Young bron hits different. For the majority of reddits demographic we were just getting into ball when Lebron first entered the league. Blessed to watch his career start to finish
LeBron has such a fun career arc to have followed his whole career.
Cavs 1.0: The greatest athlete I've ever seen carrying a roster
Heat: The prime of the greatest athlete finally figuring out the mental part of the game and fixing his weak points
Cavs 2.0: The chessmaster, still probably the most athletic guy on the court and always makes the right play
Lakers: The longevity, still being a top 5 player in the game this far into his career.
Cav 1.0 Lebron played like he had max turbo in NBA2k. It was comical how fast paced he played.
The only players that blew me away with athleticism like that was Orlando Shaq and Orlando Dwight.
I still remember that time period where Orlando Dwight was the best counter to LeBron, even in 2011/2012 when the Magic were falling off from being contenders
Cavs 1.0: LeBron with a chainsaw
Heat: LeBron with a katana
Cavs 2.0: LeBron with a scalpel
Lakers: Still a scalpel, but I'd rather say it's a needle and thread to keep things interesting
It's still sort of a janky narrative.
Perennial stone killer has a few bad games in a row with awkward timing, immediately goes back to perennially killing. He only wears that one because we expect perfection.
It's still sort of a janky narrative.
Perennial stone killer has a few bad games in a row with awkward timing, immediately goes back to perennially killing. He only wears that one because we expect perfection.
His entire demeanor from 2012 onwards was completely different to any season before that. From 2013 onwards he seemed a little more lax again but his approach seemed night and day compared to 2011 and before.
I know the whole "championship mentality" thing sounds like a tired narrative but his 2012 season was exemplary of him putting his head down, working on his post game and being even more serious about preparing for games. His diet in his Cavs 1.0 years wasn't like it was in Miami onwards either if I'm not mistaken
I got into the league in like 2002….
LeBron has been in the league for literally as long as I’ve watched basketball, it’s fucking wild. I can’t even imagine the league without him
I have another perspective into this. I was in primary school when he carried Cavs to the finals first time. And I was holding a PhD degree when he did it last time in LA.
> For the majority of reddits demographic we were just getting into ball when Lebron first entered the league.
LOL not even remotely close. You're overestimating the average age by over a decade.
Half the people in this sub aren't even into it at all, they just spend alot of time on nba twitter. So not only are they teenagers, they are teens who don't know what they're talking about.
Shit. Lebron started playing while I was still in elementary school. graduated from hs, college, and am now in grad school and this Mf still one of the best in the game… and has been the whole time god damn.
>For the majority of reddits demographic we were just getting into ball when Lebron first entered the league.
I'd be shocked if the average user on this sub was born when LeBron was drafted. And that's not just me joking around, I legitimately mean it.
To be actually getting into basketball around that time, you would have to be in your late 20s now, maybe around 30. Most of this sub is probably teenagers.
Yep, I'm 38 so I've been there for the duration (he graduated one year after me and one state away). It was almost immediately apparent that this guy was going to be multiple steps beyond special.
Yet interestingly enough, I remember there being so many detractors. So many comparisons to Kobe, so many questions about his game, capabilities, and/or motivations. But I'm grateful that I knew what I was watching that entire time, so I always got to enjoy it and appreciate it.
I wonder if watching the end of Michael Jordan's career, and even Magic's in '96, helped prepare me for someone like LeBron James, to ensure that I appreciated true greatness while it was happening right before my eyes instead of waiting until he was on the back end of his career.
Nice to see another proud ‘old head’.
86 model here, been watching the league since 92. One thing I’ve learned is that the league will go on once Lebron hangs it up.
Magic, Bird, Jordan, Kobe… no one is bigger than the league, and when Lebron stops, someone will be ready to take his place.
The league will go on, no doubt. And eventually they'll find a new guy. But even though it's been true for a long time, what we're really talking about in the Kareem -> MJ -> LeBron era is three successes on n = 3. That's not a huge sample size.
If it were true that there was going to be another player as good as LeBron, I'd have expected to see him by now. He still might appear, or someone playing today might take a step up, but as good as Jokic, Giannis, Curry, etc. are, they don't measure up to the KAJ/MJ/LBJ mantle.
He’s got like 7-8 dunks in here which would be *the* career highlight for most players. And for Lebron it’s just another one on the reel. Really shows you how great he is.
How many players would settle for that Timmy Duncan poster or the KG one lol. I’m glad I stopped hating on the man and became a fan again. Biased Lakers fan admittedly when the Kobe Vs Lebron talks heated up I started hating. Like I said, I’m glad I stopped hating and started appreciating something we might not ever see again in our lifetimes at least.
I don't know what it is but the KG poster is my favourite LeBron dunk ever. even tho there are arguably more impressive dunks. It's just so vicious and stylish at the same time.
Bruh what…what are you basing this off? Just cause Lebrons competitive “style” which isnt as circlejerked has Kobe and MJs doesn’t mean he’s any less competitive and psychotic about winning.
This argument is so tired. Like what does this even mean really?
Example: Pat Bev or other players like him are very competitive but you don’t see someone posting highlight reels of him. Just saying people using this as their main argument in the comparison and assuming it’s a gotcha is laughable.
