Where Does Lebron Rank All Time

[LilRip]

He was already in the top 10 but this championship probably puts him in the top 5, overtaking Bird. So he's up there. Top 5 probably goes Jordan, Magic, Russell, Duncan, and Lebron. Interesting how it's one player per position.

[chiken Green]

The highest Lebron can reach is 2..
The guy who sits at the top has never been beaten in 6 Finals.. The confetti has never come down with someone else crying holding the Trophy..  There is no human being playing that can say they bested that man in the finals..
People scrambled to form teams to combat that man and they all failed..
At this point Lebron will be lucky to break even with Championships..   
Yes he is a physical Specimen but His Clutch Gene is d@mn near Non Existent.. 
IF you asked Tim Duncan who was the Greatest player of his Era he should rightfully say himself - he beat the man 2 out of 3 (last time he beat him he was old as heck)

Right now he is Along side of Bird and behind Duncan, Magic and Kobe..  He could possibly catch those guys.. but He has to many finals losses to ever be the Goat.
big one though being down 3-1 against the GS.. Much respect for that one.. (but lets not get carried away)

Not saying Lebron is better than Jordan at all, but using the 6-0 as reasoning isn't entirely great. Jordan went to the playoffs 13 times in his career. He won the championship 6 times. He was bested in the playoffs 7 times. So you are right that no one has ever bested him in the Finals, but many teams beat him in the playoffs still. Lebron has been to the Finals 7 times, which is something to take note of still. It's similar to the Brady/Montana situation in a way.

It's also important to note that by the time Jordan was 31, he had played in 3 Finals, while Lebron has played in 7. That's pretty insane.

Yes Jordan paid his dues..  Yes he had to learn how to become a champion.. Yes there were a whole different set of rules for the guy.. They use to throw his behind down under he Gym whenever they could.. But you know what.. He never tried to create a super team, He never left Chitown - He never looked for another player to teach him how to win - he just kept coming until he finally won.. and once He won.. once he because a champion he was NEVER dethroned..  Had the League not secretly Suspended the man he would probably have 8 and another hall of famer would be left without a ring..
Back when the league was different you had to work your way to the top.. You had to play against the elders and whoop them before you could take their seats..  You cant be punished for that - and you cant be rewarded for playing in a water-down league that is not 100% built for scoring..  Championships.. how many did you win, how many did you lose.. thats it..

And this whole thing about the age means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.. Did you win or did you lose. Those are the only things that matter.. IF you lost then you need to be compared to others who lost (Finals)  IF you have no losses in the finals and you have 6 or more then and only then can we go upstairs and have a conversation with the Goat.. Until then.. have fun with Kobe, Magic and that guy who beat you Twice.. Duncan.

[passesofftodj]

The highest Lebron can reach is 2..
The guy who sits at the top has never been beaten in 6 Finals.. The confetti has never come down with someone else crying holding the Trophy..  There is no human being playing that can say they bested that man in the finals..
People scrambled to form teams to combat that man and they all failed..
At this point Lebron will be lucky to break even with Championships..   
Yes he is a physical Specimen but His Clutch Gene is d@mn near Non Existent.. 
IF you asked Tim Duncan who was the Greatest player of his Era he should rightfully say himself - he beat the man 2 out of 3 (last time he beat him he was old as heck)

Right now he is Along side of Bird and behind Duncan, Magic and Kobe..  He could possibly catch those guys.. but He has to many finals losses to ever be the Goat.
big one though being down 3-1 against the GS.. Much respect for that one.. (but lets not get carried away)

LeBron and Bird behind Kobe and Duncan?  No.

Jordan is 1, Russell and Wilt are paired along with Bird and Magic in the next group.  Kareem and Shaq are in there as is LeBron.  Duncan is after those as great as he has been. 

You can argue LeBron anywhere from 2-7.  As an overall skills player he may be the best, but he has disappeared more times in key moments than the others and has relied on getting to the basket too much.  That said, he was PHENOMENAL in the last 3 games.  If you want to put him at number 2 I am ok with it.

Don't forget Jordan won in college and the Olympics...LeBron lost at the Olympics.

I do think the steroid thing is going to hurt at some point.

[KG Living Legend]

 Not better than Kobe, MJ , Bird, Magic, Russell

[Kane3387]

Definite top ten.

He's in tier two with (not in order):

Russell
Kareem
Bird
Magic
Duncan
Shaq

Jordan is in tier 1

[tankcity!]

