LeBron James 2021-22 Regular Season Thread - Part ?

[zimpy27]

I do think they overreacted to last season and instead of chalking it down to injuries and bad luck from a short turnaround time and building on top of it, they decided to scrape the roster altogether and add a ball dominant player that LeBron always envisioned playing alongside since Wade in Miami and Kyrie in Cleveland. I don't think Rondo leaving had much to do with it, otherwise they'd have just offered him the full MLE and kept that core together. He signed for less than the MLE elsewhere.

The identity of the team being big, athletic and defensively strong was enabled by the fact that they could have a 6'8 PG and the shortest defender would be KCP at 6'4. If you go for a more traditional backcourt, you start moving away from that identity and then they doubled down on it by tryin to move AD to the 5 this season. The hiring of Fizdale probably has credence to that idea too, as he is often the vocal proponent of small ball line ups.

To me the Schroder trade made sense, but I immediately started to get nervous when he demanded (and was then granted) the starting PG spot. He's just not a good enough passer, decision-maker, or shooter to be a starter, let alone on a LeBron team. I was envisioning Wes replacing Green and then Schroder and Harrell combining to create an elite second unit which would take some offensive pressure off LeBron and AD. Starting Schroder just unbalanced the lineup and brutally exposed all of his flaws.

They didn't really have much of a choice, considering Vogel's defensive system needing a PG who can pressure the opposing ball handler, which Schröder is quite good at, and then LeBron's injury made it inevitable that he started as he became the sole offense creator.

Could have been this:
Caruso, KCP, LeBron, Davis, Gasol -- Schroeder, THT, Matthews, Markieff, Harrell

I wanted Caruso to start over Schroeder that whole year. LeBron going down was a problem though, Schroeder was leaned on hard then...

[Slava]

To me the Schroder trade made sense, but I immediately started to get nervous when he demanded (and was then granted) the starting PG spot. He's just not a good enough passer, decision-maker, or shooter to be a starter, let alone on a LeBron team. I was envisioning Wes replacing Green and then Schroder and Harrell combining to create an elite second unit which would take some offensive pressure off LeBron and AD. Starting Schroder just unbalanced the lineup and brutally exposed all of his flaws.

They didn't really have much of a choice, considering Vogel's defensive system needing a PG who can pressure the opposing ball handler, which Schröder is quite good at, and then LeBron's injury made it inevitable that he started as he became the sole offense creator.

Could have been this:
Caruso, KCP, LeBron, Davis, Gasol -- Schroeder, THT, Matthews, Markieff, Harrell

I wanted Caruso to start over Schroeder that whole year. LeBron going down was a problem though, Schroeder was leaned on hard then...

I think LeBron not wanting to play PG is as big a motive for Schröder starting than Schröder's demands. The very first LeBron season, Magic and Pelinka made it a point to emphasize playmaking for all the signings they made, I don't think that happens without it being the theme of LeBron's vision with how he wanted to play late in his career. Maybe he already knows what he can do as a ball handler in a spread pick and roll system and wanted a different challenge as a scorer, not least because he wanted the all time scoring title and would rather expend his energy as a post player.

[falcolombardi]

The holder of the greatest peak ever (since dating back to 1980 at least): Lebron James

Read on Twitter

I'm confused.

The greatest single-game DPM belongs to a game where LeBron scored 28 points on 58% TS and had 11 assists, 9 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 3 steals, 3 blocks, and a plus-minus of +12 in an 8 point win against the -1.8 SRS Raptors?

Decent game I guess, but not sure what the methodology is that would lead it to having the best DPM in the history of the league.

It's machine learning stuff (it doesn't really have to be intuitive lol), but most importantly, as far as I know it's continuum like an ELO system. It's not like that particular game was the best ever, more like the stretch leading to it.

do you know how many games stretch?

[Jaivl]

I'm confused.

