Who is a better finisher than LeBron?

colts18 · Post #1 » by **colts18** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 3:14 pm

Is there a player in NBA history who is better at finishing at the rim in traffic than LeBron? I can't think of another player I want to drive to the basket and finish over a 7 footer than LeBron.

dontcalltimeout · Post #2 » by **dontcalltimeout** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 3:21 pm

"finishing at the rim in traffic?" I'd say maybe Shaq is the only one.

Dutchball97 · Post #3 » by **Dutchball97** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 3:39 pm

Shaq and Barkley are in the same tier. Probably Wilt too. Hard to point at anyone who is decisively better than LeBron though at finishing at the rim.

RCM88x · Post #4 » by **RCM88x** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 4:02 pm

I don't think there is anyone when we consider shot difficulty/drives. Lebron has just as good if not better numbers than even Shaq. Perhaps someone like Wilt is better in theory but I always feel like he tips-misses-rebound-tip-etc... a lot. Durant is probably the only other guy I'd say has an argument, his numbers around the rim are great but also inconsistent, much much lower volume too.

Don't really think Barkley is in the conversation honestly.

Joao Saraiva · Post #5 » by **Joao Saraiva** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 4:13 pm

We see some posters here saying LBJ on average shoots 37% I think from beyond 3 feet. So with his ts% (granted many of those shots beyond 3 feet are 3s so it is much better than it looks on raw %) I can almost guarantee he's the best ever finisher at the rim.

G35 · Post #6 » by **G35** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 4:13 pm

Barkley or Shaq......

70sFan · Post #7 » by **70sFan** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 4:45 pm

Barkley, Shaq and Wilt. That's all probably.

henshao · Post #8 » by **henshao** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 6:29 pm

Moses Malone...eventually

Gregoire · Post #9 » by **Gregoire** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 6:40 pm

In halfcourt? Prime Jordan, prime Shaq.

Amare_1_Knicks · Post #10 » by **Amare_1_Knicks** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 6:41 pm

Giannis is up there. The last 3 seasons he’s been at 77% from 0-3 feet; comparable to any Lebron season.

DQuinn1575 · Post #11 » by **DQuinn1575** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 8:13 pm

70sFan · Post #12 » by **70sFan** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 8:20 pm

Yeah, I forgot about Giannis and Julius - they are up there as well.

SeniorWalker · Post #13 » by **SeniorWalker** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 9:38 pm

Giannis is probably more dominant at rim than Bron, considering when he's inside the restricted area he can finish even over 7 footers. I think Giannis recently had the greatest high volume scoring efficiency in the paint since prime Shaq, iirc, which means he is better there. His problem obviously is the lack of counters against wall defenses.

LeBron has always had somewhat of an issue with defenders taller than him at the rim, although he's still obviously a g.o.a.t. tier finisher there.

Overall I'd still take LeBron's scoring over Giannis though, as of today.

LivingLegend · Post #14 » by **LivingLegend** » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:17 am

I read something that LeBron became the all-time leader in And-1s........that was like 2-3 years ago so if I could somehow find the stats again he probably has more And-1s than anybody by a wide margin

LivingLegend · Post #15 » by **LivingLegend** » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:21 am

SeniorWalker wrote:Giannis is probably more dominant at rim than Bron, considering when he's inside the restricted area he can finish even over 7 footers. I think Giannis recently had the greatest high volume scoring efficiency in the paint since prime Shaq, iirc, which means he is better there. His problem obviously is the lack of counters against wall defenses.

LeBron has always had somewhat of an issue with defenders taller than him at the rim, although he's still obviously a g.o.a.t. tier finisher there.

Overall I'd still take LeBron's scoring over Giannis though, as of today.

D.Brasco · Post #16 » by **D.Brasco** » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:28 am

DQuinn1575 wrote:

Is Kareem actually grabbing Dr. J's wrist?

Post #17 » by **Goudelock** » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:53 am

DQuinn1575 wrote:

Okay, this is going to sound sacrilegious, but I don't think Erving is in the same tier as MJ and LeBron and Giannis when it comes to finishing around the rim. He was AMAZING close to the basket, don't get me wrong. But when I watch his games, it seems like Erving had a habit of getting too "cute" around the basket and blew some layups that a guy like LeBron or even Barkley wouldn't, possibly because he didn't have the raw strength the others did. Now this didn't happen very often, but it seemed to happen more to Erving than the other top-echelon guys. I actually think Dominique was better around the rim than Dr. J.

LivingLegend · Post #18 » by **LivingLegend** » Thu Nov 19, 2020 3:59 am

Goudelock wrote:
DQuinn1575 wrote:

Okay, this is going to sound sacrilegious, but I don't think Erving is in the same tier as MJ and LeBron and Giannis when it comes to finishing around the rim. He was AMAZING close to the basket, don't get me wrong. But when I watch his games, it seems like Erving had a habit of getting too "cute" around the basket and blew some layups that a guy like LeBron or even Barkley wouldn't, possibly because he didn't have the raw strength the others did. Now this didn't happen very often, but it seemed to happen more to Erving than the other top-echelon guys. I actually think Dominique was better around the rim than Dr. J.

It is just the mustache or does every player from that era look like they are 40

magicman1978 · Post #19 » by **magicman1978** » Thu Nov 19, 2020 5:33 am

RCM88x wrote:Don't really think Barkley is in the conversation honestly.

Dipper 13 watched around 100 games between 88-96 at had him finishing at an 81% clip at the rim (660/815)

viewtopic.php?t=1244886

SeniorWalker · Post #20 » by **SeniorWalker** » Thu Nov 19, 2020 5:40 am

LivingLegend wrote:
SeniorWalker wrote:Giannis is probably more dominant at rim than Bron, considering when he's inside the restricted area he can finish even over 7 footers. I think Giannis recently had the greatest high volume scoring efficiency in the paint since prime Shaq, iirc, which means he is better there. His problem obviously is the lack of counters against wall defenses.

LeBron has always had somewhat of an issue with defenders taller than him at the rim, although he's still obviously a g.o.a.t. tier finisher there.

Overall I'd still take LeBron's scoring over Giannis though, as of today.

I did say "somewhat". Its not like a player like LeBron can actually be contained, he's LeBron James. However, there have been stretches where LeBron's at rim finishing has been effectively cut off by good defensive bigs. I'm not making this up, I've been watching the NBA forever and can recall what I watch. Giannis problem is slightly different and I'd say that he is a little better at rim than LeBron mainly because he's 3 inches taller, longer and still sufficnetly strong and athletic. Its only natural that he is a little better at that specific area.

Also, anyone can find a few highlight reels as counter examples.