Shock Defeat wrote:IgorK wrote:EasternHeretic wrote:Equivalent talent in their sport, hyped from a young age, top 5 players but feels like haven't fulfilled their full potential, a bit injury prone, overshadowed by GOATs but have also won big, didn't dominate their own gen (Giannis, Embiid, Hazard, Debruyne etc) might soon get eclipsed by the next gen (Zion, Luka, Haaland, Mbappe)
AD won a ring. He's fulfilled his potential.
as the second option. I think people expected AD to be good enough to win a ring as the best player on his team, but he has proven that he is only a 2nd fiddle type player.
I'm not sure I buy all that, its more nuanced. I do think ad isn't a 1A player, like Patrick ewing, but at the same time he is a HOF producer and a game changer, particularly at the defensive end which is harder to manage.
Lebron is one of the GOATs of all time, playing 2nd fiddle to him didn't change Dwade's as dwade won one and showed it. But AD put up 27 and 10, highly efficient, dominated on Defense and they also don't win the title without him.
Thats just the thing, Lebron dominated individually for 7 years, didn't close, he left and got some talent and hof team they won. MJ dominated similarly about 7 years, was known as only a stat guy, until the right cohesion/surrounding, some HOF talent came around and they made history. Kobe, laker legend, also like the others ,knew it too when he demanded a trade or talent, until he got a hof cast and won a ring. Cohesion matters, glue guys matter, so much that can't be measured or quantified in culture, development staff, all those things we don't see matter.
Sadly this ESPN/TMZ narrative of taking over as if hoops is 1-1,when you can go back to all the above rings and see Paxon, Kerr, Fisher, so on make vital plays, shots that aren't headliners. you need the right cast and at the championship role, you don't go straight hero, you need the players around you to work together, hit big shots and more than anything play defense. LEbron is a goat, he gives everyoen a chance.
AD anchored that defense last year and they don't have a ring without him. He made his adjustments, still put up huge numbers, and did what you need to in terms of focusing on D, finding the right moments, and won the ring. Thats all that matters. I'd argue Pelicans wasted his talent, cheaped out aroudn him like Houston did Harden. These guys work their entire lives and the cullmination of that work goes by very fast and with a simplistic very harsh narrative that follows them, there are some managers that don't make the headlines, lot of role palyers etc etc all make a difference, a detailed difference bc the margins of basketball wins in the playoffs are very, very close and history would be different with the shots mentioned above, every single year.
So I see him as a Pat Ewing. I don't think hes the greatest, but he is a massively skilled talent and game changer, at the same time as a big in the nba the way its played, you need someone to create for you, you need spacing as well, and he doesn't have a wide asernal on ofefnse but hes also still effective, especially on Defense, half the damn game.