The greatest single-game DPM belongs to a game where LeBron scored 28 points on 58% TS and had 11 assists, 9 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 3 steals, 3 blocks, and a plus-minus of +12 in an 8 point win against the -1.8 SRS Raptors?

Decent game I guess, but not sure what the methodology is that would lead it to having the best DPM in the history of the league.

It's machine learning stuff (it doesn't really have to be intuitive lol), but most importantly, as far as I know it's continuum like an ELO system. It's not like that particular game was the best ever, more like the stretch leading to it.

do you know how many games stretch?

I don't know. I would guess it fluctuates depending on where the algorithm obtains the best fit.

[McBubbles]

Read on Twitter

These are the losers voting on the awards btw. In addition to clowns like Ric Bucher and Bill Simmons. Yet I'm supposed to believe that Klutch and LeBron's media "fanboys" have just been running the show the last decade. If anything he needs more fanboys in the media. Out of all the rapists, wife beaters, and pedophiles the NBA has seen over the years LeBron James is the one guy who hasn't been a positive to the sport yeah okay.

He embodies everything these media idiots and so many Americans hate. They treated Ali the same way (*this isn't a comparison on their political stances, just their outspokenness and resulting backlash). That's why I'm glad LeBron stopped caring about his perception and I'm all for what Klutch and what they're doing. Any kind of push back against pieces of **** who peddle racially motivated vitriol like this is good in my book.

The NBA media is pure garbage. So much vitriol for a player who has been a model citizen off the court since entering the league as an 18 year old kid. Dudes have made entire careers out of hating on LeBron. You have one great who was credibly accused of rape, another great who impregnated a literal child, and yet LeBron is the problem star. Hmm.

The past few years I’ve become so much less interested in the NBA and way more interested in the NFL. That’s a league that builds their stars up. The NBA is nonstop trashing the best players. The media clowns with the most ridiculous takes get the most attention. It’s a cancer.

I think I've said this before but TNT is perhaps the worst marketing tool / self detrimental sports show in human history. It's incredibly popular but it epitomises the old head mentality. Despite the fact a lot of fans weren't even born in the era that the oldheads are deifying, they too come to believe that basketball now is **** and peaked in the 80's and 90's on account of them being dumbass sheep.

So you have a fanbase of ever expanding NBA fans who despite their new fandom are actually fans that mainly criticize the sport, leading to an ever increasing toxicity within the fandom.

[homecourtloss]

Read on Twitter

These are the losers voting on the awards btw. In addition to clowns like Ric Bucher and Bill Simmons. Yet I'm supposed to believe that Klutch and LeBron's media "fanboys" have just been running the show the last decade. If anything he needs more fanboys in the media. Out of all the rapists, wife beaters, and pedophiles the NBA has seen over the years LeBron James is the one guy who hasn't been a positive to the sport yeah okay.

He embodies everything these media idiots and so many Americans hate. They treated Ali the same way (*this isn't a comparison on their political stances, just their outspokenness and resulting backlash). That's why I'm glad LeBron stopped caring about his perception and I'm all for what Klutch and what they're doing. Any kind of push back against pieces of **** who peddle racially motivated vitriol like this is good in my book.

The NBA media is pure garbage. So much vitriol for a player who has been a model citizen off the court since entering the league as an 18 year old kid. Dudes have made entire careers out of hating on LeBron. You have one great who was credibly accused of rape, another great who impregnated a literal child, and yet LeBron is the problem star. Hmm.

The past few years I’ve become so much less interested in the NBA and way more interested in the NFL. That’s a league that builds their stars up. The NBA is nonstop trashing the best players. The media clowns with the most ridiculous takes get the most attention. It’s a cancer.

I think I've said this before but TNT is perhaps the worst marketing tool / self detrimental sports show in human history. It's incredibly popular but it epitomises the old head mentality. Despite the fact a lot of fans weren't even born in the era that is the oldheads are deifying, they too come to believe that basketball now is **** and peaked in the 80's and 90's on account of them being dumbass sheep.

