LeBron James‘ 3-5 record in the NBA Finals has been a bane to The King’s quest to become recognized as the best the game of basketball has ever seen.
For many, the fact that James has more losses in the finals than wins is enough to disqualify the four-time league MVP from ever overtaking Michael Jordan as the decided greatest of all time. For Julius Erving, however, James’ five losses in the finals is inconsequential in terms of defining the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar’s place in history.
During a guest appearance on Fox’s Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, Shannon Sharpe asked Erving of his opinion on who between James and Jordan is the better player and while The Doctor had no clear prescription to settle the ever contentious topic, he did imply that James’ eight finals appearances should be lauded more and ridiculed less just because of the losses.
“What you guys are missing, and Shannon probably knows it better than anybody else, is the game is a team sport,” Erving said. “So individuals don’t win championships, teams win championships. You know, you’re only as good as the team can take you, you can only go as far as the team can take you.
“So 3-5 doesn’t mean anything. I’m more impressed with eight Finals than I am with the record in the Finals. You could 0-for-8 in the Finals and that would still be an amazing achievement. That’s like going to eight Super Bowls.”
James’ career is far from over and if last season was any indication, the Cavs’ forward is going to have plenty of chances to win more championships. Based on his opinions, however, it seems as though Erving’s admiration of James wouldn’t be diminished regardless of how many titles James would win in the future.
