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| Does anyone really question the greatness of two-time NBA Finals MVP LeBron James? |
LeBron James must think he needs to point out how great he is.
"I'm going to be one of the top four that's ever played this game, for sure," LeBron James said in an interview with NBA TV. "And if they don't want me to have one of those top four spots, they'd better find another spot on that mountain. Somebody's gotta get bumped, but that's not for me to decide. That's for the architects."
Normally, no one has a problem with a great player expressing his greatness in an interview. But, James has a chance to be more than great, to be more than just a Hall-of-Famer. He can be in the top four to ever play the game. In fact, he can be right up there with Michael Jordan.
It is a universal thought in the basketball world that James will be one of the greatest ever. Why does he feel the need to talk about being "top four?"
Could he be jealous of Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant?
Durant, 25, is well on his way to his first Most-Valuable Player award this season. He is averaging a league-leading 31.2 points-per-game, 5.5 assists-per-game and has a player-efficiency-rating (PER) of 31.01.
The Thunder are in first-place in the Western Conference, while James’ Miami Heat are in second place in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Indiana Pacers by 3.5 games.
Historically, James has been the only player than can score, rebound and pass at such a high efficiency. Durant was labeled as a scorer who couldn't rebound or pass like James. This season Durant is outscoring James by nearly 5 points-per-game (31.2-26.3), out-rebounding him (7.7-6.9) and is 2.16 points ahead of James in PER (31.2-28.85).
Naturally, James may feel the need to let people know that he is still the best player in the world. But, there is no reason to. He needs to look back at history to understand what is happening this season.
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| Should Lebron James worry about the great season Kevin Durant is having? |
In 1992-1993 Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were two-time defending champions. However, they finished second in the Eastern Conference standings behind the New York Knicks. Most believed the Bulls reign would end.
Jordan led the league in scoring that season and yet Charles Barkley of the Phoenix Suns was named League MVP. The Suns finished with the best record in the Western Conference.
Despite the doubters who believed the Bulls run would end, they knocked off the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals after being down 2-0 in the series. The Bulls then rolled over the Barkley and the rest of the Suns in the NBA Finals to win their third-straight championship.
James shouldn't care about the attention Durant is getting. Durant deserves it. But, we won't remember who won MVP if his team doesn't win a championship. We won't remember the Pacers being the top-seed in the East if they don't win a championship. We remember champions. History tells us we don’t care about the regular season. We only care about who wins the Finals.
Before James talks about the all-time greats, someone should tell him the architects of basketball’s Mount Rushmore look for championship rings, not MVP trophies.
