"Lebron Can't Win Without a Superteam"; Myth Busting
Sorry Lebron haters. You do not have a leg to stand on. "Lebron isn't clutch." Well... he proved that wrong (see my post here). 2 Straight NBA Finals leading both teams in Pts, Reb, & Ast (this year also Blk and Stls)! Lebron has now won 3 NBA Championships and 3 Finals MVPs (though we all know he should have 4 with his performance in last years finals). That's 100% of the time he is the best player on a championship team. You know who can't say that? Magic 3 of 5 (Jabbar & Worthy won the others), Bird 2 of 3 (Cedric Maxwell), Duncan 3 of 5 (Parker & Kawhi), Kobe 2 of 5 (Shaq), Shaq 3 of 4 (Wade), Jabbar 2 of 6 (Magic & Worthy). All of these "GOATS" won championships while not being the best player on the floor (isn't that the definition of "Not Clutch"???).
What else do you have? "Lebron had to team up with other Superstars to win a championship." As Lebron said to Curry..."Get that $hit out of my house!!!" That myth has been busted. Who are the best players in NBA history? See below. Who did they win their championships with? See below. The only difference is that these players had their organization make the super teams (60's Celtics, 70's Lakers, 80's Lakers & Celtics, 90's Bulls, 2000's Lakers, 2010's Heat., Lebron tried to let the Cavs do it for him for 7 years, and they failed ...over and over and over again. Below is the starting 5 of the last 3 years in Cleveland before James took his destiny in his own hands. Yep Magic had Jabbar and Worthy. Bird had McHale and Parish. Jordan had Pippen and Rodman. Lebron had Mo Freakin' Williams. In 7 years that is the best Cleveland could do.
Its funny to see other GOATs comment on "I would never go and team up with So-and-So" Its because you didn't have to.
"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team, But that's ... things are different... In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys." - MICHAEL JORDAN
Great Jordan. You had Pippen / Grant by year 4. And then Pippen / Rodman with Phil Jackson. Lebron had Mo Williams and Zedrunas Ilgauskas with Mike Brown (and still led them to an NBA Finals at age 22). What did you do at age 22? You got swept in the 1st round. For those that argue that it was Lebron's 4th year in the league. Fine. Jordan in year 4? Lost 1-4 in the 2nd round to Detroit.
"We didn't think about it cause that's not what we were about, from college, I was trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird." - MAGIC JOHNSON
Great Magic. You forgot you got drafted to a super team with MVP Kareem Abdul Jabbar (Lakers had the #1 pick from Utah from their Gail Goodrich trade several years earlier). Then 3 years later drafted #1 James Worthy (again Earning the #1 pick from a trade from previous years). And lets not forget Nixon, Cooper, Scott, Thompson oh yah and Pat Riley. Lebron was drafted to Boozer, Ilgauskas, McInnes, and Eric Williams. Magic...would you have won even a single championship without the Cap?
"I remember back in my days, I'd rather play against Earvin Johnson than play with him... I'd rather stay in Boston and let him stay in L.A. and just compete every year in the Finals. That's what made me a better player. It would've been too easy if we played together." - LARRY BIRD
Great Larry. You came into the NBA as a 23 year old rookie (1 year later than Lebron carried a bunch of JV players to the championship game). Your 1st Championship was with 3 other Hall Of Famers (Archibald, Parish, McHale) by year 2 of your career. The only reason you were a Celtic is because they picked you #6 when you were still playing in Indiana St. (not allowed anymore). Oh Yah and you did not win Finals MVP that year (Cedric Maxwell).
Kobe was drafted to a team with HOFer Shaquille O'neal, and fellow All Stars Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. Duncan to a team with HOFer David Robinson. Jabbar... in your second year they got you Oscar Robertson. Lebron got Ilgauskus.
Truth be told, non of the all time greats had to endure what Lebron endured. Maybe Kobe after he forced Shaq out of town and meddled in mediocrity at his own doing. And that team with Lamar, Butler, and company was more talented then Lebron's JV teams in Cleveland. And what did Kobe do? Threatened the Mighty Lakers organization that he would leave to the Clippers...so they got Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown. Lebron never got Pau Gasol. Lebron would have probably settled for Kwame Brown.
Super teams are part of NBA history. In fact...winning without a superteam is the exception to the rule. Bill Russell's 11 Rings came with an average of 6.8 (not a typo) Hall Of Famers on his teams. Magic's 5 rings? Average of 3.8 Hall Of Famers. Bird's 3 rings? Average of 4.3 Hall of Famers. Jordan's 6 rings? Average 2.5 Hall Of Famers. Lebron's 3 rings? Average of 1.7 Hall Of Famers.
Below is a chart showing the NBA GOATs, their # of Rings, Finals MVP, Finals Lost, as well as how many All NBA players were on those teams, how many All DEF players were on those teams, how many All Stars were on those teams, and how many HOFers were on those teams. How does Lebron's Superteams stack up to those who criticized him building one himself?
There have been 70 NBA Championships. ~50% of the time there are at least 2 All NBA players on a championship team (Lebron never had that - Wade was 3rd team at best). ~50% of the time there are at least 2 All Def players on a championship team (Lebron never had that). ~50% of the time there are at least 3 All Stars on a championship team. ~60% of the time there are at least 3 Hall of Famers on a championship team. Below shows how Championship teams are made up based on All NBA, All Def, All Star, and HOFers
Anything else Lebron Haters? "Lebron lost 2x with his Super Team." Blah blah blah. Lebron lost 2x with his Super Team. Magic (HOF)/ Jabbar (HOF)/ Wilkes (HOF)/ Nixon (All Star)/ Cooper (All Def)/ McAdoo (HOF) got swept by the 76ers in the 1983 Finals. Magic (HOF)/Jabbar (HOF)/Wilkes (HOF)/McAdoo (HOF)/Cooper (All Def) got beat by the Celtics in 1984 Finals. Magic (HOF)/Jabbar (HOF)/Worthy (HOF)/Cooper (All Def)/Thompson (#1 Pick) got swept by the Pistons in 1989. Crickets!!! Those are the ultimate superteam and nobody hears a peep about Magic losing 3 finals with a "Superteam". Kobe, Shaq, Malone, and Payton lost to the ONLY TEAM IN NBA HISTORY WITH ZERO HALL OF FAMERS TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP, yet Kobe is a "Killer" and Shaq is "the most dominant ever". "Lebron lost 4x in the Finals." Same number as projected Mount Rushmore players Magic Johnson and Jabbar (Who lost 3x of those finals playing together).
In 70 NBA seasons there have been ONLY 6 teams that you could say were not "SUPER TEAMS". and 2 of those teams still had 2 Hall of Famers on the roster and one of them has the "Jordan Retired asterisk."
Now Durant (who criticized Lebron for leaving a dumpster fire in Cleveland to create a super team in Miami) left a team that was a couple minutes away from going to the NBA finals after having a 3-1 series lead and has joined the 73 win Golden State Warriors with reigning 2x NBA MVP (Steph Curry) along with 2 other All NBA performers (Klay Thompson & Draymond Green) that beat him to chase the ring. He will not get criticized to the level Lebron did. In fact, he should thank Lebron for paving the way and taking the heat of a true trailblazer. Though a superteam is essentially required to win a championship, not all superteams achieve it. Ask Wilt, West, and Baylor. Ask Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley. Ask Shaq, Kobe, Malone, and Payton. Ask Lebron, Wade, and Bosh.
But enough with the "he only won with so-&-so". The Legends' dirty little secret? They all only won with so-&-so.