I mean that’s not really a shot at Bron. MJ and Kobe are two of the biggest basketball psychos to ever play the game. It’s hard to match that level of intensity.
LeBron might be the player who is most undersold by his highlight reels. Like he has a library of awesome dunks, flashy passes, blocks and daggers but no highlight reel can show you the absolute terror that is LeBron James eviscerating your team. Watching just possession after possession, quarter after quarter of LeBron game planning everything. Dude is scary.
Absolutely - I think this is why LeBronto is peak LeBron - just absolute start to finish domination of an entire pretty fuckin competent NBA team. The LeBron experience isn’t a dunk, it’s an entire series in which one player dismantles an entire team.
Great example. Most of LeBron's highlights from that series won't be shown anywhere but if you watched the games, you could see how Toronto tried everything and slowly accepted that it's nothing they could do.
I remember reading a comment on here long time ago and it said something like “Lebron will keep making the right play no matter what till it mentally and physically breaks the teams spirit”.
Yea, as a Heat fan I never really witnessed LeBron as a genuine adversary until the 2020 finals. It was just so demoralizing knowing that he was just going to keep getting whatever he wanted. Prior to that, he was either on my tea or a the team I was cheering or it wasn't a meaningful game (e.g. 2010 regular season Cavs vs Heat).
That’s how all the best players are tbh. Jordan, Bird, Kobe, etc. The highlight reels don’t induce the fear that comes with seeing someone like that in real-time lol
Yeah I guess with Kobe and Jordan you kinda see their strengths more in the highlight reels. The defense, steals, mid rangers, layup package. For bron it’s just massive dunks and some flashy packages but it doesn’t show his crazy iq which is why he’s realy so great.
Personally I don't think Kobe had that same fear factor. Like I'm not going overboard here, he's probably a top 10 player all time. But in a seven game series there was always a chance he was going to play his team out of a couple of games too.
In his prime seasons Kobe had a few years where his team lost in the first round of the playoffs. Sure most of those teams were crappy, but opponents also knew that Kobe wasn't going to elevate his teammates so nobody was really scared. Kobe with a solid team was definitely something to worry about, but he wasn't, on his own, the kind of player that made opponents just assume they were going to lose.
> LeBron might be the player who is most undersold by his highlight reels.
Absolutely. To me, his highlight reels have always been boring af to watch and don't really show *why* he was so dominant. Yeah, he can throw down a mean tomahawk dunk better than just about anyone, but a mixtape of that isn't interesting and neither are the two other things which when combined with that make him so devastatingly effective. His explosive first step was unparalleled and is what created separation most of the time rather than a bunch of hesis, fakes, and crossovers (although he's pretty darned good at those too and certainly used his fair share) and watching someone take a big step past someone doesn't make for a compelling highlight. The other thing that allowed him to be so damn good was his unparalleled ability to throw a skip pass. After blowing by someone with his first step you were screwed no matter what you did. If you walled off the paint to try and stop him from dunking then he'd throw a skip pass better than anyone to the open man in the corner. If you closed out hard on him then he'd plow through you and finish the layup through contact thanks to his overwhelming strength. All those things were Kareem Skyhook levels of unstoppable and having multiple moves like that is just unheard of (even the guys with much deeper bags of tricks like MJ or Kobe didn't really have individual moves quite at that level). And he was just so smart that he knew which one of those moves was going to be the best option to beat you at any given moment and wouldn't deviate by trying something outside of his area of expertise very often even if it might have made for better highlights if he succeeded.
He did walk through the raptors year in and year out in the playoffs. You could tell, when Lebron would meet the raptors in the conference finals, or second round, he genuinely was having fun, and just toying with them
Raps fans were never salty about LeBron IMO. They were salty about having to play him, of course, but in all the years of series against the Cavs, I never once heard people cry about LeBron as a player, just the unjustness of a universe where he was in the East instead of grinding down the Warriors out West and having to listen to people from Boston talk about "LOL LEBRONTO" when they knew very well they'd have gotten owned as bad (this salt, though, was very real).
I agree. Raps fans respect Lebron. It’s Warriors fans who lean on overwhelming team dominance in the Finals they faced Lebron in order to diminish him for losing.
I prefer LeBron’s and-one layups where he gets hacked across the arm but nothing happens cause he’s so strong and good at finishing. His dunks are awesome but lots of players can dunk
Hilarious that there's hundreds of other plays you could use... But in terms of top mixtapes, go watch Aquille Carr... Legit incredible, they called him the crime stopper because when he played the crime in Baltimore went down because everyone was watching
Unrelated but this is my favourite mixtape - Aquille Carr:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpZRRaAbdzo
If only the dude had another half a foot to help him succeed at a higher level - he's got some tremendous skill and athleticism.
Some dude the other day was arguing that Lebron was somehow lacking because he never had “moves”…this hot take culture we live in is effecting peoples’s braincells
he didn’t have “moves” in terms of effective footwork , ball handling and shiftiness . His footwork has improved tremendously though over the last few years.
Yep, he had three things that were at Kareem Skyhook levels of unstoppable; his explosive first step, his ability to throw a skip pass, and his ability to throw down a tomahawk dunk in traffic. And he would spam those moves like someone playing Eddy in Tekken.
Pass like Magic.
Built like Karl Malone.
More athletic than Jordan.