So you have a fanbase of ever expanding NBA fans who despite their new fandom are actually fans that mainly criticize the sport, leading to an ever increasing toxicity within the fandom.

It really is fascinating to see the one sport in which the “general consensus” media and fan take is that these players aren’t as good as the players of the golden ‘80s and ‘90s and the cause of this is the never-ending deification of Jordan because if the league is more talented now (and it is, drawing players from everywhere), then it casts doubts on the unarguable GOATdom of Jordan. You’ll see that his most ardent supporters are 27-30 year olds who never even saw him play other than maybe as very little kids or saw old Jordan in Washington.

As thebigbird mentions, the NFL celebrates its current players, openly is in awe of better and better athletes making absurd catches every week, etc. Same can be said about baseball. But basketball? Nah, it was perfected in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

[LukaTheGOAT]

It's machine learning stuff (it doesn't really have to be intuitive lol), but most importantly, as far as I know it's continuum like an ELO system. It's not like that particular game was the best ever, more like the stretch leading to it.

do you know how many games stretch?

I don't know. I would guess it fluctuates depending on where the algorithm obtains the best fit.

It takes all the games of a player's career up until that point into account. I would listen to this episode with the creator of DARKO if you are interested in getting more detail.
https://www.callin.com/episode/callin-shots-ep-3-kostya-medvedovsky-jyShrOvLtk

[homecourtloss]

do you know how many games stretch?

I don't know. I would guess it fluctuates depending on where the algorithm obtains the best fit.

It takes all the games of a player's career up until that point into account. I would listen to this episode with the creator of DARKO if you are interested in getting more detail.
https://www.callin.com/episode/callin-shots-ep-3-kostya-medvedovsky-jyShrOvLtk

Was reading about this. Lends more credence to that 2009-2010 era being a PEAK peak.

[trickshot]

They didn't really have much of a choice, considering Vogel's defensive system needing a PG who can pressure the opposing ball handler, which Schröder is quite good at, and then LeBron's injury made it inevitable that he started as he became the sole offense creator.

Could have been this:
Caruso, KCP, LeBron, Davis, Gasol -- Schroeder, THT, Matthews, Markieff, Harrell

I wanted Caruso to start over Schroeder that whole year. LeBron going down was a problem though, Schroeder was leaned on hard then...

I think LeBron not wanting to play PG is as big a motive for Schröder starting than Schröder's demands. The very first LeBron season, Magic and Pelinka made it a point to emphasize playmaking for all the signings they made, I don't think that happens without it being the theme of LeBron's vision with how he wanted to play late in his career. Maybe he already knows what he can do as a ball handler in a spread pick and roll system and wanted a different challenge as a scorer, not least because he wanted the all time scoring title and would rather expend his energy as a post player.

Yeah, Lebron doesn't actually like playing PG as in being the dedicated pg. Brining the ball up, entry passes, having to set everything up and the busy work that comes with the position. Lebron doesn't like playing without another ballhandler. Delly, Schroder, Chalmers, a lot of lesser players have done the busy work. If he was okay with it I don't think anyone in their right mind would oppose. He is best for PG.

[trickshot]

[t

These are the losers voting on the awards btw. In addition to clowns like Ric Bucher and Bill Simmons. Yet I'm supposed to believe that Klutch and LeBron's media "fanboys" have just been running the show the last decade. If anything he needs more fanboys in the media. Out of all the rapists, wife beaters, and pedophiles the NBA has seen over the years LeBron James is the one guy who hasn't been a positive to the sport yeah okay.

He embodies everything these media idiots and so many Americans hate. They treated Ali the same way (*this isn't a comparison on their political stances, just their outspokenness and resulting backlash). That's why I'm glad LeBron stopped caring about his perception and I'm all for what Klutch and what they're doing. Any kind of push back against pieces of **** who peddle racially motivated vitriol like this is good in my book.

