Official LeBron James NBA debut thread

[Chaotic42]

ATOT - the keystone of any good propaganda campaign

Anyway, I'm not a huge fan, but he's undoubtedly historically good at the game and will be in the history books for a while. Seems cocky, but I've only got what the media gives me to work on with that, so... meh?

 

[SteveGrabowski]

The Decision was a massive controversy. The all out production to ditch his hometown team, form a super team, and then proclaim winning not 1, not 2, not 3 but 7 rings with the Heat was a fuckin joke. He got spanked 4-2 and 4-1 by the 2011 Mavericks and 2014 Spurs.

He got 2 rings on his super team before bitching out back to the Cavs.

In 2019, Lebron stood with communist China over Hong Kong. His infamous Tweet - "I believe he wasn't educated on the situation at hand." Yeah, Lebron tell me more about being uneducated as you are so well read with your fake library.

And yes, I fully realize I'm responding to a new account who was probably paid by the Bronny James foundation to cement Bron's legacy.
Lebron is a great athlete, has great longevity - but is an absolute joke of a human who is fixated on his media empire and making as much money as possible.

Jesus, can you cry moar?

 

[SteveGrabowski]

😭 lebrn didn't shut up and dance when Laura Ingraham told his black ass to know its place 😭

 

[manly]

ATOT - the keystone of any good propaganda campaign

Anyway, I'm not a huge fan, but he's undoubtedly historically good at the game and will be in the history books for a while. Seems cocky, but I've only got what the media gives me to work on with that, so... meh?

Many truly elite athletes are cocky at some level. In major sports, the Tim Duncan types are outliers.

LBJ has always been somewhat polarizing to sports fans. I live in L.A. and even here, there are some Lakers fans are 110% Kobe stans, and they will never actually like LBJ.

He's obviously on the NBA's Rushmore, but IMHO MJ towers above the rest.

😭 lebrn didn't shut up and dance when Laura Ingraham told his black ass to know its place 😭

Imagine that, a MAGA voter throwing shade at another human's character. 🤣

 

[Chaotic42]

Many truly elite athletes are cocky at some level. In major sports, the Tim Duncan types are outliers.

LBJ has always been somewhat polarizing to sports fans. I live in L.A. and even here, there are some Lakers fans are 110% Kobe stans, and they will never actually like LBJ.

He's obviously on the NBA's Rushmore, but IMHO MJ towers above the rest.

It feels like he's aware that he lives in Jordan's shadow and is really trying to out-Jordan Jordan. It feels like he tries too hard to be considered the GOAT.

idk, nothing against the guy. Way better than that kid who kept tripping people.

 

[brianmanahan]

I hope he surpasses Kobe Bryant's skills and gets traded to the Lakers for Kobe.

i got some bad news

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Jesus, can you cry moar?

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I live in L.A. and even here, there are some Lakers fans are 110% Kobe stans, and they will never actually like LBJ.

I don't understand it at all. Like am I supposed to hate Wemby because Tim Duncan is my favorite player all-time? Or was I supposed to hate Duncan because David Robinson was my favorite ever before?

 

[legoat]

The Decision was a massive controversy. The all out production to ditch his hometown team, form a super team, and then proclaim winning not 1, not 2, not 3 but 7 rings with the Heat was a fuckin joke. He got spanked 4-2 and 4-1 by the 2011 Mavericks and 2014 Spurs.

He got 2 rings on his super team before bitching out back to the Cavs.

In 2019, Lebron stood with communist China over Hong Kong. His infamous Tweet - "I believe he wasn't educated on the situation at hand." Yeah, Lebron tell me more about being uneducated as you are so well read with your fake library.

And yes, I fully realize I'm responding to a new account who was probably paid by the Bronny James foundation to cement Bron's legacy.
Lebron is a great athlete, has great longevity - but is an absolute joke of a human who is fixated on his media empire and making as much money as possible.

ok how controversial doing a silly event to raise money for charity... Him leaving the cavs was inevitable, the front office was incompetent, and no one can win with the teammates he had.

 

[manly]

I don't understand it at all. Like am I supposed to hate Wemby because Tim Duncan is my favorite player all-time? Or was I supposed to hate Duncan because David Robinson was my favorite ever before?

Agreed, makes little sense. There are some factors that you're well aware of, as our resident NBA expert. Kobe won 5 chips, while LBJ feels like a hired gun who brought just one. Lakers fans were awfully spoiled by the Jerry Buss era, so their perspective is all wack. And finally, because Kobe died in a tragic accident, that sealed it as far as Lakers immortality.

A former friend told me once that there are real Lakers fans, and then there are Kobe stans. The latter cared more about Kobe Bryant than the actual team! (The former generally recognize Magic Johnson as the greatest Laker.)

I looked at BRef for MJ and LBJ a couple nights back, and it's wild. Because regular season MVP voters overweight team record, MJ almost certainly deserved more than the 5 he won. Meanwhile, LBJ had an insane 13-year run finishing top-5 in MVP voting. And somehow, Kareem still leads in career win shares although LBJ will (likely) surpass him this season.

 

[pete6032]

reading this forum was interesting. It shows that people hated lebron for no reason. He is one of the only players to play for 20+ seasons and have ZERO controversy. Some guy said "there is something about him that I don't like". Lebron haters always find a way to discredit him in some way... Just enjoy his greatness don't waste your time hating a grown man who's done nothing wrong. First is the only logical person praising lebron.

I don't think they hated him, they hated the hype around him. To some extent, I also hate the hype around unproven players and rookies. I've been told so many times that one player or another is the next Michael Jordan and it never pans out. The most egregious one as of late was Andrew "Maple Jordan" Wiggins.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Christ, I was 13 when this thread was created lmao.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I don't think they hated him, they hated the hype around him. To some extent, I also hate the hype around unproven players and rookies. I've been told so many times that one player or another is the next Michael Jordan and it never pans out. The most egregious one as of late was Andrew "Maple Jordan" Wiggins.

I never remember Wiggins being all that hyped and more of a consensus #1 because no one generational emerged. The really hyped prospects post-LeBron were probably Greg Oden, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Zion Williamson, and Wemby. Thought AJ Dybantsa would get in that mix too but seems like a lot of analysts project Peterson to go #1 next draft now.

 

[manly]

I don't think they hated him, they hated the hype around him. To some extent, I also hate the hype around unproven players and rookies. I've been told so many times that one player or another is the next Michael Jordan and it never pans out. The most egregious one as of late was Andrew "Maple Jordan" Wiggins.

22 years later, some still hate LeBron. The backlash to the Decision was ferocious in 2010, so that wasn't a hype at age 18 thing either.

The MJ comparisons used to be a lot worse, and based purely on dunking ability. One prominent example is Harold Miner, a guard who played at USC. They called him Baby Jordan LOL.

Christ, I was 13 when this thread was created lmao.

damn you whippersnappers!

I never remember Wiggins being all that hyped and more of a consensus #1 because no one generational emerged. The really hyped prospects post-LeBron were probably Greg Oden, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Zion Williamson, and Wemby. Thought AJ Dybantsa would get in that mix too but seems like a lot of analysts project Peterson to go #1 next draft now.

Wiggins was pretty hyped, but not to the level of AD or Zion. Teams were also tanking, or riggin' for Wiggins. He was a mild bust until the Dubs transformed him into a 2-play player.