LeBron's desire to be a better Magic could bode poorly for his legacy. |
It's well known that LeBron James wants to go down as the NBA's greatest player, he wants to be well liked and he wants to win a bunch of championships. But unfortunately for us (and for him) he's doing it (or trying to do it) in a way we've never seen before. Or at least never seen it done for a fully completed career.
People wrongly compare him to Michael Jordan. He is not MJ and will never be MJ. He has no desire to be anything "Like Mike" except for Michael's greatness. LeBron has always inspired to be Magic Johnson, a man who dominates the game in a multitude of ways, not just by scoring. LeBron doesn't care about scoring, though I do believe he cares about stats. He's always trying to make the perfect play instead of taking the ball into his own hands to propel the team. There's this realization that he is the best basketball player on earth and can display those otherworldly talents in whatever way he wants. But that leads us to dislike his game, to call him passive, to repeatedly say "He'll never be Jordan."
Hey, that may be the case. He may never win six title or six NBA Finals MVPs. But he doesn't look up to Jordan and that's where the issue is derived with so many people; he looks up to Magic. Since we never saw Magic Johnson finish his career as he was stricken with AIDS before the age of 32, there was much more to be accomplished in Magic's career. Maybe he would've made it tough for Jordan to win those six rings, maybe he would be right there in the discussion of "The NBA's greatest player ever," but it never happened. We never saw a guy with the mastery of the game like Jordan, that did so in a different manner than Jordan. Magic was the player who controlled the game and didn't have to score more than 20 points. Jordan and Magic probably produced the same amount of baskets for their teams, but since MJ did it by soaking the twine (a much more difficult thing to do) no one ever believes he'll be dethroned.
There are plenty of times that you watch LeBron hit the hole, rise to nearly three feet from the rim and then kick it out to a three-point shooter who is wide open. When the shooter clanks it we scream and yell, "WHY IS HE BEING SO PASSIVE." When the shooter swishes it we scream and yell, "MY GOD THIS GUY IS UNBELIEVABLE." We then revel in his triple-doubles, gaudy PER Diem numbers and soak in his growing legacy. But still, if his teammates fail him, the questions continually arise, "Can he really do it on his own? Can he takeover games consistently?"
Well that's not how he does it. Yes, he can take over a game, we saw it in Game 6 of the 2007 ECFs and last year in Game 6 of the ECFs. He can go "Michael" on people, but he'd rather not. He'd rather go Magic. He'd rather distribute. He'd rather rebound. He'd rather play suffocating defense. That's his style, he's a teammate first and most certainly foremost. And while we don't like a "ballhog," say a Carmelo Anthony or Joe Johnson, but we also get annoyed when great players pass up makable shots for three-pointers such as LeBron or Rondo do.
That will always be the issue with LeBron. If he continues on the track he's on he will enter the discussion with Jordan as the greatest player of all-time, there is no doubt. But his style doesn't make us feel the greatness as much as Mike's did. We don't see him go on game-changing scoring binges, even though he can reel off five nasty assists that effectively do the same thing.
People don't sit awestruck by LeBron until after the game, when they see that he went off for 27, 12, 11. People were awestruck with Jordan during the game, when he'd pull of his 12-0 runs. That's the difference. If LeBron can win himself as many rings as Mike then we can place him in the discussion. But for now, and always, he will be Magic's successor, not Mike's.
So if he can ever gets to that plateau Jordan will be considered 1A and LeBron will be considered 1B. At that point (if it gets there) it'll depend on your taste.