is it too early too put aldridge in the same league as lebron, durant, dirk?

[Tr1boy]

He has been always considered a nice pf. But this past year finally broke out to  be considered one of the top 5-10 players in the league. These two past games vs the rockets he has put on mvp worthy performanes. Single coverage, double coverage, different defenders it hasnt mattered.

Thoughts?

[PhoSita]

I think he's on a similar level to Dirk right now.  He's still a clear step below LeBron and Durant, along with a number of other players.

[Tr1boy]

I think he's on a similar level to Dirk right now.  He's still a clear step below LeBron and Durant, along with a number of other players.

I disagree. Dirk is just as good as lebron and durant. Give him wade and bosh and he would of won 2 rings also

[D.o.s.]

I think he's on a similar level to Dirk right now.  He's still a clear step below LeBron and Durant, along with a number of other players.

I disagree. Dirk is just as good as lebron and durant. Give him wade and bosh and he would of won 2 rings also

You're selling some of those Dallas teams really short when you say that.

Dirk and LA aren't in the same zone as Durant or LeBron, but I'd put LA and Blake as 1 and 1A for best Power Forward in the game right now. Dirk's a great player, but he's entering the twilight of his career.

[BballTim]

  It's way too late to put him in that class. LMA's a 3 time all-star and made 1 all-nba team. At his age Dirk was probably on 6-7 of both all-star and all nba teams. And Dirk's not in the LeBron/Durant class. He's had a  good season and a great couple of playoff games but it's his 8th year. It's not like he's been on this level for most of his career.

[Donoghus]

Dirk's not in Lebron or Durant's class.

LMA's a helluva player but he's not top echelon. 

[HomerSapien]

There is exactly one other guy in the NBA that MIGHT be able to dream of being in the Lebron/Durant class one day. 

Anthony Davis. 

That's it. 

LMA is a great player though, and is playing otherworldly in the HOU/POR series.  I actually really like that Portland team.  They have a little bit of everything.  That's been a fun series to watch so far and I'll enjoy a ride on the Portland bandwagon for a few games.

[Tr1boy]

What did lebron win with the cavs? Has durant won a ring yet? Im not talking about that though. Im talking about domination factor with support. Ppl forget dirk with a decent team schooled lebron at times.

Aldridge is doing that to dhoward and deep rockets team. He is unstoppable right now.

[footey]

If he keeps playing this way and wins a championship, he is.

[footey]

I can't believe I liked Tyrus Thomas over Aldridge in the draft.  So did the Bulls.  What a mistake.

[Roy H.]

Let's not elevate Aldridge to the class of all-time greats yet.  Let him make it out of the second round, first.

[Blaze4G]

There is exactly one other guy in the NBA that MIGHT be able to dream of being in the Lebron/Durant class one day. 

Anthony Davis. 

That's it. 

LMA is a great player though, and is playing otherworldly in the HOU/POR series.  I actually really like that Portland team.  They have a little bit of everything.  That's been a fun series to watch so far and I'll enjoy a ride on the Portland bandwagon for a few games.

Barring injuries I  think Anthony Davis has the potential to surpass/match lebron and durant. With a team that runs its offense through AD he could average 28ppg, 10reb, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 4 assist, 78ft%, 53fg%.

[BballTim]

What did lebron win with the cavs? Has durant won a ring yet?

  Aside from multiple league MVPs LeBron won 7 playoff series with the Cavs and made it to the finals and the conference finals. LMA is still looking for his first playoff series win and he's been on the Blazers longer than LeBron was on the Cavs. It's not out of the question that LeBron will have had more team success before he went to Miami than LMA will have in his career.

Aldridge is doing that to dhoward and deep rockets team. He is unstoppable right now.

  He might be unstoppable now, but remember "now" is a brief period of time in his 8th year.

[RyNye]

Dirk is a great player. A first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, all-time great at his position.

That said, there is absolutely no metric by which Dirk could compare to Lebron and Durant this season. Both Lebron and Durant him surpass him statistically almost across the board (both by the box score and by the advanced metrics like PER, Win Shares, Wins Produced, RPM, etc.). They are also both far superior to Dirk at defense than Dirk was at any point in his career.

Even Dirk's best season:

26.6ppg / 9.0rpg / 2.8apg / 1 block pg / 0.7 steals pg; all on 50/40/90 shooting

Doesn't surpass Durant last season:

28.1ppg/ 7.4rpg / 4.6apg / 1.3 block pg / 1.4 steals pg; also on 50/40/90 shooting

Or Lebron:

26.8ppg/ 8.0rpg / 7.3apg / 0.9 block pg / 1.7 steals pg; on 56/40/75 shooting

So, no, unless you are judging in terms of "best hair" or "best accent" or "plays for Mark Cuban," there is no comparison you can make by which you can say Dirk is better than Durant or Lebron. In his prime he was comparable, but not at this point in his career.

Now, LaMarcus is having a wonderful season by most standards:

23.2ppg / 11.1rpg / 2.6apg / 1 block pg / 0.9 steals pg; on 46/20/82 shooting

Which is on par with Dirk's season (rebounding better, but significantly less efficient at scoring; worth noting that LaMarcus played about 5 more minutes per game than Dirk as well)

21.7ppg / 6.2rpg / 2.7apg / 0.6 block pg / 0.9 steals pg; on 49/40/89 shooting

But is notably lower than Durant or Lebron.

So, to answer your question, it is too early. LaMarcus is 28 and in his prime is having a season that is roughly on par (maybe better) than Dirk's season at age 35, years removed from his prime. Career-wise, he seems to be a poor man's Dirk Nowitzki. There's no shame in that, it is a phenomenal accomplishment for a basketball player. And he has a lot of career left to prove otherwise, for better or for worse.

And that still puts him a step behind Lebron and Durant.

Sorry to break it to you

EDIT1: Just realized I brain farted and used Lebron and Durant's averages from LAST season for some reason. I didn't mean to do that, just distracted watching the playoffs I guess. Anyway, I'm too lazy to go back and change it, but it doesn't change anything. They are having almost identical (in Durant's case better) seasons.

EDIT2: With regards to LaMarcus' two 40+ point playoff games, that is a great accomplishment. I'm happy for him. But two games does not a Hall-of-Fame case make. Antwan Jamison, Jamal Crawford, Corey Brewer, and Brandon Jennings have all had 50 point games in recent memory.