Penton: Debate is over; LeBron the best
By Bruce Penton
OK, so LeBron James is the National Basketball Association’s all-time leading scorer, but is he the greatest NBA player of all time?
It’s impossible to say ‘let the debate begin’ because the debate has been raging for at least a couple of years as Michael Jordan fans say MJ can never be surpassed as the Greatest of All Time, and others who say James’ career stats will be so far ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s and Jordan’s by the time he retires that the argument will be moot.
Isn’t it automatic to say the GOAT in a specific sport is the athlete piling up the most points, or home runs, or touchdown passes? Well, not necessarily so. The argument has long been over in the National Hockey League, as Wayne Gretzky forever wears the crown. Tom Brady is the National Football League’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, and he’s generally accepted as his sports’s GOAT. The situation is murky in baseball, where Barry Bonds is credited with the most home runs, but detractors say Hank Aaron is the true home-run king, because he didn’t need steroids to bolster his stats. Or maybe it’s Babe Ruth, who excelled in an altogether different era.
It’s not ludicrous to say James is the NBA’s best ever player, even though it’s thought to be sacrilegious by Jordan followers to suggest anyone other than MJ is the best. James’ credentials are almost unmatched. Directly to the NBA from high school, more points than anyone in league history, 10 trips to the NBA Finals, winning four times. And he’s not finished. He knocked down 38 points Feb. 7 to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387, but the James’ detractors say the point total is dubious because the three-point shot was not available to Jabbar for most of his career, and Jabbar spent four years at UCLA while James came to the league directly from high school.
Points tell only part of the James story, though. He recently moved into fourth place for career assists, and is the only player in league history to be among the top five in points and assists. At 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, James is a beast on the court. He drives the lane and makes unstoppable layups, he drills three-pointers with the best of them, and dishes to team-mates like Steve Nash. He rebounds as well as anyone.
He’s the total basketball package and it’s impossible to put him behind anyone. LeBron is the GOAT.
Retired Seattle columnist and quipster Dwight Perry: “Seattle has been declared the No. 1 city for singles, according to a study released by the personal-finance website WalletHub.com. Heck, Ichiro could have told you that two decades ago.”
RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: “According to a recent New York Daily News item, Derek Jeter and his spouse Hannah Davis split the bill for a pizza in Italy. What kind of people report on these things — the pizzarazzi?”
Jason Robertson of Dallas Stars, on his team’s overtime record: “We need more shootouts because we can’t win three-on-three.”
Former NHLer Marc Methot, on Twitter: “I randomly showed up at an outdoor rink down the street and a fairly competitive game broke out. I can confirm that I’m still, without question, the best hockey player living in Manotick, Ontario.”
Comedy writer Gary Bachman: “Packers QB Aaron Rodgers to go on four-day ‘darkness retreat’ to contemplate future. He wouldn’t need a darkness retreat had he played lights out.”
Mark Bowman of mob.com: “(Braves pitcher Mike) Soroka said he now wants to go by Michael. This is truly a drop the Mike moment.”
Headline at the beaverton.com: “Guinness frantically publishing new world record book every time LeBron scores another basket”
Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: “When asked who he liked more, the Eagles or the Chiefs, George Santos said, “I’ve never heard of the band the Chiefs. But I used to play guitar for the Eagles.”
RJ Currie again: “According to the Daily Mail, for over 1,000 years The Great Wall of China has been in a constant state of rebuilding. ‘See?’ said the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
Phil Mushnick of the New York Post: “Prepping for the Super Bowl, Fox’s Greg Olsen spent yesterday practicing repeating himself, saying ‘he ran with his legs’ and making long stories out of nothing.”
Headline from fark.com: “Cleveland Browns owner wants a 25-per-cent share of the Milwaukee Bucks in an attempt to make them mediocre as well.”
One more from fark.com: “In the early 2000s, two Marines, one a Chiefs fan and one an Eagles fan, became friends. The Chiefs fan donated a kidney to the Eagles’ fan. They’ll both be at the Super Bowl, where the Eagles fan will clank a D-cell battery off the donor’s head.”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca.