Reflections on the GOAT

 Now that LeBron James has become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history, his supporters have once again begun to loudly proclaim him to be the Greatest Of All Time. I’ve written on this topic before (A Writer's Life: The Greatest of All Time (rdperryauthor.blogspot.com)) and I am still not convinced. If you’ve read some of my earlier posts, you also know that I am not a fan of LeBron James for many reasons. (A Writer's Life: How LeBron James Ruined the NBA - Update (rdperryauthor.blogspot.com))

Let me say up front that I believe LBJ is an incredible athlete and his accomplishments are beyond amazing. However, I see a clear distinction between Longevity records and the GOAT debate. Every sport has at least one superb athlete who played at a high level for a very long time and racked up tons of statistical achievements. That particular player (in most sports) is rarely considered the GOAT, because most fans recognize that Longevity (nor stats) alone does not necessarily equate with greatness.

To put it another way, if the scoring record now makes LBJ the Greatest, then why was Kareem not considered the GOAT while he was the leader? Perhaps because most fans understand that there is more to basketball than just scoring. And by the way, if we’re going to celebrate Longevity records, let’s not be so picky. Where was the big game-stopping celebration when LBJ became the all-time leader in turnovers in NBA history? (And he has a huge ever-increasing margin over the second place guy!) Or what about missed field goals. Or missed free throws. He is the leader among active players already in both of those categories. Reality check, if LBJ continues playing long enough, he will eventually be the leader in every statistic the NBA tracks. Good and bad.

So, if we can’t base our decision on just stats or rings or awards or whatever, what do we use? How about a combination of all these things and what some call the eye test. Here’s my take. Kind of like the old playground days. If you lined up every NBA player who had ever played at his absolute prime and drafted a team, who would you pick? I guarantee you, in my opinion, if Michael Jordan and LeBron James are both available, when it comes my time to choose, I select MJ, no question, no hesitation, no doubt. (And honestly, if MJ is gone and LBJ is still standing on the line? There are many guys I would pick before I considered choosing him. Okay, really honest this time. I would never pick LBJ for my team!)

Why not? I think he is a poor team player. Here are my reasons. If I was going to be the coach, he would eventually get me fired. A teammate? Sooner or later, he would try and get me traded for someone else. The team owner? How long would I have him, before he decided to become a free agent and leave for what he considered a better situation? And in the meantime, how many times would he embarrass me by flopping, whining, or begging for the refs to help him out? Or happily celebrating one of his individual achievements while our team was losing the game? All things considered? Not someone I would want on my team.

How about another test? If you were the coach, and you had MJ and LBJ both on your team, down a basket with only seconds to play, who do you want taking the last shot? I know which play I’m drawing up. LBJ can set a screen or pick up an assist to pad his stats, but I want MJ taking the clutch shot. Again, no question, no hesitation, no doubt.

Anyway, LeBron is a great player. Seriously. But all things considered, I really don’t believe he is the greatest NBA player of all time. I just don’t. And records and stats aside, there are current players that are just as good (or better) in my opinion. Will they have a career that matches LBJ? Most probably won’t come close, but again, there’s more to the game than just longevity.