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Sports Daily: LeBron's Declaration

  01:22 PM - February 12, 2014 by RaychelSnr

Hey look everyone, it's LeBron James again. He can dunk and he can talk -- about himself even.

In an interview that will air on NBA TV this coming Monday, "King James" declared:

Quote:
"I'm going to be one of the top four that's ever played this game, for sure. And if they don't want me to have one of those top four spots, they'd better find another spot on that mountain. Somebody's gotta get bumped, but that's not for me to decide. That's for the architects."

While he may have a point should his career continue without any major hitches or drop-off in performance, many feel it's awkward to hear someone speak of their own legacy in such a way.

Sound Off: Do you have a problem with LeBron James declaring himself one of the four greatest players ever?

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Member Comments
# 21 RipCityAndy @ 02/12/14 05:01 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ojandpizza
You listed off some great guys but completely lost credibility by mentioning Pippen, Malone, and Dr. J... Those 3 don't even compare with guys at the very top and probably wouldn't even crack most people's top 10 to 15 of all time.
Sorry... I need to elaborate more. I wasn't giving a list of my top players of all time, but rather a list of players (all elite) that LBJ is putting himself above when he says he's top 4. It puts things into perspective.
 
# 22 AlexBrady @ 02/12/14 05:02 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfessaPackMan
Random but how come Tim Duncan never gets talked about being one of the top 4-5 players to have played the game? Always noticed his name never comes up in that conversation although it pops up when expanding it to Top 10 players of all time.
Duncan plays a basic game. So basic that his specific skills are taken for granted.
 
# 23 poloelite @ 02/12/14 05:23 PM
Lebron has another section of his career he has to complete before he's ranked realistically. Until two years ago he couldn't even finish games off consistently, so let's slow down on putting him high on an all time list. After the 92 Finals MJ was pretty high, but to me it's what he did until 98 and how he sustained it that solidified his GOAT status. I mention that because Lebron has his 2nd title. I'm not saying he has to win as many Kobe and Duncan, but he must hold off Durant longer so his stay at the top is longer than 2 years.
 
# 24 poloelite @ 02/12/14 05:25 PM
My personal top 5 is MJ, Russell, Kareem, Wilt and Magic. The next 5 is West, Bird, Dr. J, Oscar and Duncan.
 
# 25 Demoncrom @ 02/12/14 05:35 PM
What athlete does not want to be the best that ever did it. If he didn't feel this way then I would have a problem with him. He got a way to go before he hits that mark but he certainly has the talent to do it.
 
# 26 ojandpizza @ 02/12/14 05:41 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfessaPackMan
Random but how come Tim Duncan never gets talked about being one of the top 4-5 players to have played the game? Always noticed his name never comes up in that conversation although it pops up when expanding it to Top 10 players of all time.

I think he's easily the greatest PF, out of the other 4 or so guys you can consider for that crown his game was much more complete.. So if we are listing by position I think he does crack top 5, I think most people would feel that way..

But when any player is up for grabs it becomes tougher to choose him.. You got your obvious 3 Jordan, Magic, Bird they are basically the staple for everyone's top list. Then you have Bill with the rings, Wilt and Oscar with ridiculous numbers, and Kareem.. That's already 7 guys. Then some people don't think Duncan is even the best player of his generation. Some stick him behind Kobe, Shaq, or LeBron even..

I don't like naming anybody who hasn't finished their career yet, which is why Duncan, LeBron, Kobe didn't even crack my list in the top 10 thread we had.. But I think Duncan is right up there in the conversation with any of the all time greats.. Whether he gets labeled 5th or 15th, not much separates those guys outside of personal preference.. Hard to put a number label on so many great players.
 
# 27 ojandpizza @ 02/12/14 05:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by poloelite
Lebron has another section of his career he has to complete before he's ranked realistically. Until two years ago he couldn't even finish games off consistently, so let's slow down on putting him high on an all time list. After the 92 Finals MJ was pretty high, but to me it's what he did until 98 and how he sustained it that solidified his GOAT status. I mention that because Lebron has his 2nd title. I'm not saying he has to win as many Kobe and Duncan, but he must hold off Durant longer so his stay at the top is longer than 2 years.

Maybe if you consider winning rings the only way a player can be great or be "at the top".. Because LeBron has been the best player in the league at least the past 5 seasons now, I would personally say more like 7+ but just to save argument we can call it 5.. So yeah if you think he has to keep winning rings, or he's was expected to win rigs before with Mo ****ing Williams I would say your expectations are just ridiculously high..
 
# 28 ojandpizza @ 02/12/14 05:50 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by poloelite
My personal top 5 is MJ, Russell, Kareem, Wilt and Magic. The next 5 is West, Bird, Dr. J, Oscar and Duncan.

Interesting you basically said LeBron can't be up there unless he can keep winning, while Oscar never won until he got Kareem, Wilt only took 1 ring from Russell's dominance before he finally teamed with other stars and took a backseat role to win another in LA.. Magic and Bird could never fully keep the other from winning, DR. J didn't win **** without Moses, and Duncan never full solidified his stretch of rings over Shaq and various other teams through this modern era.
 