I have Lebron 2nd. If he gets to six somehow, I would put him right there with Jordan and even see him better at that point. But lets be honest, the Cavs are very flawed and were down 3-1. Thunder, Warriors, Spurs, or Cavs could win next year. It's going to be hard for an aging James who relies on his athletic ability so much because he can't shoot.

[LarBrd33]

 Not better than Kobe, MJ , Bird, Magic, Russell

Unquestionably better than Kobe.  That's ridiculous.

It's pretty funny how much people irrationally hate LeBron.   He's obviously a top 5 player of all time.  Might be the greatest player we'll ever seen.

[tankcity!]

Definitely top 5.  His resume is better than Jordan at the same age.  He has a chance to go down as the greatest ever and one could make the case that if you Ignored the context of competition, surrounding talent, etc - he's the greatest basketball player the world has ever seen. 

What I mean by that is - basketball isn't an individual sport.  Whether you like it or not, who a player has on his team and who he plays against makes a huge difference.  Pippen lead the Bulls to 55 wins when Jordan left.   Brons teams couldn't even make the playoffs after he left.   And nobody has ever successfully defeated a 73 win defending champion.  But if we are putting all of these guys in a draft and trying to build a team around one player - I think there's a legitimate case to be made that Lebron would be the #1 pick. 

When we rank players we consider their resume.  That's totally fine.  But if we are asking who the best player ever is - that might legitimately be Lebron. His combination of skill, size and athleticism is unprecedented.

Consider this...  I genuinely believe that if I had the #1 pick in the 1984 draft, I'd still take Hakeem over Jordan.  Just the simple fact that you know Hakeem will make your team a contender in that era regardless of surrounding talent. As incredible as Jordan was, his team failed to finish above .500 for his first 3 seasons and it wasn't until another hall of famer joined him that his team had a winning season.  Whereas, with Hakeem you know that the 7 footer is going to give you team a chance to contend every season regardless of the talent you put around him.  There's also a chance that Jordan doesn't become Jordan if he doesn't have the same experiences he had early on in Chicago.  Hakeem is a safe bet.  Alt universe Jordan will still be a superstar, but in a big mans game he might not end up with the right supporting cast to win 6 titles.

This may be one of the dumbest statements of all time considering you're using hindsight.

[Moranis]

I think Jordan is still #1, but James is certainly on pace to end up at #1.

After Jordan, in no particular order and rounding out the top 10 - James, Chamberlain, Johnson, Robertson, Russell, Bird, Abdul-Jabbar, Olajuwon, and O'Neal. 

Next 5 in no particular order - Duncan, Erving, M. Malone, K. Malone, and West.

I haven't thought much past that, though would probably have Bryant and Garnett in the next 5. 

[TwinTower14]

Put it this way, if he retired right now he would be the starting SF on the all time team.

[Banner18now!]

Oh my god, Lebron is by far the greatest player to ever touch a basketball and it's not even close. I mean he has done something no other NBA player has ever done and that's win 3 championships!!! I mean he is so good that he let's other players take over in big moments and hit the big shots. By far the greatest, I mean did you see him dunk? Who does that? Just so glad I'm alive to be a witness. I mean to finally watch a player that is just perfect is unreal.

[KGs Knee]

LeBron is now likely safely in the top 5.

In order to pass Jordan he'd have to win at least 3 more titles (probably more than that) and do so in overwhelmingly convincing fashion (meaning he better not lose anymore either).

[bdm860]

I think Jordan is still #1, but James is certainly on pace to end up at #1.

After Jordan, in no particular order and rounding out the top 10 - James, Chamberlain, Johnson, Robertson, Russell, Bird, Abdul-Jabbar, Olajuwon, and O'Neal. 

Next 5 in no particular order - Duncan, Erving, M. Malone, K. Malone, and West.

I haven't thought much past that, though would probably have Bryant and Garnett in the next 5.

Not to get off topic, but I'm curious about Olajuwon/Duncan.  Why does Olajuwon make that top tier but not Duncan?

Except for Hakeem's 2 DPOY awards and being the all time leader in blocks, Duncan has him beat in just about every other accolade or accomplishment.  Interested in your thoughts on that.

[jambr380]

I really hope tomorrow brings an end to the Lebron lovefest threads. This morning has been a little much on CB.

[dannyboy35]

I don't really have an opinion on how he ranks. Different eras and all that. I think there are lots of good arguments where he should fall and it really is a matter of opinion.