I do think this thread is interesting and raises the question: What if anything can LeBron do to ever be known as the greatest player ever?

 

Is it even possible now? Did he forfeit that chance when he opted to leave for Miami? Does the loss to the Mavs put the nail in the coffin in this debate? Does he have to surpass Jordan in titles (best case scenario that would put him in his 16th NBA season... wow!).

 

 

Nothing. He lost that chance. He'll never be better than Kobe in my eyes let alone G.O.A.T.

I don't see LeBron ever being the greatest of all time. Jordan and Kobe both had the talent and the drive. LeBron has half that. He may even be more talented than Kobe or MJ, but he'll never be greater than them.

 

This.

Lebron brought on the hate because of the way he handled the "Decision". The hate expanded when they had a championship celebration before they even practiced. He added to that during a lot of post game pressers. This hate is all on him. I'm torn now. I wanted him to win a ton of titles b/c I thought he had the most talent of any player ever born. If he wants to be a celebrity and not work on his game I don't want him to win any titles. Guys like Dirk deserve them more.

Tiger Woods?

 

The whole year was kind of counter-intuitive to what we are taught as Americans. You work hard, you gain success. LeBron, et al. on live television said to most of America that we are supremely talented and we do not have to work hard to achieve success. Whether they worked hard or not is irrelevant, it is was the overall perception. On the other side of things there was also a humility about it all in that three guys would put their egos aside, take less money, and join forces all in the name of winning. That in itself is noble. How they went about the entire situation opened themselves up to criticism. For every action there is an equal and operate reaction. The "vitriol" may be over-the-top. Equally their actions last summer were over-the-top.

 

There's a difference in being in the news and being villain-ized. Tiger still has lots of fans. Not a lot of people were rooting for him to fail.

 

I am not saying that LBJ hasn't earned criticism because of his TV special and the party in Miami. It just seems to be extreme for a guy who made a few (legal) bad decisions that harmed no one. He deserves to be criticized for those but the level that it's gone to is unprecedented.

Yes and no. While the backlash is unprecedented, so were his actions. He took on the risk of having all of this thrown back in to his face with last summer's actions. This season was all about him... heck, he made it all about him. And that is fine. But be prepared to receive the negative criticism when things do not go your way.

 

 

This.

I don't have a hatred for LeBron, I think people who claim to hate an athlete, specifically one they never met is ridiculous. I know that no one has done that in here, but you see it on FB and Twitter all the time. I respect the game of LeBron James, however I do not respect the man. And because I do not respect the man, I'm glad to see him not win a ring.

 

Is this do in part because I'm a huge MJ fan, yes. Can LeBron ever rebound and be put back in the discussion for GOAT? Possbily, its not impossible. However, after moving to play in Miami with DWade and Bosh it was going to make it an extremely tough discussion to begin with, even if he won the same number of rings...in my mind. Great talent, not a great attitude in my mind. But at the end of the day, I wake up happy I'm me and he wakes up happy he's him...so who really cares.

There's a difference in being in the news and being villain-ized. Tiger still has lots of fans. Not a lot of people were rooting for him to fail.

 

I am not saying that LBJ hasn't earned criticism because of his TV special and the party in Miami. It just seems to be extreme for a guy who made a few (legal) bad decisions that harmed no one. He deserves to be criticized for those but the level that it's gone to is unprecedented.

 

 

I like LeBron but he brought all of this upon himself. Bad PR is the culprit. If he could relate to the mind of an ordinary person with personal problems then he'd probably be all right.

There's a difference in being in the news and being villain-ized. Tiger still has lots of fans. Not a lot of people were rooting for him to fail.

 

I am not saying that LBJ hasn't earned criticism because of his TV special and the party in Miami. It just seems to be extreme for a guy who made a few (legal) bad decisions that harmed no one. He deserves to be criticized for those but the level that it's gone to is unprecedented.

Not so sure about that on the bolded.

 

Sure it is extreme criticism. But as I said, last summer's actions were extreme so he should expect an equal type response.

I like LeBron but he brought all of this upon himself. Bad PR is the culprit. I he could relate to the mind of an ordinary person with personal problems then he'd probably be all right.

 

I said he deserves criticism. Does he deserve more than Mendenhall from the Steelers? Kenny Britt? Tiger?

 

We laugh off and make jokes about Tiger and all of his women yet we still root for him to be good at golf. I think he deserves much more hatred and criticism than a guy who did what LBJ did. Mendenhall tweets about how much money he has and how many ladies he's slept with? I'd say that's worse. All kinds of athletes getting arrested yet we give them the 2nd chance and forget they are criminals. 4 takes a pic of his package and tweets it to a female who is not his wife. We laugh that off as boys being boys.

 

LBJ has hubris and we take him to the woodshed and the Governor issues a proclamation celebrating LBJ's team losing. We've lost all perspective.

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:lol:

I do think this thread is interesting and raises the question: What if anything can LeBron do to ever be known as the greatest player ever?

 

Is it even possible now? Did he forfeit that chance when he opted to leave for Miami? Does the loss to the Mavs put the nail in the coffin in this debate? Does he have to surpass Jordan in titles (best case scenario that would put him in his 16th NBA season... wow!).

 

If he shows up big in the Finals and wins a few titles all will be fine. However I don't think he will ever be considered the greatest. He will be the one we talk about saying he could have been the greatest. After teaming up with Batman and accepting the role as Robin I don't see how he can ever be?

There's a difference in being in the news and being villain-ized. Tiger still has lots of fans. Not a lot of people were rooting for him to fail.

 

I am not saying that LBJ hasn't earned criticism because of his TV special and the party in Miami. It just seems to be extreme for a guy who made a few (legal) bad decisions that harmed no one. He deserves to be criticized for those but the level that it's gone to is unprecedented.

 

Because he has put himself on an unprecedented level. He's the King. He took his talents to south beach to win 10 titles. He's the best player in the league. He didn't get it done and folded when it mattered.

I don't see LeBron ever being the greatest of all time. Jordan and Kobe both had the talent and the drive. LeBron has half that. He may even be more talented than Kobe or MJ, but he'll never be greater than them.

 

Nothing. He lost that chance. He'll never be better than Kobe in my eyes let alone G.O.A.T.

 

My thoughts exactly. He's got to pass Kobe before he's even considered to be compared to MJ and I'm not sure that will even happen.

I just don't think the American public today cares for arrogance as much and LeBron comes across as extremely arrogant.