So the era of Lebron worhsip is over in the media?

Considering the very recent developments...

Guess it depends on what "worship" means.

I mean, we've found a point in this career where maybe he can't drag another crappy team, in a super competitive conference, into the playoffs all by himself.

That doesn't strike me as much of a black mark, though.

Groin pulls seem to linger.. A guy will come back, and then sit out again. I think the young guys are a bit self-conscious after they were all supposedly mentioned in talks trading for Anthony Davis... These trade-demands are ruining this already-soft league that dedicates a lot of time towards anything EXCEPT basketball.. Very little motion - just a lot of 3's because of analytical guys looking for a better paying job in their field.

All the Luke Walton hate today.....who really thought the Lakers were going to make a splash this year? 40 wins was a realistic goal going into the year in the Western Conference, and it was funny how high the preseason win total got for the Lakers in Vegas once Lebron got there (I think it closed somewhere in the mid-upper 40s).

Lebron the juice, is no longer worth the squeeze. Imagine how Ingram, Kuze, Hart and Ball feel playing with the guy that tried to get rid of them.


He will always be a media star, *cough* SJ2 *cough* it is just gonna be a different story. Plus, he's always been closer to 50/50 positive/negative media stories anyways.

The man came out and said he is the the GOAT.


Lakers might have a worst record than last year...



The media always tried to spin his negative stories into positive ones...

And that's disproven by not single-handedly dragging another team into the playoffs near the end of his career? Not really following the logic there.

How many rings would he even have if he was in the Alpha Conference?


Did he deserve all the attention he got?

We'll never know. Given some of his Finals' performances, probably still some.

How many rings would he have if he had Jordan's supporting cast and coach? We'll never know that, either.

I dunno, but the idea that not dragging the Lakers into the playoffs late in his career proves he's not the greatest doesn't really make sense.

More than he won in the East?



What?


Being able to work with others is a skill required in basketball. This passive aggressive baby would never have worked with a great coach...


The man has no character and lacks charisma. I don't care who the GOAT is but seeing his passive aggressive goofy ass as the consensus GOAT would suck.

Probably not.

What is this in response to?

First, he seemed to work fine with others when he was with Miami, and had to play and share the ball with other big names. I'd think his time with the Heat alone would dispel this claim. Or the fact that he kept making the Finals with absolute nobodies in Cleveland. Unless by "work well" you mean "seems nice to fans reading the news" as opposed to getting results.

Second, you could just as easily say this as a necessity because he had a string of lackluster coaches (and, sometimes, virtually no supporting cast). Put him with someone like Phil Jackson during his formative years and see what happens.

This seems like a massive exaggeration, at best, but okay.

I mean, if that's what we're really talking about (and it sure seems like it is), Jordan was pretty clearly a huge jerk. The greats are often not great people.

I think the goofy thing is deciding we know who someone like this is on some deep personal level, and then experiencing joy at their failure. Heck, not even failure, but just an eventual inability to continue doing amazing things. That seems like a weird thing to be happy or crow about.

Magic Johnson has been a problem. Two years ago, he started freeing up cap by trading away assets, anything, just for cap space. But he also made the mistake of signing every guy to a 1-yr deal, so they're basically playing for a contract, so another team can sign them to something. Lebron plays with the ball, so what is Lonzo and Rondo there for? They are the exact same player. Fine passers, but they need the ball in their hands to make plays. They both can't shoot.



I would have traded a few of those young players away to a team that is rebuilding. Lebron is 34 - he's not rebuilding. They need guys now, and not knuckleheads like Stephenson and Beasley (who I think they cut).


I couldn't stand Lebron for that Decision crap, but I was old enough to see and remember my Pistons beat them, Celtics, and the Lakers. Lebron hasn't had much help, and has the worst coaches, usually by circumstance. They'd hire a guy with no experience because they won 20 games with Kyrie Irving..


To add to that, I was mentioning last year to a Celtics fan on the board that they wouldn't be as good. Everyone talks about Kyrie and Hayward as the 2 best players on that team, but with those guys gone, they were one game away from The Finals. They had motion in their offense, they worked so great on defense, like a string, and Kyrie and Hayward like the ball in their hands and they aren't good defenders, either. It doesn't fit. You need complementary pieces, not just a bunch of guys who could score 20ppg. It's not popular to say that, but its true. They should have traded Kyrie, he's a FA and can go anywhere this summer.

Oh yeah, The Decision was silly. I like to judge all this, though, on a bit of a curve. That curve being "you've been insanely rich and famous since before you were even adult, and everyone's been telling you you're a basketball demigod for just as long." I don't think too many players are humble, grounded individuals, so I'd rather compare the insane superstars to other professional athletes, as opposed to just any random person. I'm not sure how much better most of us would be if put in that situation.

Yep...