In every single game he plays in, LeBron James bare minimum is amazing. He delivers jaw dropping dunks, throws pinpoint accurate no-look passes and often leads the Cavs to victory by the strength of his sheer willpower. Yet time and time again, James’ consistent greatness gets overlooked and in what could be another MVP-worthy season, the Cavs superstar will likely not win the accolade.
Take Friday’s victory against the Hawks, when James dropped 38 points while nearing recording a triple double. James also knocked down six of Cleveland’s 25 three-pointers, which helped the Cavs break the NBA record for most triples in a regular season game. This was yet another extraordinary performance by James, yet it is the type of game from him that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.
Notching his 34th honor as Eastern Conference Player of the Month, LeBron’s consistent play is truly unmatched. To put it into perspective, Michael Jordan (16) and Kobe Bryant (16) combined have not won the award as many times as James, and both are widely considered among the best of all time. It is likely that James’ will take home the award a few more times before he hangs it up.
With his unique combination of size and athleticism, LeBron has been able to stay healthy during his career, with a few minor injuries. This has led to James racking up some startling statistics during his 14 years, including being on the verge of closing out his 13th consecutive season averaging better than 25 points while playing over 74 games per season. Not only is that astonishing, but his statistics improve when the bright lights of the NBA Playoffs arrive in mid-April. At his current clip of 28 points a night in the playoffs, he is only 15 games shy of overtaking Jordan as the leading playoff scorer of all time. The most impressive part, when you think of LeBron, you don’t only think about scoring. It is his ability to find open teammates, fit a pass into spot nobody else would even try, or his signature chase down blocks like the one against Andre Iguodala in the closing moments of game 7 of the NBA Finals.
To get a real idea about LeBron, let’s look at his impact on the Eastern Conference. Everyone remembers “Game 5” in 2007, when 22-year-old James scored 29 of his team’s last 30 to keep Cleveland alive before eliminating a heavily favored Pistons squad. As a Cavalier, James perfect 12-0 record against the Hawks in the playoffs destroyed whatever hopes Atlanta placed in Paul Mlllsap and Al Horford. Just three years ago, the Chicago Bulls had LeBron’s Cavs near the brink of elimination in the EC Semis until James hit an off balance 21 footer to tie the series at two before Cleveland ran off seven straight wins to reach the Finals with an injury plagued team. Since then, Rose has been traded to the Knicks and the Bulls have become sellers on the verge of starting over. LeBron has had a similar impact of the Knicks and his buddy Carmelo Anthony, who have not come close to success since he arrived in the big apple in 2011. The last example centers on the Boston Celtics, who decided to hold on to their picks and hold off on opening their window of success, largely because of, well, LeBron James existence.
Just a few days ago, Jemele Hill compared LeBron James to Denzel Washington, as he has the ability to numb voters with his remarkable play the same way Washington does with his consistently good acting. Not only does he numb voters, but also basketball fans all over the world as we have become too accustomed to his extraordinary play on the hardwood. It is time to step back and appreciate LeBron before it is too late.