# 29 jeebs9 @ 02/12/14 06:00 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by The 24th Letter
The 3rd part of LeBrons career should be very interesting....I'm intrigued to see what "old manl" LeBron is like...
That's basically what I'm waiting for before I really say anything.
 
# 30 lilteapot @ 02/12/14 06:03 PM
It'll be interesting if he can adapt his game to be more refined and skillful and if his perimeter shooting improves, much like kobe had to change it up when he got older.
 
# 31 ojandpizza @ 02/12/14 06:21 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeebs9
That's basically what I'm waiting for before I really say anything.

Part of me wants him to leave at a younger age like MJ so he can go out on top, part of me wants him to stick around and pile up ridiculous accolades... Either way all waiting around to see him play while he's older isn't going to count for much except for his stats and possible all-NBA awards, or rings.. None of which really matter all that much in my view.. Players at their very best goes way father in my opinion on how they stack up with other players at their best.. Very few players age as nicely as Kareem, Kobe, Malone, and Duncan and most are out of the league before it even gets to that point.. But regardless it doesn't really matter to me who's better at age 35 anyways lol.
 
# 32 thedream2k13 @ 02/12/14 06:22 PM
"Hey look everyone, it's LeBron James again. He can dunk and he can talk -- about himself even."

EXACTLY
 
# 33 ehh @ 02/12/14 06:57 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfessaPackMan
Random but how come Tim Duncan never gets talked about being one of the top 4-5 players to have played the game? Always noticed his name never comes up in that conversation although it pops up when expanding it to Top 10 players of all time.
1) Look at the Finals TV ratings when the Spurs have been in them. They're dreadful. People don't watch him play that often and/or don't like watching him play which obviously has an impact on how they rank him. His "substance over style" game hurts him.

2) Not sure you can make a compelling case for him against Kareem, Wilt or Russell. You can make a case vs Hakeem and Shaq though. Neither of those last two guys ever get into Top 5 arguments (or shouldn't at least) so it makes sense that Timmy doesn't.

3) He has the "Kobe Effect" going against him. For much of his career you can argue he wasn't the best player in the league or even the Top 2 in some years.

4) Something like getting destroyed by Amare that one series can hurt a guy's legacy. Just look at the Hakeem vs the Admiral situation, it's almost the first thing people bring up when discussing Robinson's legacy. Granted that was on a much larger scale than Amare/Duncan (and Duncan easily won the series and played well) it still leaves a lasting impression. Seeing a guy get lit up over an entire series isn't going to give you a "damn, that's Top 5 player" type of feeling inside. It's pretty easy to say Amare was the better PF in that series.

5) His statistics are good but not great. Hasn't averaged over 20.0 ppg since he was 28 years old. He's a bit of a compiler like Karl Malone. Only two MVP's - both of which came at a time when the league's talent level was extremely low.

6) Same thing that I hold against Shaq, the league was void of quality big men when they won titles. I can't help but think how Timmy would have fared if he was born a decade earlier and had to face a league full of good big men. He'd be great but probably wouldn't have won as much.


All in all I think he deserves to be in the Top 10 so he's properly ranked there when most people have these discussions. When he finally retires I'll probably never be able to decide how I'd rank Shaq, Hakeem and Timmy (always said I'd take Hakeem over Shaq though). If the Spurs had managed to beat LeBron last year and get Timmy that 5th title I think it would have done wonders for his legacy.
 
# 34 The 24th Letter @ 02/12/14 07:41 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by thedream2k13
"Hey look everyone, it's LeBron James again. He can dunk and he can talk -- about himself even."



EXACTLY

.....what?
 
# 35 ggsimmonds @ 02/12/14 08:08 PM
You disappoint me OS. LeBron did not declare that he was a top 4 player of all time, he said he is going to be.

There is a difference, and with that difference in mind, I do not have a problem with what he said at all. As a matter of fact, his goal should be to be number one of all time.
 
# 36 24 @ 02/12/14 11:07 PM
I think he certainly has the potential to be if he keeps up the current pace he's at now. He's approaching the make or break part of his career when it comes to aging however. It will be interesting to see if he's able to adapt to a new style of play as he ages. I have no doubt that He will be able to do it.
 
# 37 TjJunior @ 02/13/14 07:18 AM
Confidence and consistent play are key to being a professional athlete in my opinion, so I would say the same thing. Its where he wants to be and maybe saying it aloud for himself and everyone else is motivational. Whatever gets you to your end game, do it. No matter how its recieved by the public.
 
# 38 Vni @ 02/13/14 10:31 AM
Next player Lebron teams up with is a point guard. As he gets older he will becomre more of a high post roll man power forward type of player and he will need a great point guard.
 
# 39 Rocky @ 02/13/14 11:30 AM
I don't think Lebron will ever reach the reverance that MJ, Russell, Bird, or Magic have. Those guys meant so much more to the game than there on the floor statistics would indicate. I think Lebron will be grouped in with Wilt, KAJ, Oscar, etc. Great players, probably as good if not better than the players listed above, but they just didn't have the impact that my "Mount Rushmore" has.
 
# 40 jcmreds @ 02/13/14 12:27 PM
Big talk from someone who had his second title handed to him by Pop sitting out Duncan at the end of game 6.
 


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