Even in his 17th NBA season, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James continues to enhance his already-impressive legacy.
Now that the four-time MVP has reached the NBA Finals for the 10th time, former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce feels that James will ascend to second on the list of all-time greats if he wins the championship this year.
“It’s not easy to make an NBA Finals, and for him to be able to do it 10 times, he’s moving up there in my rankings,” said Pierce of James. “I’m gonna keep it real. If LeBron James … wins a title this year, I’ll put him right behind Michael Jordan.”
For years, the question of where James ranks among the all-time greats has been a hot debate, with many arguments for and against placing him in the top two or three.
With Saturday’s 117-107 win over the Denver Nuggets, James has now tied Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the third-most appearances in the championship series.
Only Bill Russell and Sam Jones, both Celtics Hall of Famers, have more Finals appearances, but they did it during the NBA’s embryonic stage when it had a fraction of the teams it possesses now.
The one thing that holds James back in the all-time great debates, according to some people, is his 3-6 record in the Finals.
But he will now have an opportunity to improve it a bit.
