Lebron James was in the spotlight before he graduated from high school. He made it on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was 16 years old. Being drafted straight from high school, the whole world had expectations for James, but even then, he exceeded them. Due to his successes from the beginning of his career to now, Lebron is the greatest basketball player of all time. Many rankings, including ESPN and The Athletic place him at #2 or #3 behind Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, but his legendary stats show that he is the greatest of all time.
Lebron James has impacted every team he has played for in significant ways. James was the first-round pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. He led three different teams to an NBA championship. First, James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA Finals appearance in 2007, but he was defeated by the San Antonio Spurs. In the free agency of 2011, he led the Miami Heat to 4 NBA finals appearances in a row and won 2 out of 4, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. He returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015 and led the Cavs to another four straight years of NBA finals appearances. In 2016, James made a 3-1 comeback against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. He also went to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019 and won another NBA Championship in 2020.
Lebron James has broken countless records in his 20 seasons in the NBA. In 2023, James broke the NBA’s all-time leading scoring record, beating the previous 38,387 points by Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. He is now the only player with 30,000 points, 10,000 assists, and 10,000 rebounds. He has the most 20-point games, most playoff points and wins, and the most all-NBA first-team selections. James leads these categories handily; James leads 20-point games by nearly 50 games, with over 100 more than both Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan; Bryant only has eleven first-team selections compared to James’ thirteen.
Additionally, he has been playing for 20 years, and for all 20 years, he has performed at least a top 5-10 player each year. In year 20, James has averaged 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. He is ranked number 10 in players right now while also being the oldest active player on an NBA roster, ranking #1 on the NBA’s “All Time Leaders” list.
Even though Michael Jordan might have more NBA Final Championships than Lebron James, he has fewer successes overall and James has better achievements and statistics than Jordan. In an average game and overall categories, James scores higher in All-NBA and All-Star teams, has lower turnovers, more assists and rebounds, and has a higher player efficiency rating, says Sporting News.
Lebron James has overcome obstacles and dominated the court for his entire career. Even though his record isn’t perfect, he’s the best in the business and the Greatest of All Time.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/LeBron-James
https://www.nba.com/news/lebron-james-career-highlights
https://www.nba.com/stats/alltime-leaders
https://www.ocregister.com/2023/02/07/lebron-james-vs-michael-jordan-how-their-careers-compare/
The content in this article is representative of the opinions of the individual student journalist and does not represent the views of Friends Select School, The Falcon team, the administration, or faculty.