The NBA media is pure garbage. So much vitriol for a player who has been a model citizen off the court since entering the league as an 18 year old kid. Dudes have made entire careers out of hating on LeBron. You have one great who was credibly accused of rape, another great who impregnated a literal child, and yet LeBron is the problem star. Hmm.

The past few years I’ve become so much less interested in the NBA and way more interested in the NFL. That’s a league that builds their stars up. The NBA is nonstop trashing the best players. The media clowns with the most ridiculous takes get the most attention. It’s a cancer.

I think I've said this before but TNT is perhaps the worst marketing tool / self detrimental sports show in human history. It's incredibly popular but it epitomises the old head mentality. Despite the fact a lot of fans weren't even born in the era that the oldheads are deifying, they too come to believe that basketball now is **** and peaked in the 80's and 90's on account of them being dumbass sheep.

So you have a fanbase of ever expanding NBA fans who despite their new fandom are actually fans that mainly criticize the sport, leading to an ever increasing toxicity within the fandom.

Guys like Barkely are idiots but what shocks me are the amount of self proclaimed hardcore fans taking his garbage at face value. I knew he was full of crap but I almost couldn't believe it when someone brought it up how close his shooting volume was to Embiid's whom he dogged regularly for the same thing. I noticed he hasn't said a word since his contradiction was called out on that radio show.

Then what about Shaq's failure to understand the evolution of switching on the perimeter? The amount of people who jump on that take is shocking. The factors that made switching defense the default against volume shooting offenses happened right in front of us after 15. Are these people not watching or just repeating talking points about why the game is garbage?

Let me not even get started on the romanticising of thugball, a phenomenon that made the players very unlikable and almost killed the league's image as a game of chavs. Nowadays stars never get credit for cleaning up the league's image, instead these idiots actually put them down for not instigating more altercations. Do people just not know the tighter regulations we have today were instituted because of the image problem the league once had to deal with?

Even off the floor guys like Barkley, MJ, Malone got away with murder that would have them cancelled today. Their images were well protected. If they had the slightest bit of wisdom they'd be understanding as to why today's stars can't and shouldn't emulate them.

[LukaTheGOAT]

I don't know. I would guess it fluctuates depending on where the algorithm obtains the best fit.

It takes all the games of a player's career up until that point into account. I would listen to this episode with the creator of DARKO if you are interested in getting more detail.
https://www.callin.com/episode/callin-shots-ep-3-kostya-medvedovsky-jyShrOvLtk

Was reading about this. Lends more credence to that 2009-2010 era being a PEAK peak.

I suppose the idea of Miami Heat Lebron is theoretical and the belief that he can do pretty much everything and is more well-rounded. But I still stand by my belief that 09 Lebron followe by a healthy elbow 10 Lebron is the greatest player ever. I get numbers aren't everything but it's hard for me to believe that those versions are incapable of doing what he did in Miami.

I guess that is part of what makes basketball interesting because unlike baseball, simply looking at numbers isn't enough to give you a definite answer that Player A is above Player B and there is room for interpretation of how players do in different circumstances.

[LukaTheGOAT]

do you know how many games stretch?

I don't know. I would guess it fluctuates depending on where the algorithm obtains the best fit.

It takes all the games of a player's career up until that point into account. I would listen to this episode with the creator of DARKO if you are interested in getting more detail.
https://www.callin.com/episode/callin-shots-ep-3-kostya-medvedovsky-jyShrOvLtk

Also some additional podcasts where he talks about the stat

https://anchor.fm/sportsonpaper/episodes/8---Kostya-Medvedovsky--DARKO-and-assorted-NBA-analytics-topics-e1dfj09

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/darko-introduction/id1253824635?i=1000463628765

https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-grizzlies/episode/is-ja-morant-a-top-value-in-the-nba-over-the-next-5-years-darko-projections-metric-creator-kostya-medvedovsky-joins-the-show-to-discuss-86331824 (This pod right before the season basically projects the superstardom of Ja Morant).