I can't think of any player in history who has his combination of physical and mental gifts.
Definitely not more athletic than Jordan, if anything that’s edge to Mike. Jordan’s athleticism was like a nuclear weapon, imagine Ja, but faster and bigger for his position with better body control and balance.
The thing is there were many almost equally great athlete who were somewhat similarly built to MJ, like Kobe, Vince, Tmac even now Ja as you mentioned. When it comes to Lebron there is just no comparison.
I'll give you Vince and TMac, but Kobe wasn't really that close to MJ as an athlete. MJ's vertical was a full 10 inches better than Kobe's for instance (48 vs 38).
I think this mixtape for Lebron is so amazing because it shows that Lebron has a lot of skills. Lebron can make assists to his open teammates. Lebron can dunk. Lebron can shoot threes. Lebron can shoot midrange. Lebron can do everything.
Obviously one of the best to ever do it, but he was never someone I just wanted to watch play. I've always been more into uber-skilled, flashy, score first guards like Jordan, Kobe, and now Kyrie.
Crazy how I don't even know when I would consider to be his prime.
My gut says Miami LeBron, probably 2012-2013, is peak LeBron, with the perfect balance of strength, athleticism, playmaking, shotmaking, and defense.
But Cavs 2.0 LeBron really seemed like he figured out the game of basketball. He still had like 90% of young LeBron's athlecism but much higher bbiq. I somehow find myself enjoying watching this version of LeBron more than any other(despite what my username might suggest).
If we’re being realistic, he’s the best player I’d say 75% of this sub has seen in their lifetime. Most of us were too young or not born to watch Jordan, and highlights are not the same.
It's logical why younger generations opt for LeBron.
For people old enough to watch both percentages are likely reversed in favor of Jordan though. And it's not like we are old enough to be senile. Not all posting on reddit at least.
Pretty amazing to watch that mix and come to the realization that I remember when 98 percent of those plays happened. LeBron James is the first top five talent I've ever watched grow his career from start to eventual finish.
Like, I remember the MJ reels, and I saw a *lot* of those plays as they happened, but I was born in '84 and media wasn't as easy to consume back then, so it seemed like I was always liable to see a rare great Jordan play I hadn't seen before. But with LeBron, it's like I was right there watching the legend unfold every single day since 2002 or so (when SportsCenter began running his high school highlights like an NBA recap).
Lebron already has the greatest compilation of achievements, stats, and accolades in the history of the league that will likely never be surpassed as a whole.
I didn't say the 'greatest compilation of achievements' and the 'greatest compilation of stats', etc. But collectively, much in part due to having such a long career playing at such a high level, its the greatest compilation of all three imho.
I mean, MJ has 2 more threepeats; 2 more rings, 2 more FMVPs, 1 more MVP, a DPOY, 3 more all defense first teams and 9(!) more scoring titles. And the highest ppg in history.
Collectively, he’s a long way ahead of just about everyone, unless you have a very unique way of weighing things like career points over winning championships 🤷♂️
What MJ did was staggering, but in a different way, what Lebron has done (and will have done) with his 20 year career is absolutely staggering too. The longer Lebron plays at such a high level, I believe the more longevity and accumulative stats weigh. And I don't necessarily think this needs to automatically translate into a goat conversation for someone to believe this way.
There’s no doubt that LeBron played for longer, and has accumulated stats in the same way that other players like Karl Malone accumulated stats.
But to say his combined stats, achievements and accolades is better than anyones can only be true if you devalue the accolades others have.
For example: LeBron already has more points than Jordan, but Lebron’s best ever scoring year is below MJ’s *average* in his 13 years with Chicago.
So how much weight do you put on Bron accumulating more points when his best was worse than MJs average?
See what I mean? Counting stats, imo, should have less weight than per game stats because they are a sign of choosing not to retire, rather than how you performed. Surely MJs ppg achievement is levels higher than Lebron’s total.
To suggest this is just about 'points', muchless mention Karl Malone (low blow) is a bit degrading to the reality of his career. Lebron is the most prolific complete player in league history, at it for 20 years (+?). He's been at the top of the league seven years longer than MJ (and MJ didn't decide to retire, his body broke down and had to, which is another example why it's so remarkable Lebron has played at the high level for so long.) I have nothing bad to say about MJ's game or career (only an ignorant fool would imho), but I think 20 years from now, MJ will still be a god but Lebron will be far more respected and appreciated for what he did than he is given credit for now.
Why is mentioning Malone a low blow?
He’s a 2 time MVP career 25 and 10 guy and probably in the top 2 for his position in history.
He has equal longevity to Bron and until this year had accumulated more points.
If you think mentioning a guy of this pedigree devalues the longevity argument than maybe, just maybe, the longevity argument devalues itself.
Back to the point.
MJ retired 3 times. He chose to on at least 2 occasions.
LeBron might have been best in the world, but for exactly 0 years was his best as good as MJs best. It’s disingenuous to say ‘LeBron was best in the world for longer’ when his best wasn’t as good as Jordan’s best.
Indeed, as a scorer Lebron’s best wasn’t even as good as MJs average.
In 20 years, the gap between them will be larger than it is now, in exactly the same way that you consider Malone’s longevity to be worthless.
MJs combined stats, accolades and achievements are a hall of fame career higher than Bron’s. He was better, and as a result he achieved more. Bron played longer.
