After beating the Toronto Raptors to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Semi Finals, LeBron James asked the journalists gathered for the post game presser, “What else do I have to prove?”
He went on to clarify, “Seriously, what else would I have [to do]? I’ve won championships, I won my first one and I’ve won for my teammates, I came home and won. There isn’t anything I have left to prove.”
That was a few days ago.
James and the Cavaliers have just completed the decimation of the Raptors who were considered a legitimate candidate to topple the “struggling” Cavaliers.
While there has been a significant improvement in the Cavaliers’ defensive flow, both sweeps have LeBron written all over it.
Take a look at the numbers: (points / assists / rebound / shooting splits: FG - 3pt - FT)
- Round 1 vs. Pacers: 32.8 / 9.0 / 9.8 / 54 - 45 - 58
- Round 2 vs. Raptors: 36.0 / 5.3 / 8.3 / 57 - 48 - 83
It wasn’t enough that he elevated his game from the regular season to the playoffs series against the Pacers. He somehow managed to find another gear against the Raptors, who are, at least in the regular season, a much better defensive team.
So LeBron continues to cement his legacy as an all-time great. He then says, he has nothing to prove.
Question is, what proof is LeBron talking about?
Among the greatest, but is the best?
Is it proof that his first 14 seasons in the League has been the most dominant 14-year stretch in NBA history? It is.
Is it proof of longevity, that at 31 he can play 37+ (out of 48 minutes) minutes a game and still put up career-high numbers? He can.
Is it proof that his playoffs numbers, the only numbers that matter, overshadow some of the greatest? They do.
Is it proof that he can win multiple championships? He did.
Is it proof that he is one of the 10 greatest players ever? He is.
Is it proof that he is the greatest player ever? No. Not yet.
Admittedly, it took me a couple of hours to type the last six letters. Even considering someone in the same conversation with Michael Jordan, is blasphemous.
Jordan vs LeBron
The obvious arguments are now old. Jordan never lost in an NBA Finals, James has lost in four. In his thirteen seasons with Chicago, Jordan made the playoffs all thirteen times (although the 94-‘95 season credit ought to go to Pippen), whereas James missed the playoffs in his first two seasons in the league. And of course, the big one: Jordan has six rings, James has three.
There is, though, one aspect that goes unnoticed to the untrained eye. This was given airtime by Cavaliers’ coach Tyronn Lue when asked LeBron’s legacy
“Michael Jordan, the same way,” he told Adrian Wojnarowski at The Vertical last Friday “There’s a reason why guys like Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Reggie Miller don’t have championships, because of Michael Jordan. And now, in this era, because of LeBron James.”
This, in my opinion, is what will determine LeBron’s eventual legacy.
Let’s take a look at the damage Michael Jordan caused during his playoffs career: To put this into context I have included the names of players who, if it were not for Jordan / LeBron that season, would have gone on to win the NBA Championship. Simply put, Jordan and LeBron stole these players’ rings.
Jordan’s run of magic
In his 13 year playoffs run, Jordan has beaten:
1991
- Isiah Thomas in the Eastern Conference Finals: Thomas’s Pistons were coming off back-to-back NBA championships (‘89, ‘90). His pistons beat the Hawks in Round 1, swept the Celtics in Round 2, but had absolutely no answer for a raging Jordan who had put on nearly 15-20 pounds of muscle in the offseason with the sole intention to beat the Pistons. Thomas was so pissed off after the sweep he infamously refused to shake Jordan’s hand after the Game 4 loss.
- Magic Johnson in the Finals: Johnson (31) was still at his peak, but already a five-time NBA champion by then. The matchup went down as one of the most anticipated in NBA history as Jordan and Johnson represented two ends of the spectrum: Johnson the accomplished veteran and Jordan the up and coming star. Jordan wasted no time is settling that debate, wiping out a loaded Lakers team in five games.
1992
- Clyde Drexler in the Finals: Drexler was the second best player in the NBA and finished second in the MVP voting that season. Jordan, who absolutely detested the comparison between him and Drexler, decided to settle the chatter, not only beating Drexler in the Finals, but continuing to demoralise him during practice while on the ‘92 USA Olympics team. Drexler eventually won a ring with the Houston Rocket in ‘95. Guess who wasn’t in the ‘95 Finals?
1993
- Patrick Ewing in the Eastern Conference Finals: Ewing and Jordan, one of the greatest rivalries in the history of sport, met five times in the playoffs (‘89, ‘91, ‘92, ‘93, ‘96) with Jordan and the Bulls winning all five contests with a total record of 19-8. While the ‘92 contest was one of the greatest seven-game battles in the NBA history, it was in ‘93 that Ewing was the closest to a ring. After winning the first two games, Ewing and the Knicks dropped four straight (the last two games by a total of just 11 points). Jordan relished his battles with the Knicks whose roster featured one of his greatest nemeses, John Starks.
