a doubt. Those iterations were by far LBJs best defensive seasons.. that coupled with a generally resilient (save for 7 or so games, 3 with injury) offensive game and his athletic apex. I feel pretty confident in 14-18 as well, save for 15 due to PS injuries that hampered the true value of playoff "LeBron-ball". I think 2020 is another good argument if you take the bubble PS setting seriously, as he was a phenomenal wing defender there while blending his mastery of basketball and playmaking perfectly with a down-hill scoring threat.

So in summary, 9 total iterations.

[Cavsfansince84]

Why not 2010? I get the celtics series ended with a very bad 3 last games but overall he is mostly the samw player he was in 09

He was the same player but he basically quit on the team.

He was injured.

I think whether we want to say he was injured or mentally checked out it's fair to judge him by how he actually performed in those playoffs so I'd say its very fair to downgrade him compared to 09 when everything was clicking. Even though a lot of people will say he was almost the same player; at the end of the day he didn't perform like the same player.

[therealbig3]

He was the same player but he basically quit on the team.

He was injured.

I think whether we want to say he was injured or mentally checked out it's fair to judge him by how he actually performed in those playoffs so I'd say its very fair to downgrade him compared to 09 when everything was clicking. Even though a lot of people will say he was almost the same player; at the end of the day he didn't perform like the same player.

He didn't play the same defenses though. Orlando got lit up the entire playoffs by opposing wings. Andre Iguodala and Paul Pierce had big series against them, and then obviously LeBron put up some video game numbers, and then Kobe had a big series against Orlando as well. They were a strong defensive team during the RS, but their playoff defense wasn't exactly slowing down opposing stars.

By contrast, he played the Celtics in 2010, a historic defensive team that shut him down 2 years prior. I'd argue that pretty much explains the difference, in addition to his injury/quitting.

[Cavsfansince84]

He didn't play the same defenses though. Orlando got lit up the entire playoffs by opposing wings. Andre Iguodala and Paul Pierce had big series against them, and then obviously LeBron put up some video game numbers, and then Kobe had a big series against Orlando as well. They were a strong defensive team during the RS, but their playoff defense wasn't exactly slowing down opposing stars.

By contrast, he played the Celtics in 2010, a historic defensive team that shut him down 2 years prior. I'd argue that pretty much explains the difference, in addition to his injury/quitting.

I mean obviously defense can factor into it but he was pretty damn dominant against the 08 defense over the last 3 games that were played at a snail pace. The first 4 he was terrible. I think 09 LeBron may have put up big numbers on that 2010 team.