Over the last several years, as LeBron James has won more championships and put together one monster individual season after another, he has gained a stronger foothold in the debate of who the greatest player ever is.
Fox Sports 1 personality Nick Wright recently said that James can win the debate if he not only breaks Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s scoring record this season but also wins the NBA championship.
“I don’t think the [Los Angeles] Lakers will win the title, and, as presently constituted, they can’t win the title,” Wright said on his podcast “What’s Wright? With Nick Wright.”
“But, if in LeBron’s 20th season, he not only passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in all-time scoring, which is going to happen midway through this year, but does it while playing at an All-NBA level, which he obviously did last year, and somehow the team were to win the title and it’s the title that breaks the tie with the [Boston] Celtics for most titles in franchise history?
“If that all were to happen, then the GOAT debate becomes an afterthought. Then it becomes, can you believe people were still arguing about it? They do not have enough to win the title this year unless they add a true difference-maker, which they’re not going to be able to do without getting rid of one or maybe both of those future picks.”
As of now, James seems to have his fair share of supporters who already have crowned him as the greatest basketball player of all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffk19h6-GRI
4) Oscar Robertson
“Lebron is in a class by himself.” pic.twitter.com/p2ZvGQ3tfi
— Coach James 🇭🇹 (@JamesEdrick3) August 17, 2022
6) Jason Kidd
“I think Lebron goes down as the greatest to do it” pic.twitter.com/LwxObfLQPC
— Coach James 🇭🇹 (@JamesEdrick3) August 17, 2022
10) JJ Reddick
“Lebron is the greatest player to ever play” pic.twitter.com/fFMfDvPxVU
— Coach James 🇭🇹 (@JamesEdrick3) August 17, 2022
13) Jason Williams
“I’m going with LeBron James in the GOAT debate”pic.twitter.com/zewvBVsWza
— Coach James 🇭🇹 (@JamesEdrick3) August 17, 2022
25) Juan Tuscano Anderson
“In my opinion the best player to ever play”pic.twitter.com/UP4V2KO8Uk
— Coach James 🇭🇹 (@JamesEdrick3) August 17, 2022
29) George Hill
“He’s the best I’ve ever seen”pic.twitter.com/SFpxEaLq5u
— Coach James 🇭🇹 (@JamesEdrick3) August 17, 2022
There is no doubt that he has put together a resume that is almost second to none in NBA history.
James has won four NBA championships and one scoring title, and he has 18 All-Star selections, 13 All-NBA First-Team and six All-Defensive team selections to his name.
He is currently second on the list of career regular season points and just 1,325 points behind Abdul-Jabbar, who is the all-time leader in that category.
Most people expect James to surpass Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer sometime this coming season. He is already miles ahead of both Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan on the all-time playoff scoring list in first place.
The big knock against James’ legacy is the fact that he’s just 4-6 in the NBA Finals, which ranks poorly compared to almost all of the other legends of the sport.
As Wright mentioned, the Lakers don’t quite have the personnel to contend for the championship right now. They have tried to go after Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving this summer in order to return to elite status, but their efforts have been rebuffed.
More recently, they have shown interest in Utah Jazz standout Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell is another player who could catapult L.A. back to title contention, but the price for him will likely be too steep.