Kostya Medvedovsky's also has a blog and unironically made some predictions about this upcoming NBA season that have been ABNORMALLY good

https://kmedved.com/

You could say this guy has foresight.

[McBubbles]

The NBA media is pure garbage. So much vitriol for a player who has been a model citizen off the court since entering the league as an 18 year old kid. Dudes have made entire careers out of hating on LeBron. You have one great who was credibly accused of rape, another great who impregnated a literal child, and yet LeBron is the problem star. Hmm.

The past few years I’ve become so much less interested in the NBA and way more interested in the NFL. That’s a league that builds their stars up. The NBA is nonstop trashing the best players. The media clowns with the most ridiculous takes get the most attention. It’s a cancer.

I think I've said this before but TNT is perhaps the worst marketing tool / self detrimental sports show in human history. It's incredibly popular but it epitomises the old head mentality. Despite the fact a lot of fans weren't even born in the era that the oldheads are deifying, they too come to believe that basketball now is **** and peaked in the 80's and 90's on account of them being dumbass sheep.

So you have a fanbase of ever expanding NBA fans who despite their new fandom are actually fans that mainly criticize the sport, leading to an ever increasing toxicity within the fandom.

Guys like Barkely are idiots but what shocks me are the amount of self proclaimed hardcore fans taking his garbage at face value. I knew he was full of crap but I almost couldn't believe it when someone brought it up how close his shooting volume was to Embiid's whom he dogged regularly for the same thing. I noticed he hasn't said a word since his contradiction was called out on that radio show.

Then what about Shaq's failure to understand the evolution of switching on the perimeter? The amount of people who jump on that take is shocking. The factors that made switching defense the default against volume shooting offenses happened right in front of us after 15. Are these people not watching or just repeating talking points about why the game is garbage?

Let me not even get started on the romanticising of thugball, a phenomenon that made the players very unlikable and almost killed the league's image as a game of chavs. Nowadays stars never get credit for cleaning up the league's image, instead these idiots actually put them down for not instigating more altercations. Do people just not know the tighter regulations we have today were instituted because of the image problem the league once had to deal with?

Even off the floor guys like Barkley, MJ, Malone got away with murder that would have them cancelled today. Their images were well protected. If they had the slightest bit of wisdom they'd be understanding as to why today's stars can't and shouldn't emulate them.

Was going to break down your reply bit by bit but basically I 110% agree with everything you just said annoys me to no end too. It seems inevitable that anti-intellectualism and performative masculinity will dominate sports forever. Hence why you have people being praised for being so sensitive and unable to control their emotions that they lash out violently over a literal game. That's a boys idea of what manliness is. Resorting to violence whenever you feel embarrassed or emotional. Yet oldheads / fake oldheads love that fake tough guy BS.

and in regards to TNT BBIQ I'm pretty sure to this day former players still recommend doubling Lebron (and now Jokic in the post)...

It is also funnily enough always the most proclaimed hardcore fans who know the least. People that say "I've been watching ball for 39 years kid" and yet don't realise that they know **** all. Not even just about the nuances of the game either, or about TS%. These guys always get basic facts wrong too lol.

[McBubbles]

It takes all the games of a player's career up until that point into account. I would listen to this episode with the creator of DARKO if you are interested in getting more detail.
https://www.callin.com/episode/callin-shots-ep-3-kostya-medvedovsky-jyShrOvLtk

Was reading about this. Lends more credence to that 2009-2010 era being a PEAK peak.

I suppose the idea of Miami Heat Lebron is theoretical and the belief that he can do pretty much everything and is more well-rounded. But I still stand by my belief that 09 Lebron followe by a healthy elbow 10 Lebron is the greatest player ever. I get numbers aren't everything but it's hard for me to believe that those versions are incapable of doing what he did in Miami.

I guess that is part of what makes basketball interesting because unlike baseball, simply looking at numbers isn't enough to give you a definite answer that Player A is above Player B and there is room for interpretation of how players do in different circumstances.

I'm actually starting to be of the belief that Lebron's true peak was actually wasted / never seen. The difference between 08-10 Lebron's athleticism and 2011-2013 Lebron's athleticism was monumental. It was like two tiers apart, all for what? So he could switch onto 4's every blue moon and post up an extra 0.8 times a game? 08-10 Lebron wouldn't lose in 2011 Finals. The year before he was off the dribble tomahawk dunking on dudes in the half court. He couldn't move for **** in 2011 though. His added weight decreased his stamina and visibly did decrease his speed and vertical.

2011-14 Lebron was legitimately extremely well rounded though. In 2011 shot 45% from mid range on 6 attempts per game and 42% on 7 attempts per game (tied 5th highest volume in the league with Melo) in 2012. Shot 50% from the post in 2013 and 14 on average in addition to 39% 3 point shooting on average.

If you combine his Miami roundedness with his Cleveland athleticism I think we get something even better than what we actually saw.

And I know that most skill peaks don't coincidence with athletic peaks anyway but it's not like Lebron had left his athletic peak, he just shut it off temporarily cuz he got fat on request lol. There's no reason why 2017-18 Lebron should be more nimble than 2011-13 Lebron. Tis a travesty.

[thebigbird]

“Four-pronged brain trust” of Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, Kurt Rambis, and Linda Rambis lmao. Does any team in the league have a worse front office?

Read on Twitter

?s=21

[TroubleS0me]

Watch on YouTube

[zimpy27]

They didn't really have much of a choice, considering Vogel's defensive system needing a PG who can pressure the opposing ball handler, which Schröder is quite good at, and then LeBron's injury made it inevitable that he started as he became the sole offense creator.

Could have been this:
Caruso, KCP, LeBron, Davis, Gasol -- Schroeder, THT, Matthews, Markieff, Harrell

I wanted Caruso to start over Schroeder that whole year. LeBron going down was a problem though, Schroeder was leaned on hard then...

I think LeBron not wanting to play PG is as big a motive for Schröder starting than Schröder's demands. The very first LeBron season, Magic and Pelinka made it a point to emphasize playmaking for all the signings they made, I don't think that happens without it being the theme of LeBron's vision with how he wanted to play late in his career. Maybe he already knows what he can do as a ball handler in a spread pick and roll system and wanted a different challenge as a scorer, not least because he wanted the all time scoring title and would rather expend his energy as a post player.

I think he just wants to be able to sit and the team doesn't crumble. Not since Miami days has he been able to sit on the bench and not watch the team undo his hardwork.
LeBron will take over playmaker in playoffs, we know he can do that. Just needs another playmaker that can do that too.

Westbrook trade is actually fine, the main problem has been that the FO seemed obsessed with spacing and completely eroded the teams defense.

They should have simply kept Caruso, Matthews, Markieff instead of Nunn, Bazemore, Jordan. Should have kept Dudley too. That would have made a big difference for continuity, defense and cohesion.

Westbrook, Caruso, Ariza, LeBron, Davis -- Bradley, Monk, Matthews, Melo, Dwight -- Rondo, Reaves, Johnson, Dudley, Markieff

The spacing didn't make sense. The team should have been about number 1 defense and interior/midrange scoring with some 3s.

[toodles23]

Was reading about this. Lends more credence to that 2009-2010 era being a PEAK peak.

I suppose the idea of Miami Heat Lebron is theoretical and the belief that he can do pretty much everything and is more well-rounded. But I still stand by my belief that 09 Lebron followe by a healthy elbow 10 Lebron is the greatest player ever. I get numbers aren't everything but it's hard for me to believe that those versions are incapable of doing what he did in Miami.

I guess that is part of what makes basketball interesting because unlike baseball, simply looking at numbers isn't enough to give you a definite answer that Player A is above Player B and there is room for interpretation of how players do in different circumstances.