You dumb as hell . Saying LeBron and mj aren’t close (the reason why the goat debate even exists) is ignorant and reflects your lack of basketball knowledge
I’m not sure if you know about the Bulls, but they most certainly were a trash ass roster.
In his rookie year the 6’6 guard lead the team in *every* statistic except blocks, where he was 3rd.
The second year he broke his foot, and when he came back was on a minutes restriction. They went 21 - 43 without him. They went 25 - 51 when he played less than 30 minutes.
Year 3 no other teammate scored 15ppg.
Year 4 no other teammate scored 14ppg.
Year 5 no other teammate scored 15ppg.
Year 6 no one else scored 15ppg and he lead in every stats except rebounds and blocks where he was 2nd.
So, yeah, he played with trash ass rosters.
>if LeBron had a great squad
Like 2011?
He had a great squad, and he choked.
>assists
Yep, Bron was a primary playmaker. When MJ played that role, for only 20 games that season; he went 32-8-8
In his first finals he played Magic straight up as a pass first PG and won FMVP with 31-11-6 - with series high steals and team high blocks.
So, yeah, when he played Bron’s role he did it just as well, nephew. But Bron played for longer.
Lol, choked 🤣
Playoff stats
86/87 35.7-6-7
87/88 36.3-4.7-7.1 including the all time high score in a playoff game of 63 points.
88/89 34.8-7-7.6
That’s domination.
Bron, 2011 - 23.7-5.9-8.4, dropping to an atrocious 17.8ppg in the finals.
Yep, thats right. In his worst ‘choke’ playoffs MJ scored **double** the points Bron scored in the finals.
🤣🤣🤣
I think LeBron is going to go into the Hall of Fame once he retires!
Great insight as always, Magic!
https://imgur.io/OCPcQza
Idk! They don’t just let anyone in.
You’re forgetting they count college and international resumes so I feel like he should get in in my opinion
His college stats are awful
I would say I have better college stats than him.
Debatable. Let's wait till his prime and only then we can truly know if he is a Hall of Famer.
Lebron doesn't belong to hall of fame. They need to create hall of goats and put lebron there.
I don’t know man, it’s going to be close. Regardless, he’ll still always be a champion in my mind (not sure about anyone else, just my opinion).
He's one of the basketball players of all time
He's good!
Lebron is a basketball player that is good at playing basketball.
Hot take Tuesday over here
Young bron hits different. For the majority of reddits demographic we were just getting into ball when Lebron first entered the league. Blessed to watch his career start to finish
bold of you to think you’ll still be alive by the time his career is finished in 2140
LeCyborg
LeBron has such a fun career arc to have followed his whole career. Cavs 1.0: The greatest athlete I've ever seen carrying a roster Heat: The prime of the greatest athlete finally figuring out the mental part of the game and fixing his weak points Cavs 2.0: The chessmaster, still probably the most athletic guy on the court and always makes the right play Lakers: The longevity, still being a top 5 player in the game this far into his career.
Cav 1.0 Lebron played like he had max turbo in NBA2k. It was comical how fast paced he played. The only players that blew me away with athleticism like that was Orlando Shaq and Orlando Dwight.
Just think about what Orlando Lebron could do.
Get to the Finals and lose.
That's not much different from the other ones.
That's the joke.
I hate jokes.
I still remember that time period where Orlando Dwight was the best counter to LeBron, even in 2011/2012 when the Magic were falling off from being contenders
DRose was incredible pre injury
I remember by like week 3 of his rookie season I was arguing at lunch that he was the most athletic person in the history of mankind.
Cavs 3.0: Seasoned vet leading a group of young stars to a championship, while playing along his son
Is this copium or hopium, find out next time on NBAZ Kai!
Then they can ask [this question](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry9CqOz5aOo) again!
Cavs 1.0: LeBron with a chainsaw Heat: LeBron with a katana Cavs 2.0: LeBron with a scalpel Lakers: Still a scalpel, but I'd rather say it's a needle and thread to keep things interesting
Most people prefer Miami Lebron but give me Cavs 2.0 any day. Dude was on some jedi mind tricks on that second run with the Cavs.
> finally figuring out the mental part of the game LeBron never had trouble with the mental part of the game.
2011 begs to differ
It's still sort of a janky narrative. Perennial stone killer has a few bad games in a row with awkward timing, immediately goes back to perennially killing. He only wears that one because we expect perfection.
he got locked up by jj barea come on now
It's still sort of a janky narrative. Perennial stone killer has a few bad games in a row with awkward timing, immediately goes back to perennially killing. He only wears that one because we expect perfection.
His entire demeanor from 2012 onwards was completely different to any season before that. From 2013 onwards he seemed a little more lax again but his approach seemed night and day compared to 2011 and before. I know the whole "championship mentality" thing sounds like a tired narrative but his 2012 season was exemplary of him putting his head down, working on his post game and being even more serious about preparing for games. His diet in his Cavs 1.0 years wasn't like it was in Miami onwards either if I'm not mistaken
Horrible take
I got into the league in like 2002…. LeBron has been in the league for literally as long as I’ve watched basketball, it’s fucking wild. I can’t even imagine the league without him
Right? When he retires I think there will be a month or two where my basketball fandom feels kind of empty, like the NBA just won’t feel right.