- Charles Barkley in the Finals: While with Philadelphia, Barkley’s previous two meetings with Jordan did not go to well. This was Barkley’s best chance at the title and he gave it everything he had. Proof of that effort lay in his 27 ppg / 13 rpg / 5.5 apg and the fact that the six-game series was decided by 36 points across six games. Jordan, for his part was pissed that he not win regular season MVP, when it was clearly his trophy. No problem. Jordan annihilated all competition in his way, dropping just four of twenty games en route his third title, completing his first three-peat.
1996
- Shaquille O’Neal & Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway in the ECF: In ‘95, haters and critics rushed to write the eulogy for Jordan’s career, claiming that if he could not get past a young Orlando Magic team at his peak, then he was done. Big mistake. Jordan went on a mission next season, unleashing a 72-10 regular season record, and destroying the Orlando Magic in the ‘96 ECF by not just beating Shaq-and-Penny, but sweeping them, a result that coincided with Penny’s eventual freefall and Shaq leaving to join the Lakers.
- Gary Payton & Shawn Kemp in the Finals: A Sonics-Magic was the most anticipated match up during the time. Payton vs. Hardaway and Kemp vs. Shaq. Master vs. Master and Monster vs. Monster. Only the GOAT decided to spoil the party. Incensed by the doubt his failed ‘95 campaign raised in the minds of all around him, Jordan unleashed holy hell in the playoffs wrapping the ‘96 championship with a record of 15-3 and ring no. 4. Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp never came close again.
1997
- Karl Malone in the Finals: Malone tops the list of players whose championship legacies Jordan ruined. This was Malone at his apex, and MVP for the season. Even at the time, this was believed to be a mercy award simply because everyone was tired of giving it to Jordan. Jordan, who had led the Bulls to 67 wins (a season after the 72-win record) disagreed with the MVP award, and proceeded to establish who is boss by beating the Jazz in six games.
1998
- Karl Malone in the Finals: Another 60 win season. Another meeting with the Jazz in the Finals. News that the Bulls franchise would not be around. Another shot at a three peat and cementing his legacy forever. Jordan stole the ball and made one of the greatest shots in NBA history. Malone would never recover.
Honorable mentions: Brad Daughtery (‘92 ECF) Alonzo Mourning & Tim Hardaway (‘97 ECF), and Reggie Miller (‘98 ECF).
If you are keeping score at home, Jordan stole 10 (+3) rings away from players who were within striking distance of winning the championship that (respective) season.
LeBron’s not far away
Compare that to James’ career:
2011
- Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook & James Harden in the Finals: The Thunder trio weren’t expected to get to the Finals this quickly. But after Lakers (4-1) and upsetting the Spurs (4-2) the Thunder looked primed to give LeBron, Wade and the Heat a run for their money. That didn’t work out too well. Not only did LeBron find his inner-beast that season to bundle up the Thunder in five games; the Thunder decided to trade James Harden in one of the worst trades in NBA history. So much for that Thunder dynasty.
2013
- Tim Duncan in the Finals: This series was probably the most emotional rollercoaster I have ever ridden. So you can imagine what Pop, Duncan and the Spurs felt. The Spurs were up 3-1 in the series and leading by 3 points (95-92) with 19 seconds left in regulation. LeBron comes down, misses a wide open 3, Bosh gets the rebound and passes it to Ray Allen, who back peddles to the baseline to sink what is arguably the greatest shot in NBA history. The shot takes away from the leap LeBron made in that series: he became a certified Game-7 killer scoring 37 points against a feisty Spurs defense, quashing Duncan’s hope for a fifth ring that season.
2016
- Stephen Curry in the Finals: One of the 10 greatest NBA playoffs series ever, LeBron James won this series by sheer force of will over the Warriors. Down 3-1 and facing humiliating elimination despite having a fully healthy squad, LeBron gathered his troops and rallied to win three straight games to win his third ring. Even if you do not have the time to watch a minute of that series, watch this chase down block that will tell you everything you needed to know about LeBron as his will to win last season.
Honorable mentions: Paul George (‘13 & ‘14 ECF)
That’s 3 (+1) rings LeBron James stole from players that could have and deserved to win it all that respective season.
An era of difference
The East was truly the beast during Jordan’s peak, and the No 1 seed in the East did not, in any way guarantee a free ride to the Finals, let alone a championship. Add to that the fact that Jordan played in an era where defence was far more physical and tortuous, and you begin to get a sense that, at this stage of his career, LeBron isn’t close to matching, let alone overtaking Jordan’s career.
As mentioned earlier, LeBron is already one of the ten greatest players:
1. Jordan
2. Bill Russell
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Tim Duncan
5. Kobe Bryant
6. LeBron James
7. Magic Johnson
8. Larry Bird
9. Wilt Chamberlain,and
10. Jerry West / Oscar Robertson
He will need one more championship to climb over Kobe (sorry, Kobe fans), then another to climb past Duncan, then play another six more seasons to make it past Jabbar, and finally another one more to to be included in the conversation of the greatest ever.
Question is, is that what LeBron James is trying to prove?