Back when LeBron often ended high school games in the first half...

[McPiff]

 

[etrofllenrod504]

There is no debate LeBron fulfilled the hype. Its widely acknowledged that the NBA gave away MVPs (at minimum 1) because of "LeBron Fatigue" to other guys that deserved to be his. He should have at least 5 MVPs, and you can argue he could have up to 7..

Besides shutting himself out of a ring in '11, its widely acknowledged that he could potentially have another chip in '15 if his horses were with him. Nobody with basketball sense thinks his squad was supposed to beat the Spurs in '07 or '14 or the Warriors in '17 or '18...

His impact on the sport as the most versatile player ever is widely acknowledged. He's one if the greatest scorers of all time without being a score first player---->if LeBron was a score first guy he'd easily have probably 5 scoring titles and a 32+ career average...

In his prime he could defend any position, his anticipation was unparalleled. As he's aged and become a lesser defender, his ability to STILL impact games defensively in critical junctions is extremely underrated...

He took a franchise that was NOTHING before him and made them annual contenders and eventual champions. What other GOAT did this besides Mike or Kareem? Not Larry, Magic, Kobe, Shaq, Wilt, etc...

Came into The League with everybody gunning for him and met the challenge head on even if it wasn't always pretty. He took his L's and he always could sulk sometimes and get moody but he NEVER ran from the challenge...

His impact on the sport from a cultural perspective is unmatched by anyone besides Mike. The 2nd greatest player of the 2010s is patterning his entire career (not his game, but his career) after Bron on some Kobe-after-Mike shyt. What does that say when the 2nd greatest player of an era is so consumed with chasing you?

Missed 40% of the 2000s and is still a Top 10 player of that era. Is the #1 player of the 2010s by a landslide and dominated the era in every meaningful facet besides team success, and yet is still as accomplished as the greatest team in that era--->Warriors won 3 chips in the '10s, Bron won 3 chips in the '10s, and its widely acknowledged that the Warriors retooled with the Express interest of keeping Bron from winning all the chips (and it worked, kudos to them)...

He was every team, every player, every coaches primary focus. He was the best player in the NBA for a decade...

I can keep going, any assertion that LeBron hasn't exceeded the hype isn't rooted in anything realistic unless you expected him to win every championship and every MVP, which again, isn't realistic...

His only challengers as the #1 GOAT is Mike and Kareem. The vast majority of unbiased basketball heads acknowledge this without trouble, saying he's #4 or #5 is low but a listenable argument, and anyone who claims he isn't Top 5 has exposed themselves as an ignorant hater. Again, most people have him Top 3 without fuss and many have him Top 2...

He's gonna disappoint a lot if people if he goes on a late career run winning championships like Tom Brady, who won in Year 17 (and SB MVP) and won again in Year 19. None of us can guarantee anything, but he's going into Year 17 this year. If he wins two more chips, that would be 5 chips in double digit Finals with potentially 5 Finals MVPs, this guy could literally spend two thirds of his career playing in NBA Finals (he's already played in 9 in 16 seasons, 56%)...

But he hasn't exceeded the hype hahahahahaha...

*drops mic*

 

[Flight]

Goat...

 

[NaijaProdigy Redux]

Those passes

 

[The G.O.D II]

Not only did he physically look NBA ready but he played like it too. Way too many of these NBA highlight tapes are just dudes being bigger and more athletic. Sure Bron had all of that but the vision and ability to get to the rim is something that you don’t even see much in the NBA right now

 

[Everythingg]

Not only did he physically look NBA ready but he played like it too. Way too many of these NBA highlight tapes are just dudes being bigger and more athletic. Sure Bron had all of that but the vision and ability to get to the rim is something that you don’t even see much in the NBA right now

The vision I agree with but the ability to get to the rim?

 

[Bone$]

There is no debate LeBron fulfilled the hype. Its widely acknowledged that the NBA gave away MVPs (at minimum 1) because of "LeBron Fatigue" to other guys that deserved to be his. He should have at least 5 MVPs, and you can argue he could have up to 7...

Besides shutting himself out of a ring in '11, its widely acknowledged that he could potentially have another chip in '15 if his horses were with him. Nobody with basketball sense thinks his squad was supposed to beat the Spurs in '07 or '14 or the Warriors in '17 or '18...

His impact on the sport as the most versatile player ever is widely acknowledged. He's one if the greatest scorers of all time without being a score first player---->if LeBron was a score first guy he'd easily have probably 5 scoring titles and a 32+ career average...

In his prime he could defend any position, his anticipation was unparalleled. As he's aged and become a lesser defender, his ability to STILL impact games defensively in critical junctions is extremely underrated...

He took a franchise that was NOTHING before him and made them annual contenders and eventual champions. What other GOAT did this besides Mike or Kareem? Not Larry, Magic, Kobe, Shaq, Wilt, etc...

Came into The League with everybody gunning for him and met the challenge head on even if it wasn't always pretty. He took his L's and he always could sulk sometimes and get moody but he NEVER ran from the challenge...

His impact on the sport from a cultural perspective is unmatched by anyone besides Mike. The 2nd greatest player of the 2010s is patterning his entire career (not his game, but his career) after Bron on some Kobe-after-Mike shyt. What does that say when the 2nd greatest player of an era is so consumed with chasing you?