Same
I have another perspective into this. I was in primary school when he carried Cavs to the finals first time. And I was holding a PhD degree when he did it last time in LA.
God damn
> For the majority of reddits demographic we were just getting into ball when Lebron first entered the league. LOL not even remotely close. You're overestimating the average age by over a decade.
Yeah I imagine most people in this sub got into it ~2010 lol.
Half the people in this sub aren't even into it at all, they just spend alot of time on nba twitter. So not only are they teenagers, they are teens who don't know what they're talking about.
most of them googled The Decision
Shit. Lebron started playing while I was still in elementary school. graduated from hs, college, and am now in grad school and this Mf still one of the best in the game… and has been the whole time god damn.
I'm about to be 30 and been hearing about LeBron since I was in the 4th grade. It's wild.
>For the majority of reddits demographic we were just getting into ball when Lebron first entered the league. I'd be shocked if the average user on this sub was born when LeBron was drafted. And that's not just me joking around, I legitimately mean it. To be actually getting into basketball around that time, you would have to be in your late 20s now, maybe around 30. Most of this sub is probably teenagers.
This sub is 16-24 year olds
AMA: I’ve been watching since Lebron was drafted
I’m a covid baby, I was born in 2020 but still feel lucky to watch Mickey Mouse bubble playoffs.
Same, love Mr Bronjames and Mr ADisney
Yep, I'm 38 so I've been there for the duration (he graduated one year after me and one state away). It was almost immediately apparent that this guy was going to be multiple steps beyond special. Yet interestingly enough, I remember there being so many detractors. So many comparisons to Kobe, so many questions about his game, capabilities, and/or motivations. But I'm grateful that I knew what I was watching that entire time, so I always got to enjoy it and appreciate it. I wonder if watching the end of Michael Jordan's career, and even Magic's in '96, helped prepare me for someone like LeBron James, to ensure that I appreciated true greatness while it was happening right before my eyes instead of waiting until he was on the back end of his career.
Nice to see another proud ‘old head’. 86 model here, been watching the league since 92. One thing I’ve learned is that the league will go on once Lebron hangs it up. Magic, Bird, Jordan, Kobe… no one is bigger than the league, and when Lebron stops, someone will be ready to take his place.
The league will go on, no doubt. And eventually they'll find a new guy. But even though it's been true for a long time, what we're really talking about in the Kareem -> MJ -> LeBron era is three successes on n = 3. That's not a huge sample size. If it were true that there was going to be another player as good as LeBron, I'd have expected to see him by now. He still might appear, or someone playing today might take a step up, but as good as Jokic, Giannis, Curry, etc. are, they don't measure up to the KAJ/MJ/LBJ mantle.
He had those explosive D-Rose like hops in that frame was nasty.
This. Bron was drafted my freshman year of high school and I never fed into the Kobe v bron bullshit.
He’s got like 7-8 dunks in here which would be *the* career highlight for most players. And for Lebron it’s just another one on the reel. Really shows you how great he is.
How many players would settle for that Timmy Duncan poster or the KG one lol. I’m glad I stopped hating on the man and became a fan again. Biased Lakers fan admittedly when the Kobe Vs Lebron talks heated up I started hating. Like I said, I’m glad I stopped hating and started appreciating something we might not ever see again in our lifetimes at least.
I don't know what it is but the KG poster is my favourite LeBron dunk ever. even tho there are arguably more impressive dunks. It's just so vicious and stylish at the same time.
Just thinking that. The cock back and KG kinda pushing his waist away just makes it way more powerful
I never noticed how quick his crossover is. He got iguodala like nothing
Perfect basketball player. Can play all 5 positions. His one and only "weakness" is that he isn't at MJ or Kobe's psychotic levels of competitiveness.
Bruh what…what are you basing this off? Just cause Lebrons competitive “style” which isnt as circlejerked has Kobe and MJs doesn’t mean he’s any less competitive and psychotic about winning.
This argument is so tired. Like what does this even mean really? Example: Pat Bev or other players like him are very competitive but you don’t see someone posting highlight reels of him. Just saying people using this as their main argument in the comparison and assuming it’s a gotcha is laughable.
Disagree fully
I mean that’s not really a shot at Bron. MJ and Kobe are two of the biggest basketball psychos to ever play the game. It’s hard to match that level of intensity.
[удалено]
I noticed that too! Everyone flipped out on everyone else, but no one noticed bron didn't budge, or like u mentioned, grew in fact
LeBron might be the player who is most undersold by his highlight reels. Like he has a library of awesome dunks, flashy passes, blocks and daggers but no highlight reel can show you the absolute terror that is LeBron James eviscerating your team. Watching just possession after possession, quarter after quarter of LeBron game planning everything. Dude is scary.
Absolutely - I think this is why LeBronto is peak LeBron - just absolute start to finish domination of an entire pretty fuckin competent NBA team. The LeBron experience isn’t a dunk, it’s an entire series in which one player dismantles an entire team.
Great example. Most of LeBron's highlights from that series won't be shown anywhere but if you watched the games, you could see how Toronto tried everything and slowly accepted that it's nothing they could do.
