Miami Heat: A Look Into How LeBron James Has Become the King of the NBA
Early in his career, LeBron James was penalized heavily for not being an elite shooter. LeBron is not like Kobe Bryant, and he’s not like Kevin Durant; he’s better.
Too bold of a statement? Let’s get into it.
Kobe Bryant is a terrific player, but he’s been fortunate as well. Photo Credit: (Flickr.com)
Kobe Bryant spent the first half of his career as a second star on the best team in the league. Those Shaq-led, Kobe-fueled Lakers teams were the league’s best team for five straight years. They won three championships in a row, then lost in the Western Conference Finals in 2003 to the Spurs, and again in the NBA Finals to the underdog 2004 Detroit Pistons. Then, Kobe forced the best player in the league out of town (after two years of losing to less talented, but more unified units). After three years of mediocrity (the Chris Mihm and Smush Parker days that Laker fans remember so fondly), Kobe Bryant once again found himself in the NBA Finals, but this time was out-dueled by Paul Pierce (and out-dueled he was, no doubt about it).
After that, Bryant won two titles with clearly the best team in basketball in 2009 (Celtics ran into some injury troubles), and either the best, or second best team in 2010. Give Bryant significantly more credit for beating Boston 2010 than Orlando in 2009, because Orlando would have lost to five teams in the West in the second round that year (the ‘09 Magic were just as bad as the ‘07 Cavaliers).
So the totals for Kobe Bryant are five titles out of eight chances; that’s not Bill Russell kind of great (which no one will ever be again because of the salary cap and the fact that there are almost four times as many teams now), but it’s Larry Bird kind of great.
Kevin Durant might be the best scorer, but still not the best overall. Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com
Then, there’s Durant. Durant is significantly younger than Bryant, and LeBron essentially bridges the gap between Bryant and Durant (Durant is the second best player in basketball now, Kobe was the second best once LBJ hit his prime). There’s a significant difference between the way LeBron entered the league, and the way Durant entered the league.
Durant started out in Seattle, and was the first of five defining selections that led to the rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder (Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka were the five picks). In Durant’s first year, he was immediately the go-to guy, but his team was awful (finished 20-62). The next year, Westbrook entered the equation, and the team was equally awful, but Sam Presti and the gang knew they had a one-two punch that could drag the franchise out of the doldrums in Durant and Westbrook, and possibly a quality third piece in Jeff Green. The next season, James Harden and Serge Ibaka jumped aboard, and the young Thunder won 50 games. Durant, Westbrook, Green, Ibaka and Harden were all quality pieces, and Durant was the best scorer, while Westbrook was the lead playmaker (a dynamic that is still in place).
Despite all the praise that Durant deservingly receives, the defining moment in KD’s career up to now is his first NBA Finals appearance in 2012, where he was outplayed, pushed around, and beaten by LeBron James. In my opinion, Durant had the superior team that year, but the Heat had the experience and the best player (and Harden struggled mightily, and although it needs to be said, I refuse to hold it against him). Like I said, Durant is the second-best player in the league, but right now, LBJ is the king, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Finally, we’re back to LeBron being penalized early in his career (which means before he won a title in superstar jargon) for not being an elite jump shooter. The fact is this: Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant are better in the last possession than LeBron James because LeBron James isn’t an elite shooter.
Let me explain.
LeBron can rise up and create his shot, but his game is taking the ball hard to the hole, using either his strength or his handle, and then making the right basketball play from there. In the last moment, when the pressure is on, yeah LeBron could rise up and shoot a jumper, but that’s not what he does best. On the other hand, that is what Bryant and Durant do best.
LeBron James, picked No. 1 overall by the Cavaliers in 2003, is the franchise’s all-time leader in points and steals. (Flickr.com/Keith Allison)
In Cleveland, LeBron didn’t always shine in the biggest moment, but that can be attributed to his pathetic supporting cast (it was pathetic; sorry Mo and Z) and LeBron being a team-first player (which is better for 48 minutes than Kobe’s me-first style), who wouldn’t want to take a highly contested shot instead of hitting an open teammate. When LeBron came to Miami, it even took Eric Spoelstra and Pat Riley a year and a half to figure out “hey, we should surround this guy with three-point shooters, put him at the four, throw him in the post, let him start attacking from 18 feet and in instead of the circle area, and that should bring us a title.” Once they went with that line of thought, and more importantly, once LeBron started to fine tune his inside game, the Heat won two titles in a row.
As of right now, LeBron is the unheralded king of the NBA, and anyone who argues that, is either not realistically looking at Kobe Bryant or didn’t watch the 2012 Finals where LeBron’s size turned Kevin Durant into a mortal (especially on the boards and the defensive end). LeBron took that second title all by himself; a gimpy Wade and a hard-working but unfairly-named “third star” Chris Bosh were nowhere near his level, or the level of the top players on the opposing teams (Paul George, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan were all better than Wade in the the last two rounds, and David West and Roy Hibbert were even with him).
This season, the competition has been given a blueprint by the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs on how to beat the James-led Heat; now, in about a month, the league will be trying to do what those two teams fell short of, and beat the Heat. Can LeBron win another one in Miami? Is Wade healthy enough to be that second star? Does Oden help at all? Is the bench deep enough? Those questions will be answered come playoff time (and the fact that we can ask them now and know they’ll be valid in April barring injury can make you feel a bit existential about the league, but why harp on the negative, right?).
Regardless of whether the Heat can repeat or not, barring Durant outplaying James in the Finals for a Thunder title in 2014, LeBron is going to be the best player in basketball for the near future. Over the course of his career, he and his coaches (lets call Riley one of his coaches, because he’s been the Phil Jackson of the team despite not actually being on the bench; he’s the ego manager) have figured out a way to cover up the fact that he isn’t an elite jump shooter, who will rise up in the waning moment of a game to hit a long jumper.
He’s a different kind of star. He’s the most dominant interior player in the game, who all has guard skills. He can create his own shot, but not if there’s a better pass he can make instead. He can score from the post and facing up. He can guard every position on the floor. He’s the best player since Michael Jordan, and when it’s all said and done, some will say he’s the best player of all time. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re saying he’s the best ever already, you don’t know your history, but if you’re saying there’s no chance he might be, you’re a little too stuck on the past.
Thanks for reading folks, comments welcomed and encouraged.
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