I'm actually starting to be of the belief that Lebron's true peak was actually wasted / never seen. The difference between 08-10 Lebron's athleticism and 2011-2013 Lebron's athleticism was monumental. It was like two tiers apart, all for what? So he could switch onto 4's every blue moon and post up an extra 0.8 times a game? 08-10 Lebron wouldn't lose in 2011 Finals. The year before he was off the dribble tomahawk dunking on dudes in the half court. He couldn't move for **** in 2011 though. His added weight decreased his stamina and visibly did decrease his speed and vertical.

2011-14 Lebron was legitimately extremely well rounded though. In 2011 shot 45% from mid range on 6 attempts per game and 42% on 7 attempts per game (tied 5th highest volume in the league with Melo) in 2012. Shot 50% from the post in 2013 and 14 on average in addition to 39% 3 point shooting on average.

If you combine his Miami roundedness with his Cleveland athleticism I think we get something even better than what we actually saw.

And I know that most skill peaks don't coincidence with athletic peaks anyway but it's not like Lebron had left his athletic peak, he just shut it off temporarily cuz he got fat on request lol. There's no reason why 2017-18 Lebron should be more nimble than 2011-13 Lebron. Tis a travesty.

Yeah I've come to believe this too, I wonder what the reason was for bulking up. Did Riley or somebody else in the organization tell him to or was it his own decision? Really, it's impressive that his Miami tenure was as dominant as it was despite carrying around an extra 25+ pounds for no reason. Watch some highlights from the 2017 ECF and compare it to him in Miami and the difference in his quickness off the dribble is night and day despite being several years older.

Look at the **** he was doing here in 09, the dunk at 4:33 for example just out of this world. Imagine if he had his Miami skillset with this kind of inhuman athleticism

Watch on YouTube

[lamscott]

“Four-pronged brain trust” of Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, Kurt Rambis, and Linda Rambis lmao. Does any team in the league have a worse front office?

Read on Twitter

?s=21

Historically the Lakers have had a lot of drama. Dating back to Magic getting Paul Westhead fired. Worthy missing games for picking up a hooker. Jerry Buss picking Phil Jackson over Jerry West.

It is what the Lakers are.

[sp6r=underrated]

It really is fascinating to see the one sport in which the “general consensus” media and fan take is that these players aren’t as good as the players of the golden ‘80s and ‘90s and the cause of this is the never-ending deification of Jordan because if the league is more talented now (and it is, drawing players from everywhere), then it casts doubts on the unarguable GOATdom of Jordan. You’ll see that his most ardent supporters are 27-30 year olds who never even saw him play other than maybe as very little kids or saw old Jordan in Washington.

As thebigbird mentions, the NFL celebrates its current players, openly is in awe of better and better athletes making absurd catches every week, etc. Same can be said about baseball. But basketball? Nah, it was perfected in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Disagree about baseball. They are even worse about ripping their stars. Their media is so petty they've enacted a boycott against a generation of superstars from ever making their HOF.

Basketball should not travel this road. Extreme nostalgia hurts baseball.

I dislike a lot about the NFL. I dislike the fact they pretend the pre-Super Bowl era basically didn't exist. But their mindset of celebrating current players is 100% and treating every year as the best year of football is a lot more proper.

As to Lebron, others have said it more eloquently than I have, but this is a man who has been (i) pegged as a GOAT level player since HS; (ii) somehow lived up to hype; (iii) despite being a great player is also highly marketable and (iv) is willing to embrace the role of ambassador for the association. He lived up to everything you could hope for in a top player.

Off the court has has no vices unlike Jordan's pathological gambling which the NBA tried to cover up and now absurdly and disgustingly his fans celebrate as almost a good thing. There have never been the allegations of rampant womanizing as their was with Wilt/Magic. Nor has he ever been arrested unlike many others. He's never been credibly accused of participating in the grotesque bullying so many other athletes have been. As far I can tell he's a conscientious citizen. This doesn't apply I agree with every decision he's made.

But overall this is an all-time great, global athlete and a fine human being as well.