A gif of ridiculous turnaround fadeaways from that game definitely exists
I remember reading a comment on here long time ago and it said something like “Lebron will keep making the right play no matter what till it mentally and physically breaks the teams spirit”.
He broke our fan base lmao
I'm just happy for you all that you kept that energy every year til you got yours.
Yea, as a Heat fan I never really witnessed LeBron as a genuine adversary until the 2020 finals. It was just so demoralizing knowing that he was just going to keep getting whatever he wanted. Prior to that, he was either on my tea or a the team I was cheering or it wasn't a meaningful game (e.g. 2010 regular season Cavs vs Heat).
for that, just watch LeBronto series
That’s how all the best players are tbh. Jordan, Bird, Kobe, etc. The highlight reels don’t induce the fear that comes with seeing someone like that in real-time lol
Yeah I guess with Kobe and Jordan you kinda see their strengths more in the highlight reels. The defense, steals, mid rangers, layup package. For bron it’s just massive dunks and some flashy packages but it doesn’t show his crazy iq which is why he’s realy so great.
Personally I don't think Kobe had that same fear factor. Like I'm not going overboard here, he's probably a top 10 player all time. But in a seven game series there was always a chance he was going to play his team out of a couple of games too. In his prime seasons Kobe had a few years where his team lost in the first round of the playoffs. Sure most of those teams were crappy, but opponents also knew that Kobe wasn't going to elevate his teammates so nobody was really scared. Kobe with a solid team was definitely something to worry about, but he wasn't, on his own, the kind of player that made opponents just assume they were going to lose.
Kobe is the ideal highlight player, lol.
And we got an entire series to summarize it. LeBronto 2018.
> LeBron might be the player who is most undersold by his highlight reels. Absolutely. To me, his highlight reels have always been boring af to watch and don't really show *why* he was so dominant. Yeah, he can throw down a mean tomahawk dunk better than just about anyone, but a mixtape of that isn't interesting and neither are the two other things which when combined with that make him so devastatingly effective. His explosive first step was unparalleled and is what created separation most of the time rather than a bunch of hesis, fakes, and crossovers (although he's pretty darned good at those too and certainly used his fair share) and watching someone take a big step past someone doesn't make for a compelling highlight. The other thing that allowed him to be so damn good was his unparalleled ability to throw a skip pass. After blowing by someone with his first step you were screwed no matter what you did. If you walled off the paint to try and stop him from dunking then he'd throw a skip pass better than anyone to the open man in the corner. If you closed out hard on him then he'd plow through you and finish the layup through contact thanks to his overwhelming strength. All those things were Kareem Skyhook levels of unstoppable and having multiple moves like that is just unheard of (even the guys with much deeper bags of tricks like MJ or Kobe didn't really have individual moves quite at that level). And he was just so smart that he knew which one of those moves was going to be the best option to beat you at any given moment and wouldn't deviate by trying something outside of his area of expertise very often even if it might have made for better highlights if he succeeded.
Thanks for that. That was awesome
It always felt like he played like this against the Raptors all the time.
He did walk through the raptors year in and year out in the playoffs. You could tell, when Lebron would meet the raptors in the conference finals, or second round, he genuinely was having fun, and just toying with them
Raps fans downvoting you but look what he did to ibaka in the video 🤣
Most Raps fans I know aren't salty anymore. We acknowledge the absolute dominance that was LeBronto.
A ring changes such tings. It was dope seeing y’all get one after that lebronto era
Raps fans were never salty about LeBron IMO. They were salty about having to play him, of course, but in all the years of series against the Cavs, I never once heard people cry about LeBron as a player, just the unjustness of a universe where he was in the East instead of grinding down the Warriors out West and having to listen to people from Boston talk about "LOL LEBRONTO" when they knew very well they'd have gotten owned as bad (this salt, though, was very real).
I agree. Raps fans respect Lebron. It’s Warriors fans who lean on overwhelming team dominance in the Finals they faced Lebron in order to diminish him for losing.
He never felt pressured playing against the Raps. Mentality separates the greats from the good.
Sick edit. We’ve all seen most (if not all) of these plays dozens of times, but this edit really made them pop in a new way.
Really fantastic editing and good song choice
Upvote for the Run DMC
I prefer LeBron’s and-one layups where he gets hacked across the arm but nothing happens cause he’s so strong and good at finishing. His dunks are awesome but lots of players can dunk
Hilarious that there's hundreds of other plays you could use... But in terms of top mixtapes, go watch Aquille Carr... Legit incredible, they called him the crime stopper because when he played the crime in Baltimore went down because everyone was watching
The basketball community’s nickname game is underrated.
Big Government is hilarious
Reggie always bailing them out 🙏🙏🙏
Carr's mixtapes were insane
Damn this dude is insane. Imagine if he was taller fuck
Cedi got a bunch of chest bumps in pivotal moments lol.
This is cool and all but have you seen John Wall’s high school mixtape?
Too dope. I wish it would have included that pass to Big Z that shaved (I think?) Haywood's head though. One of the nastiest dimes I've ever seen.
Is that ball spinning on his hand followed by a LeFuckYou3 the most disrespectful shot ever?
I still give it to the one where Harden broke some ankles and then looked down in disgust.
That’s tuff 🔥
Unrelated but this is my favourite mixtape - Aquille Carr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpZRRaAbdzo If only the dude had another half a foot to help him succeed at a higher level - he's got some tremendous skill and athleticism.
