LBJ was a rotten President...and is going downhill as a 'baller, too!

LeBron James will never equal the career of Michael Jordan. Period.


One thing that is cool about the NBA is that there is a general concensus as to who might be the best ever to play the game. Michael Jordan. MJ was at least good at every phase of the game and was effective for all 94 feet of the court, on offense and defense. But this is not about MJ. It is about LBJ.

Yes, when LeBron burst on the scene, many there were who speculated he might surpass Michael Jordan as the best of all time. He was big, young, athletic and skilled. Perhaps he would be The One. Next. MJ version 2.0. But now that we have seen him play for 3 and one-half years, we know better.

The Sad But Truth...

about LeBron is that he was better as a second-year player than he is today. He was much better last year than this year. The big uptick in production he showed us last year has gone away and his numbers this year are either equal to or less than his sophomore numbers. LeBron has regressed! His shooting percentages are down, rebounds and assists are down, steals down, blocks down...is anything going up?! Just his turnovers!

Give Me The Rock recently mentioned that LBJ now looks like a terrible choice as first pick in the fantasy drafts, and I must agree. I will say, though, that it gives Nels an excellent excuse to post a bunch of Jessica Biel pictures, which are far hotter than LBJ right now!

My Personal LeBron

I only own LeBron in one league this year, and I just now did a sort by Yahoo ranks for the last month's average production. On my team, LeBron ranked behind Jason Kidd, Antawn Jamison, Tracy McGrady and Al Harrington(!) as the 30th-ranked player in Yahoo. Now, I am very glad that some of my later draft picks are playing well, guys who I picked after my first rounder, LeBron. But some of his recent (last month) numbers really hurt:

3.7 turnovers a game? For a small forward, that is ridiculous!

.670 free throw percentage? What, is he turning into Tim Duncan?

That LeBron's FT % has fallen every year since he came into the Association gives us a menacing clue. Free throws are a repetitive skill, in which hand-eye coordination meets repetition meets correct process. One assumes that LBJ has been too busy making commercials to work on his skill set. One is then convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that LBJ will never be the best player ever and, in fact, that he is nowhere near the best player right now.

The Assassin

I used to refer to MJ as the "Assassin", someone determined to accomplish his task without fail and deadly to the opposition. That Jordan was physically gifted enough to be the best player is understood. But it was the area between the ears that set him apart. Yes, MJ wanted to lead the league in scoring. But he NEEDED to win. The very drive to play and be victorious that seems to kind of louse up his private life made him the greatest player ever in the game. He would kill you and himself to make that final basket, get that vital rebound, block that shot, whatever it took. That killer instinct, it was in Magic and in Bird and in West but no one ever had it in more abundance than MJ. I don't think LeBron has a big helping of that.


Compare and Contrast

Dwyane Wade is the closest thing to Jordan in terms of mindset among all players today. This is why Wade seems to outperform his size and natural talent level. He is number 4 on last month's Yahoo average rating system behind Garnett, Marion and Nowitzki and it is likely that he means more to his team than any of them mean to theirs. Wade and Carmelo Anthony are the other two of the "Big Three" rookies taken in the 2003 draft that produced "King" James.

Wade has improved in every aspect of his game since entering the league, other than three point shooting (he makes more because he takes more, his percentage still bites). His rebounding is a little down this year, but his assists are up to make up for it and his steals and blocks and scoring are higher than last year. All of his numbers are far superior to his rookie season. It is very interesting to see his FT% numbers over the years - he has gotten a bit better every season. In his rookie season, Wade made 74.7% of his free throws (and LBJ made 75.4%). Year two-three-four have gone like this: 76.3%, 78.3% 81.0%. It appears that Wade is working on his game, including his free throws! Meanwhile, LBJ's years two-three-four: 75.0%, 73.8% and 69.4%! It is a steady decline. Yep, in 2003 we were amazed and how great LBJ was and, yeah, that Wade guy is pretty good, too. Right now I would rather have Wade on my team, whether fantasy or in actuality, and I am likely in the majority of fantasy owners when I say that.

Does LeBron have the drive and the makeup to be a champion? Is his constant nail-chewing a sign that he isn't cut out to be a top dog? Has he the internal drive to be the best or is being the most acclaimed good enough for him? Right now he is an NBA All-Star because the fans know him and love him. He has the big endorsement deals, the kind that MJ used to get. But if he doesn't put more effort in to being the best that he can be, he won't lead Cleveland to a title and his reputation will begin to be that of a great player who wasn't great enough. Just another TMac, just another VC...good enough to thrill you, not kill you.

One thing for sure? Next year, if I get the number one pick in a draft (and we do it randomly in a couple of redraft leagues) I won't be grabbing LBJ with it. I'm not sure, at this point, that I even take him in the first round!!!! How the mighty have fallen...