Filling MJ's Nikes
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/965/1/Filling-MJs-Nikes/Filling-MJs-Nikes.html
Doug Wilson
Doug Wilson is a current student at The Ohio State University studying
communications. After graduation he hopes to find a job in the
sports field in anyway possible. He is a die-hard Cleveland Browns,
Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavalier and of course Ohio State
Buckeye fan. His favorite things to do incude playing flag football and
basketball on eight foot tall basketball hoops. His favorite athlete of
all time is Sandy Alomar Jr.
communications. After graduation he hopes to find a job in the
sports field in anyway possible. He is a die-hard Cleveland Browns,
Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavalier and of course Ohio State
Buckeye fan. His favorite things to do incude playing flag football and
basketball on eight foot tall basketball hoops. His favorite athlete of
all time is Sandy Alomar Jr.
By Doug Wilson
Published on 02/8/2008
For the past decade, the NBA has strived to find its next Michael Jordan. While the current answer seems to be Kobe Bryant, Atomic Sports columnist Doug Wilson writes that the evidence seems to show LeBron is the league's top player.
For the past decade, the NBA has strived to find its next Michael Jordan. While the current answer seems to be Kobe Bryant, Atomic Sports columnist Doug Wilson writes that the evidence seems to show LeBron is the league's top player.
Filling MJ's Nikes
Since the day Michael Jordan retired, everyone from fans, to shoe companies, to reporters and David Stern have been looking for the next “great one.”
Players like Ray Allen, Vince Carter and Allen Iverson have all had their moments and have been some of the most exciting players in the past decade. However, none of them have even come close to what Jordan accomplished on the court. For almost the entire time Jordan played, he was unanimously considered the best player in the league. Now he is known as the best player ever, and the league has continued to search for its next great player.
That’s where Kobe Bryant comes in. Kobe has come closer to Jordan than anyone else. His accomplishments on the court include three championship rings and two scoring titles. Ask just about anybody who has been the best player for the past five years and almost all of them would say Kobe. He is the most dynamic offensive player in the league, and he is known as one of the deadliest players in the game with the ball in his hand as time expires. Kobe is no slouch on the other end of the court either racking up seven All-NBA defensive team selections.
Up until this point one could understand why many consider him the best player in the league. Up until this point I would have said the same thing as well. Then Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 27. It was just an ordinary, regular season game, but what was significant was that it was the fifth time in a row that those same Lakers, led by Kobe, lost to those Cavaliers, led by LeBron James. Also significant was the fact that LeBron outscored Kobe for the third straight time in head-to-head competition.
The point is, what does it take for LeBron James to be considered the best player in the league? First of all LeBron has been a much more efficient player than Kobe the past few seasons. He may not score as much, but he shoots a far better percentage from the field, hands out more assists and pulls down more rebounds. LeBron has also taken his team to the NBA Finals. Granted, it was in the Eastern Conference, but still something Kobe has not been able to do without the help of Shaquille O’Neal.
There are more factors to look at as well. One of the biggest knocks on LeBron has been his inability to perform in the clutch. Personally I don’t know where these criticisms come from. In LeBron’s first career playoff game, he recorded a triple-double. In that same playoff series, he also won two other games with his last-second heroics. The next year, Lebron singlehandedly put the Cavaliers on his back and took them to the NBA Finals. In one of the most memorable playoff performances in history, LeBron scored the last 25 points of the game in order to beat the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. That game also included LeBron’s game-winning basket.
LeBron hasn’t slowed down this year either. Just the past week, he carried the Cavs past the Portland Trailblazers and scored yet another game-winning basket at the buzzer. The analysts who think LeBron can’t perform in the clutch couldn’t be more wrong.
One final factor to look at is LeBron’s defense. While even I would agree he is not on the level of Kobe, he has definitely closed the gap. In that same game against the Lakers on last month, when LeBron guarded Kobe in the fourth quarter he held him to 1-of-6 shooting, including preventing him from even attempting the game-tying shot as time expired. I thought crunch time was when Kobe was supposed to shine?
There is no way of deciding who the best player in the NBA is. It is a title that is completely subjective. That is why it is only my opinion that LeBron is the best player in the game. When you have better statistics and beat another player head to head five straight times, it only seems right that you are the better player. Especially when the Cavs supporting cast is considered worse than the players surrounding Kobe.
Since Jordan there has never been a player so completely accepted as the best player in the league. That is still not the case today. Let it be known however that King James is making his case and will not stop until everyone knows he is the best. Which in my opinion is not too far off.
Players like Ray Allen, Vince Carter and Allen Iverson have all had their moments and have been some of the most exciting players in the past decade. However, none of them have even come close to what Jordan accomplished on the court. For almost the entire time Jordan played, he was unanimously considered the best player in the league. Now he is known as the best player ever, and the league has continued to search for its next great player.
That’s where Kobe Bryant comes in. Kobe has come closer to Jordan than anyone else. His accomplishments on the court include three championship rings and two scoring titles. Ask just about anybody who has been the best player for the past five years and almost all of them would say Kobe. He is the most dynamic offensive player in the league, and he is known as one of the deadliest players in the game with the ball in his hand as time expires. Kobe is no slouch on the other end of the court either racking up seven All-NBA defensive team selections.
Up until this point one could understand why many consider him the best player in the league. Up until this point I would have said the same thing as well. Then Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 27. It was just an ordinary, regular season game, but what was significant was that it was the fifth time in a row that those same Lakers, led by Kobe, lost to those Cavaliers, led by LeBron James. Also significant was the fact that LeBron outscored Kobe for the third straight time in head-to-head competition.
The point is, what does it take for LeBron James to be considered the best player in the league? First of all LeBron has been a much more efficient player than Kobe the past few seasons. He may not score as much, but he shoots a far better percentage from the field, hands out more assists and pulls down more rebounds. LeBron has also taken his team to the NBA Finals. Granted, it was in the Eastern Conference, but still something Kobe has not been able to do without the help of Shaquille O’Neal.
There are more factors to look at as well. One of the biggest knocks on LeBron has been his inability to perform in the clutch. Personally I don’t know where these criticisms come from. In LeBron’s first career playoff game, he recorded a triple-double. In that same playoff series, he also won two other games with his last-second heroics. The next year, Lebron singlehandedly put the Cavaliers on his back and took them to the NBA Finals. In one of the most memorable playoff performances in history, LeBron scored the last 25 points of the game in order to beat the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. That game also included LeBron’s game-winning basket.
LeBron hasn’t slowed down this year either. Just the past week, he carried the Cavs past the Portland Trailblazers and scored yet another game-winning basket at the buzzer. The analysts who think LeBron can’t perform in the clutch couldn’t be more wrong.
One final factor to look at is LeBron’s defense. While even I would agree he is not on the level of Kobe, he has definitely closed the gap. In that same game against the Lakers on last month, when LeBron guarded Kobe in the fourth quarter he held him to 1-of-6 shooting, including preventing him from even attempting the game-tying shot as time expired. I thought crunch time was when Kobe was supposed to shine?
There is no way of deciding who the best player in the NBA is. It is a title that is completely subjective. That is why it is only my opinion that LeBron is the best player in the game. When you have better statistics and beat another player head to head five straight times, it only seems right that you are the better player. Especially when the Cavs supporting cast is considered worse than the players surrounding Kobe.
Since Jordan there has never been a player so completely accepted as the best player in the league. That is still not the case today. Let it be known however that King James is making his case and will not stop until everyone knows he is the best. Which in my opinion is not too far off.