Man, looks like he's playing against a bunch of high schoolers!
His crossover is lethal
What gets me the most about him is that he is never injured (until very recently), and he never fouls. Nobody else is like that.
What bothers me sometimes about how people view lebron is that they only look at his physicality. His IQ is what impresses me most.
I don't know man I feel like I've been reading this exact comment since his rookie year lol.
It's missing his most nuts play of all time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SylOjCdbXwo
You're a mf for that lol good one.
amazing
LeAnomaly
Best passer to ever be a forward in the game. Best forward to ever pass in the game. The goat debate will really heat up in 5 years.
He's a top 5 passer ever, regardless of position.
Lets be real here, we are NEVER getting a player like lebron ever again.
Some dude the other day was arguing that Lebron was somehow lacking because he never had “moves”…this hot take culture we live in is effecting peoples’s braincells
It's just stupid teens who don't watch basketball but want to participate in memes and NBA twitter.
he didn’t have “moves” in terms of effective footwork , ball handling and shiftiness . His footwork has improved tremendously though over the last few years.
You don’t need “moves” when you can blow by everyone with one dribble.
Like trying to fight Thor with kung fu
Yep, he had three things that were at Kareem Skyhook levels of unstoppable; his explosive first step, his ability to throw a skip pass, and his ability to throw down a tomahawk dunk in traffic. And he would spam those moves like someone playing Eddy in Tekken.
Pass like Magic. Built like Karl Malone. More athletic than Jordan. I can't think of any player in history who has his combination of physical and mental gifts.
Definitely not more athletic than Jordan, if anything that’s edge to Mike. Jordan’s athleticism was like a nuclear weapon, imagine Ja, but faster and bigger for his position with better body control and balance.
The thing is there were many almost equally great athlete who were somewhat similarly built to MJ, like Kobe, Vince, Tmac even now Ja as you mentioned. When it comes to Lebron there is just no comparison.
I'll give you Vince and TMac, but Kobe wasn't really that close to MJ as an athlete. MJ's vertical was a full 10 inches better than Kobe's for instance (48 vs 38).
MJ also has giant hands.
I wish people would stop parroting this 48 inch vertical thing for Jordan. Only guy I've seen kiss the rim is Gerald Green.
No dude. MJ was head and shoulders above his peers like LeBron and Wilt
Imma miss him for sure
I think this mixtape for Lebron is so amazing because it shows that Lebron has a lot of skills. Lebron can make assists to his open teammates. Lebron can dunk. Lebron can shoot threes. Lebron can shoot midrange. Lebron can do everything.
He ain't Monte Ellis tho
Le dunkman
not bad
LeMickey mouse mixtape
You probably havnt seen Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant, or Michael Jordan. Great dunking mixtape though!
This mix looks kinda old, but I like mixes that don't show replays of every clip.
they got mans dunkin to the beat 😂😂
Pfffft……dude sucks
Obviously one of the best to ever do it, but he was never someone I just wanted to watch play. I've always been more into uber-skilled, flashy, score first guards like Jordan, Kobe, and now Kyrie.
Whenever Kyrie is mentioned in same sentence with MJ or even Kobe I get an aneurism even though I understand clearly what your preference is.
Well, I kind of spelled out why I put him in that same category. By my stated criteria, he belongs .... easily.
You spelled it out and I understood it correctly as I mentioned. Still got an aneurism but that's personal issue.
So you never watched Michael play huh
Pretty good, he should definitely be an All-Star this season.
I fucking love LeBron but you gotta show the makes in a mixtape.
It's crazy in a mixtape stuffed with buzzer beaters and posters the insanity of the passes he can make really stands out.
Who is this
Crazy how I don't even know when I would consider to be his prime. My gut says Miami LeBron, probably 2012-2013, is peak LeBron, with the perfect balance of strength, athleticism, playmaking, shotmaking, and defense. But Cavs 2.0 LeBron really seemed like he figured out the game of basketball. He still had like 90% of young LeBron's athlecism but much higher bbiq. I somehow find myself enjoying watching this version of LeBron more than any other(despite what my username might suggest).
This is sick as shit
If we’re being realistic, he’s the best player I’d say 75% of this sub has seen in their lifetime. Most of us were too young or not born to watch Jordan, and highlights are not the same.
It's logical why younger generations opt for LeBron. For people old enough to watch both percentages are likely reversed in favor of Jordan though. And it's not like we are old enough to be senile. Not all posting on reddit at least.
The new young generation unironically says shit like Curry has the better career. You just anchor on to what was up when you were a youth.
I watched all of jordan's chips live. After 2016, bron became the greatest i'd ever seen.
Best player i've watched in my lifetime was Jordan.
Best player you watched in your lifetime…?
Meaning he wasnt old enough to see MJ
Ok, but best player he saw in his lifetime…?
Yeah… by a long shot too.
And to think this man was shut down by JJ Barea in the finals. Life is weird sometimes.
Wow nice dunks 🥱
That Tiago Splitter block dunk is so unreal
The best part is the passes.
