It's hard to argue Lebron still has a chance to usurp MJ as the greatest to ever play. It's hard to argue Lebron is even in the top 3. And I keep wanting to put Larry Bird higher on the list too -- I don't even know if Lebron is the best SF ever.
You are on crack if you think Bird is better than LeBron. LeBron James is already the all time leading playoff scorer, and all time in Win Shares. He is the only player who has a chance to surpass Kareem in all time points, he will most likely reach 30K points before the season ends. He will end his career as the leader in all time Win Shares, Games played, Playoff Games played etc... He already has three titles, only once was he a favorite in a finals that he won, he came back from 3-1 down in the Finals to the greatest regular season team ever assembled, arguably the greatest single accomplishment in sports outside of 18-1. There is no player who will ever contribute more to winning basketball over his entire career than LeBron James.
Larry destroyed Magic + Kareem + Worthy, Moses Malone, Ralph Sampson + Hakeem, Dr. J, Isiah Thomas + Rodman + Dantley, Michael Jordan. All en-route to his 3 chips, and other playoff appearances. Lebron's greatest competition is GSW, LAL, SAS, and the FREAKING MAVS. LBJ did NOT go up against anyone in the top-50 greatest to ever play this game except maybe Kobe, KD, Tim Duncan, and GSW. Who are ALL on the West. Anytime he's had a tough competition out East w/ Celtics (KG Paul Pierce Rondo) or Magic (Dwight Howard), LBJ flat out failed. All other years, he got there beating out all the weakest teams in the East, having the easiest path to Finals/Chips than any other all-time great ever. Hide behind those win shares, but he's lost 5 finals. I'll give Lebron props for the greatest come-back ever from 3-1 in the Finals vs GSW. But he's had the easiest trip to the finals every year he got there, only to lose majority of them at the end. Put everything together, Larry deserves a LOT more credit for what he's done. LBJ was/is a better athlete, and he's had a fantastic career, also had that 1 championship usurping the greatest regular season team ever. To me, that all comes down to almost a wash. I cancel out his 3-1 Finals comeback with his loss to the Mavs. If I had to pick one, I'd pick Larry in his prime. If you pick LBJ, I don't think people should have problems with that. @tinman holla at me.