Missed 40% of the 2000s and is still a Top 10 player of that era. Is the #1 player of the 2010s by a landslide and dominated the era in every meaningful facet besides team success, and yet is still as accomplished as the greatest team in that era--->Warriors won 3 chips in the '10s, Bron won 3 chips in the '10s, and its widely acknowledged that the Warriors retooled with the Express interest of keeping Bron from winning all the chips (and it worked, kudos to them)...

He was every team, every player, every coaches primary focus. He was the best player in the NBA for a decade...

I can keep going, any assertion that LeBron hasn't exceeded the hype isn't rooted in anything realistic unless you expected him to win every championship and every MVP, which again, isn't realistic...

His only challengers as the #1 GOAT is Mike and Kareem. The vast majority of unbiased basketball heads acknowledge this without trouble, saying he's #4 or #5 is low but a listenable argument, and anyone who claims he isn't Top 5 has exposed themselves as an ignorant hater. Again, most people have him Top 3 without fuss and many have him Top 2...

He's gonna disappoint a lot if people if he goes on a late career run winning championships like Tom Brady, who won in Year 17 (and SB MVP) and won again in Year 19. None of us can guarantee anything, but he's going into Year 17 this year. If he wins two more chips, that would be 5 chips in double digit Finals with potentially 5 Finals MVPs, this guy could literally spend two thirds of his career playing in NBA Finals (he's already played in 9 in 16 seasons, 56%)...

But he hasn't exceeded the hype hahahahahaha...

 

[Ku$h Parker]

Real ass posting right here. I still can't believe he did I thought dude was gonna be another Darius Myles. Boy was I wrong.

D Miles... I thought he would be an Amare if anything, I didnt think he would Come Out Hard when he hit the L tho

 

[Black Haven]

Dan Gilbert fukked up....

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Some of them passes was nuts

Those passes were ridiculous

That last pass fukked my head up

the vision on those passes

One thing I love about these clips is how unselfish Bron is, he’s easily the best player on the court but is still dropping dimes

You can’t teach that feel for the game

That passing vision in high school

Those passes

I remember when he was getting ready to be drafted, some commentator claimed that his passing was overrated and he wasn't making any passes that any decent forward in college couldn't make.

That guy was a full-blown idiot.

treated oak hill like a jv team. oak hill.

That game was so hyped and NO ONE thought it was gonna go down like that. Oak Hill was #1 in the country, had D1 prospects coming in as their 8th and 9th men while LeBron was playing with little guys....and then he comes in and damn near outscores Oak Hill on his own, just to toss dimes to the little guys left and right too.

Low-key early sign of what he was able to do in the 2007/2015/2018 playoff runs.

This nikka was league ready as a teenager

LeBron's first NBA game ever, 18 years old, had NEVER played a game that counted above the high school level....somehow goes 12-20 for 25-6-9 and 4 steals and is the best player on the court. Who da fukk has ever been the best player on the court in their first NBA game coming straight out of high school????

Jumpers from all over the court, dimes to everyone, jumping passing lanes for steals, finger-rolls with both hands, changing hands or double-clutching in mid-air....in his first NBA game.




Later that season, playing the Nets who had been to the Finals the previous year....goes for 41 points and 13 assists and has the game-winning steal and layup with 15 seconds left.

Just a stupid dominant game. As a rookie. Out of high school. Against the defending ECF champs.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Anyone talking he did it against kids....first game back from that suspension his senior year he wanted to prove a point. Going up against a #7 in the nation Westchester squad he scored 52 on 21-34 shooting with them throwing Trevor Ariza and everyone else at him. Westchester's coach said they could have covered him with 3 guys and he still would have made everything. They needed a three-pointer at the buzzer just to keep LeBron from outscoring their whole team. And this was WESTCHESTER.

 

[GunRanger]

What u mean not really breh

He got the accolades, longevity, numbers

There is no discussion really about him exceeding the hype

He’s at worst the 5th best player of all time right now, I say job well done

3 rings aint enough when we saw players with 4 and 5 since he came in the league.

 

[OaklandCertified]

I know those high school games were the place to be. I Just imagine his matchup sweating bullets in history class knowing he has to guard Lebron later.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

3 rings aint enough when we saw players with 4 and 5 since he came in the league.

No one has gotten 4-5 rings since LeBron came into the league. No one has more than 3 rings since 2004.

And 3 Finals MVPs is tied for 2nd in league history. Only MJ has more. Saying that 3 Finals MVPs ain't enough is some stupid, stupid shyt, especially when he spent nearly 3/4 of his career in Cleveland.

LeBron had to play 11 years in Cleveland and STILL has 3 titles. That alone should cement him as top-3 all-time.

 

[murksiderock]

3 rings aint enough when we saw players with 4 and 5 since he came in the league.

Nobody has won more rings than LeBron since he came into the NBA (2003-04 season). Only three organizations have even won three championships in the last 16 years, and LeBron played for one of them...

Spurs won in 2005, 2007, and 2014...

Heat won in 2006, 2012, and 2013...

Warriors won in 2015, 2017, and 2018...

Nobody "since he came into The League" has more championships than LeBron. It's crazy how guys don't consider him a winner but he's won just as much as the winningest franchises of the last decade and a half...