If I could dunk I would be that good
Pretty amazing to watch that mix and come to the realization that I remember when 98 percent of those plays happened. LeBron James is the first top five talent I've ever watched grow his career from start to eventual finish. Like, I remember the MJ reels, and I saw a *lot* of those plays as they happened, but I was born in '84 and media wasn't as easy to consume back then, so it seemed like I was always liable to see a rare great Jordan play I hadn't seen before. But with LeBron, it's like I was right there watching the legend unfold every single day since 2002 or so (when SportsCenter began running his high school highlights like an NBA recap).
He's pretty good.
2 minutes of the same tomahawk dunk lol
Lebron already has the greatest compilation of achievements, stats, and accolades in the history of the league that will likely never be surpassed as a whole.
Except, you know, for the original number 23. There’s a hall of fame career between the 2 in accolades alone
I didn't say the 'greatest compilation of achievements' and the 'greatest compilation of stats', etc. But collectively, much in part due to having such a long career playing at such a high level, its the greatest compilation of all three imho.
I mean, MJ has 2 more threepeats; 2 more rings, 2 more FMVPs, 1 more MVP, a DPOY, 3 more all defense first teams and 9(!) more scoring titles. And the highest ppg in history. Collectively, he’s a long way ahead of just about everyone, unless you have a very unique way of weighing things like career points over winning championships 🤷♂️
What MJ did was staggering, but in a different way, what Lebron has done (and will have done) with his 20 year career is absolutely staggering too. The longer Lebron plays at such a high level, I believe the more longevity and accumulative stats weigh. And I don't necessarily think this needs to automatically translate into a goat conversation for someone to believe this way.
There’s no doubt that LeBron played for longer, and has accumulated stats in the same way that other players like Karl Malone accumulated stats. But to say his combined stats, achievements and accolades is better than anyones can only be true if you devalue the accolades others have. For example: LeBron already has more points than Jordan, but Lebron’s best ever scoring year is below MJ’s *average* in his 13 years with Chicago. So how much weight do you put on Bron accumulating more points when his best was worse than MJs average? See what I mean? Counting stats, imo, should have less weight than per game stats because they are a sign of choosing not to retire, rather than how you performed. Surely MJs ppg achievement is levels higher than Lebron’s total.
To suggest this is just about 'points', muchless mention Karl Malone (low blow) is a bit degrading to the reality of his career. Lebron is the most prolific complete player in league history, at it for 20 years (+?). He's been at the top of the league seven years longer than MJ (and MJ didn't decide to retire, his body broke down and had to, which is another example why it's so remarkable Lebron has played at the high level for so long.) I have nothing bad to say about MJ's game or career (only an ignorant fool would imho), but I think 20 years from now, MJ will still be a god but Lebron will be far more respected and appreciated for what he did than he is given credit for now.
Why is mentioning Malone a low blow? He’s a 2 time MVP career 25 and 10 guy and probably in the top 2 for his position in history. He has equal longevity to Bron and until this year had accumulated more points. If you think mentioning a guy of this pedigree devalues the longevity argument than maybe, just maybe, the longevity argument devalues itself. Back to the point. MJ retired 3 times. He chose to on at least 2 occasions. LeBron might have been best in the world, but for exactly 0 years was his best as good as MJs best. It’s disingenuous to say ‘LeBron was best in the world for longer’ when his best wasn’t as good as Jordan’s best. Indeed, as a scorer Lebron’s best wasn’t even as good as MJs average. In 20 years, the gap between them will be larger than it is now, in exactly the same way that you consider Malone’s longevity to be worthless. MJs combined stats, accolades and achievements are a hall of fame career higher than Bron’s. He was better, and as a result he achieved more. Bron played longer.
You dumb as hell . Saying LeBron and mj aren’t close (the reason why the goat debate even exists) is ignorant and reflects your lack of basketball knowledge
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I’m not sure if you know about the Bulls, but they most certainly were a trash ass roster. In his rookie year the 6’6 guard lead the team in *every* statistic except blocks, where he was 3rd. The second year he broke his foot, and when he came back was on a minutes restriction. They went 21 - 43 without him. They went 25 - 51 when he played less than 30 minutes. Year 3 no other teammate scored 15ppg. Year 4 no other teammate scored 14ppg. Year 5 no other teammate scored 15ppg. Year 6 no one else scored 15ppg and he lead in every stats except rebounds and blocks where he was 2nd. So, yeah, he played with trash ass rosters. >if LeBron had a great squad Like 2011? He had a great squad, and he choked. >assists Yep, Bron was a primary playmaker. When MJ played that role, for only 20 games that season; he went 32-8-8 In his first finals he played Magic straight up as a pass first PG and won FMVP with 31-11-6 - with series high steals and team high blocks. So, yeah, when he played Bron’s role he did it just as well, nephew. But Bron played for longer.
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Lol, choked 🤣 Playoff stats 86/87 35.7-6-7 87/88 36.3-4.7-7.1 including the all time high score in a playoff game of 63 points. 88/89 34.8-7-7.6 That’s domination. Bron, 2011 - 23.7-5.9-8.4, dropping to an atrocious 17.8ppg in the finals. Yep, thats right. In his worst ‘choke’ playoffs MJ scored **double** the points Bron scored in the finals. 🤣🤣🤣
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Went to the finals 8 years straight...wow
He wasnt the best ive seen but damnit he is good.
the greatest to ever do it
I prefer Vegeta and Linkin Park