Doug Thonus source, Bron favors Bulls He said in his new Bulls beat that he has a source that is saying the same thing all of us are reading. LeBron favors Chicago as a team he wants to go to if he doesnt stay with Cleveland. He said he trusts his source. And said it may be the same source that broussard has. Also said Lebron could change his mind in the next 6 weeks.
I remember someone saying, no one could ever question MJ's desire? Advanced numbers are the only way to handle these debates, due to issues with league rules, pace, and such. It is nothing personal. LeBron has the modern record for most win shares in a single season (regular + playoffs), and most win shares per game. Yeah LeBron has more defensive win shares, beating Mj's DPOY season (6.5 vs 6.2). Win Shares actually favors PAST players, like Kareem etc., since they stayed in games longer and couldn't foul out as early. Look at the top win share earners in league history, Jordan and LeBron are indeed at the top for the modern era. LeBron is just more defensively oriented and doesn't rely on another all-world perimeter defender.
There's a couple of things that make he situation very different. First, T-Mac really only said he wanted to play for the Bulls when he was visiting the team. I think you also have to look at where each of the players were/are at in terms of mentality and business support. Lebron is a company. He has a team of financial and marketing advisers. I would have to imagine they have devised a mammoth spreadsheet with tables on the additional amount he will make by going to a major market; the additional amount he will make by winning a championship; the likelihood of winning a championship; the marketing opportunities offered with the MJ tie in, etc., etc., etc. James has the potential to be the most popular and profitable athlete in the world. From my general perception of him, his marketing is actually kind of limited for how good he is. The most complete list I could find is from 2008, so it's a bit dated: Lebron James endorsement deals (thru Oct. 2008): * Bubblicious * Cannondale Bicycle Company * Coca-Cola (Coke, Sprite & Vitaminwater) * Cub Cadet * MSN * Nike * State Farm Insurance * Upper Deck No auto manufacture, cell phone carrier, high quality goods or fast food chain. We're talking Michael Phelps territory when he should be approaching Michael Jordan. But I digress. T-Mac was just a kid at the time. He was looking for the attention and the confidence boost for a career that hadn't quite taken off yet. Lebron James is trying to position himself as the world's most lucrative athlete. They're just at two different points in their careers and what they mean to the game of basketball.
Please tell me the top 10 of all time by these factors and also let me know where Bird and Magic end up.
When I compare them after 7 years, MJ seems to have a statistical advantage. I think if Lebron starts winning titles he can be mentioned in the same breath as MJ, but at this point he doesn't have 3 years on anything.
Well that would have been interesting, if I had compared LeBron at 25 to MJ at 28 with a ring. But I didn't.Maybe you should pay closer attention to my argument, because this is it. Michael is aged 25 at the end of this season, just like LeBron. He's got, literally, three years on Jordan. I know it is crazy but that's how it is. LeBron is ahead, by quite a nice margin. Single season dominance, total dominance. Bron got in the league three years earlier, and lacks an interest in baseball. That's all I need to know about his future.
I do think Lebron may go down as having the greatest PER ever in the first round of the playoffs. Mad DWS, too.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ws_season.html Win Shares is a measure of dominance, durability, and factors teammates. It does not however factor in inflation from past eras in regards to minutes played, lack of turnovers being tracked, etc. So it should indeed favor the past. I like to start the modern era around Jordan's time.
Really unlikely, as much as you may hate him. Michael didn't even get out of the first round until LeBron's age. Again, a double standard.
No, let's see your list of best players of all time based upon their career. Feel free to exclude active players. Feel free to restict to certain eras (e.g. exclude anything earlier than the 70s) I'm thinking that either your stats don't hold up or you will be rewriting history.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ I'm not hiding. Look up what you wish please. The fact that you're even questioning this, puts doubt in me that you want to understand advanced figures. If you're one of those guys that wants to ignore pace and such that is fine, but realize your opinion will hold less factual weight. I don't think this kind of discussion can rely on the subjective. I just wanted to point out double standards.