As I said before, the biggest news this season, regardless of who goes on to win the championship, will be Lebron James breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record. When Kareem retired, he was unanimously considered to be the greatest player in NBA history. The same cannot be said for Lebron, as whether he's better than Jordan especially is still a matter of debate. So the purpose of this post is to compare him to the handful of other players who, even if for a moment, were once considered the G.O.A.T. And let it be known that I'm not about to do a bunch of statistical research in writing this shit. Rather, I'm going based on our general understandings of the featured greats.
WILT CHAMBERLAIN
For the longest people were saying that no one would ever break Kareem's scoring record, but now Lebron is about to do it. What is likely to never ever happen, like for real tho, is someone averaging 26 rebounds (!) and 50 points (!!) like Wilt did in 1961-62.
What's generally understood was that being the early, Caucasian-majority era of NBA history. In other words most of the players were White, and Wilt, on top of being Black, was also like way bigger than everybody else. Still it was Bill Russell, who never averaged anywhere near 50 points, that won (a lot) more championships than Chamberlain. Russell wasn't as big as Wilt but perhaps closer in size to him than anyone else in the 1960s NBA. So the argument is that if Wilt would have played, say, in the 1980s going, he would have been dominant but not as much, almost like a Shaq, if you will. And of course Shaq was unstoppable in his own right, but he wasn't like scoring half of his team's points.
So as for LBJ vs. Wilt, we have to give Lebron the benefit of the doubt, because we don't know how Wilt would have fared in an NBA where 7-footers are as common as they are now (and also expected to be able to shoot from the outside).
BILL RUSSELL
Russell averaged approximately 25 rebounds a few times in his career as well. He's also 'the winningest athlete in professional sports', or something like that I saw on a beer commercial or something, having won 11 championship in 13 years. And no disrespect to the NBA of yesteryear, but that's some lack of parity/rigging for your ass. In other words, even Steph would be lucky if he ends up with 5 or 6 championships out this piece.
It's a shame that so little is known about Russell's playing style, even though he was the star player on the most-dominant team even. But what it looks like is that he was sort of a super-Rodman, you know, like a Rodman who can also score.
It's safe to say by this point in his career that Lebron will never be a Bill Russell - or even a Robert Horry - as far as winning championships go. These days there are too many good teams out there, and the present-day Lakers are the masters of the one step forward, two step backwards roster building style. But if LBJ were around during the 1960s and allowed to do his thing, there's no reason not to believe he wouldn't have been just as dominant as Russell.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR
These days Kareem is basically like an old, irritating geezer, the type who likes to lend his two cents even at times that doing so may not be for the best. But you have to love him, being the scoring leader and all and also the father of the Lakers as we know them today.
Kareem also played center, which remains, IMO, the most-important position in basketball. But I have to give it to Lebron over him because LBJ is a lot more versatile. Who knows if Kareem played in the 21st century, when bigmen are allowed dribble and shit like that? That skyhook too was undefendable and so difficult that even now you don't see players attempting it. But the reason I'm giving it to LBJ over him is because Kareem's game was for the most part limited to the post area.
HONORABLE MENTION: DR. J
Believe it or not, there was a time when like the NBA and ABA were like equal. Nowadays, the closest thing to the NBA (within the United States) is that Big 3, which I've never been able to watch because it reminds me of the Harlem Globetrotters or some shit, and even then it's has been on like indefinite hiatus since the pandemic.
So Dr. J spent the first five years of his professional career in the ABA, which I'm guessing wouldn't count towards NBA. Actually his NBA and ABA combined is 30,000 points, -an impressive number but still a ways off from Kareem and LBJ. He was also a above-average rebounder for a small forward, at least for a time. But the real reason I had to place him on the GOAT list is because there was an when he was the most-popular player in the NBA. Like you would see his image on the back of a cereal box, not Kareem's. And the reason I'm brining that up is because being the GOAT, in reality, also has a lot to do with popularity, which I would say is another reason why you don't hear Wilt or Bill's name commonly in the conversation, simply because the NBA wasn't as popular back then.
MICHEAL JORDAN
That's why to me Michael Jordan will always be the greatest of all-time. There was a moment when he was not only the most-popular player in the NBA but also the most-recognizable celebrity in the world (according to Oprah), like even besting Michael Jackson type shit. He was the one who put everybody in like Europe and China up on basketball. So unless life is discovered on Mars and the NBA decides to promote basketball on an interplanetary level, there can never be another player as great as Michael Jordan. He's like to basketball what Jesus is to the Bible.
HONORABLE MENTION: KOBE BRYANT
The most surefire way to become an NBA mega-star is to be a national star in high school, get drafted and live up to the billing as a professional. Zion Williamson being named an All-Star (starter) this season is by and large attributable to his lingering popularity from high school. Dude is injured over half the time, but the fans still love him because he was a high school phenom who, when he does play, tends to dominate.
And so it was with Kobe Bryant. Even though he was drafted 13th or whatever, he was a star straight out of high school. And even though it took him a couple of years to really find his stride, still he could put on the show from day one. So of course after winning five championships and being an All-Star starter like throughout his entire career, there are some people who would argue that Kobe is in fact the GOAT. I personally am not one of them. But I will always give him credit for being the one player who was most able to emulate Jordan's playing style, which is obviously a very difficult thing to do.
LUKA DONCIC
I do believe that by the time Luka's career is over, statistically he will be in the GOAT debate. That is if he's able to stay on the court long enough to rack up those stats. Lebron doing so isn't only about his skill but also being healthy enough to play regularly, especially earlier in his career. Meanwhile, Doncic's tender ass has been dealing with notable injury issues practically since he came to the NBA.
STEPH CURRY
I don't know how exactly I feel about Steph Curry being in the GOAT conversation. I have no problem agreeing that he's the greatest and most-dominant scoring PG ever, or at least that I've ever seen play. But it's hard to compare him directly to Kareem, LBJ or even Jordan really due to the size differences. But I think it says a lot that Steph is the only person on this list who like isn't a giant.
CONCLUSION
I wouldn't be surprised if Lebron, who just needs 36 points now to break the scoring record, does so tonight against OKC, since they let Klay drop 42 on them just last night. I do believe, in all honesty, that Lebron is better all-around player than Jordan, and also, Michael didn't play 20 years straight. But it's hard to imagine that he will ever actually be greater than MJ. Indeed, the power King James has wielded is largely attributable to the standard Jordan set before him as the best player in the NBA.
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