Would winning an in season tournament have any affect on Lebrons Legacy?

[art_tatum]

Only if he stays out of future IST so he is 1/1 perfect.

[axeman23]

Would him losing it matter to his detractors? If not, all good! Obviously GOAT candidates from the past can't be penalized for something that wasn't available, OR have it locked in that they "would've won it too", because no one knows. Either way, Lebron will always be one of the best to lace em up...

[TheHartBreakKid]

I mean, as of right now, the consensus / wide majority of people have him in the top 2. An in season tournament win shouldn't/wouldn't be enough for those who consider Lebron 2nd to MJ to move him up. The ones that have Lebron 1st already obviously won't change their rankings.


So in the sense of all time rankings, which is how we usually define player legacies it will be a non factor.

But winning the inaugural tournament is still a nice little accomplishment, and I guess it would technically still "affect" his legacy, but in a very miniscule way.

[YogurtProducer]

Yes? It might not be much, but it’s certainly not a “no”.

Depends. Maybe in 25 years the IST is a huge deal and then you look back and the IST MVP is the “Lebron James IST MVP” as a call back to the first ever.

Anyone acting like that doesn’t matter is insane

[durden_tyler]

Only another ring can give LeBron a chance to move up from that second GOAT spot.

[Slim Charlez]

It would be a big deal only for LeBron stans.

Right the is league doing their best to keep that relic relevant.

The league doesn't have to do anything. His production on the court speaks for itself.

[RHODEY]

It would be a big deal only for LeBron stans.

Right the is league doing their best to keep that relic relevant.

The league doesn't have to do anything. His production on the court speaks for itself.

Sure if you value stat padding and good attendance over winning.

[Slim Charlez]

Right the is league doing their best to keep that relic relevant.

The league doesn't have to do anything. His production on the court speaks for itself.

Sure if you value stat padding and good attendance over winning.

I thought the Lakers were over .500 and in the IST semi final?

Must've gotten them confused with the Pistons or Spurs. My bad.

[SerialChiller]

No...but some of his haters will probably try and count it against him if he loses in the final saying he has a 4-7 finals record now haha

[dshearn]

Right now IST isn't as highly esteemed but it will grow in value over time.

It would definitely add to his legacy if he wins the first ever. Wouldn't add much but it adds.

I came in to post something similar


one day the IST might mean something, and it is one more time of year for the media to mention LBJ..who knows maybe decades from now.....

One day it could be a big deal....or...who knows....maybe it is gone forever in a few seasons...no telling.

[NZB2323]

He’s won 22 games in a row, 4 championships, 4 Finals MVPs, 19 all-NBA teams, and we’re acting like 7 regular season games in December are going to affect his legacy?

I also think we’ll see a lot of “bad” teams and players win this tournament over the years, because it’s a small sample size, so it won’t be looked at like some great accomplishment.

[Heej]

I see it as less significant than winning a playoff series which means very little in a legacy context. So somewhere between winning a play in game and an actual 1st rd series.

That's crazy to me. You guys really don't see the vision. In 20 years the only thing more valuable will be a chip or maybe a conference finals trophy

You guys do realize it's primarily gonna be contenders in the mix for the top 4 right. Bad teams are gonna get smoked during seeding because good teams that are healthy to start the season will save their energy for IST games.

[Baz]

Nah, not really. Maybe a little. He's at worst 2nd or 3rd greatest all time. At best 1st. This doesn't get him over MJ. There's really not much more he can do to improve his legacy at this age I don't think.

[Cavsfansince84]

Nah, not really. Maybe a little. He's at worst 2nd or 3rd greatest all time. At best 1st. This doesn't get him over MJ. There's really not much more he can do to improve his legacy at this age I don't think.

idk. I mean if you already have him 1st all time he's obviously not gonna move up but I hate to think we're at this point as fans where we can honestly say that a guy having near mvp level seasons at close to 40 or even winning rings somehow doesn't add to his legacy. Plus getting to over 40k career pts.

[Goomba3666]

Reminds me of the league changing the All Star game format because Lebron couldn’t win against the West. But they wouldn’t DARE change the playoff format even though they acknowledge the competition disparity. Media and his fans were pretty happy after he won the first all star game in its new format and I expect it to be the same here.

Even when this IST goes away, like the weird all star pickup game format will drift away, it’ll still be something the league ultimately did for Lebron.

[EArl]

It would mean nothing.

[Iwasawitness]

It would be a big deal only for LeBron stans.

I’m a LeBron stan and I will honestly forget he ever won one (if he does) after he retires.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

The obsession over legacy will always be funny to me.

I haven't noticed any other sport that cares THIS much about legacy. Hell, I can't think of any sport that really cares about it or talks about it much at all.

[CIN-C-STAR]

A lot especially if he wins multiple. In Europe it's total trophy count that is brought up more than the specific ones when discussing legacies. It'll eventually become this way with the IST.

No it won't.
In terms of difficulty, it's not even 10% of winning an actual championship.
Your opponents are arbitrarily decided for most of the tournament and you play a small fraction of the games it takes to win a real championship.
Lumping it in with the Larry O'Brien only happens if people become total morons with no ability to discern nuance and context...
Come to think of it you might be right and in 20 years they will think of it as exactly the same as winning a championship

[Heej]

Only another ring can give LeBron a chance to move up from that second GOAT spot.

2 IST cups equal a ring tbh. Anyone denying this is in for a rude awakening these next 20 years LMFAO