LeBron James

[Ruggeder]

With all due respect, Lee, I’m a lifelong (36 years old) Lakers fan who likes to lurk this forum and your assessment about Kobe being 5th of 6th best player on the Lakers and now behind LeBron is absolutely absurd.

Whether you like it or not, Kobe is a legend here in Los Angeles. Despite his past mishaps, and he’s had many, I admit, he was a young man in the early and mid 2000’s and made some dumbass mistakes. I don’t think anyone denies that.

But in terms of his pure basketball genius, you had to witness some of his greatest performances at Staples Center to understand why we here in LA will always think of Kobe as either the greatest, or second greatest Laker to ever don the purple and gold.

He was either a close second option, or first option to 5 titles, 3 consecutive on one occasion, and two on another, for this franchise.

If LeBron wants to be a part of the Laker great pantheon, he needs to win at least one championship first. Even the great Wilt Chamberlain, the man who scored 100 points in one game, was only able to lead the franchise to 1 championship.

Granted, the majority of us are absolutely ecstatic that we now have LeBron. I mean, come on, this is LeBron James we’re talking about. The best player in the league without question. The man who has redefined the game of basketball. Cleveland and Miami legend. Imagine he wins a title for the Lakers....that would be 3 franchises that he would have done that for. Unmatched.

Ultimately, how could you not be excited about having the two most dynamic, and arguably popular players in the NBA in the last 20 years playing for your team?

We are blessed as a franchise, and our fan base isn’t filled with just the band wagoners that yes, we do unfortunately have. We have some of the most hardcore diehard fans in the world. And being a part of that die hard fan base includes.

It is completely fine to like him more then any other Laker, but objectively, Lebron, Shaq, Wilt, West, Kareem, Magic, Mikan, maybe Baylor are much better. I get Lebron has only played one year, so I get the argument for him.

 

[Ohio]

He was either a close second option, or first option to 5 titles, 3 consecutive on one occasion, and two on another, for this franchise.

Lol, no, he wasn't.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

It is completely fine to like him more then any other Laker, but objectively, Lebron, Shaq, Wilt, West, Kareem, Magic, Mikan, maybe Baylor are much better. I get Lebron has only played one year, so I get the argument for him.

Mikan, Baylor? no...

 

[MediumBaller]

With all due respect, Lee, I’m a lifelong (36 years old) Lakers fan who likes to lurk this forum and your assessment about Kobe being 5th of 6th best player on the Lakers and now behind LeBron is absolutely absurd.

Whether you like it or not, Kobe is a legend here in Los Angeles. Despite his past mishaps, and he’s had many, I admit, he was a young man in the early and mid 2000’s and made some dumbass mistakes. I don’t think anyone denies that.

But in terms of his pure basketball genius, you had to witness some of his greatest performances at Staples Center to understand why we here in LA will always think of Kobe as either the greatest, or second greatest Laker to ever don the purple and gold.

He was either a close second option, or first option to 5 titles, 3 consecutive on one occasion, and two on another, for this franchise.

If LeBron wants to be a part of the Laker great pantheon, he needs to win at least one championship first. Even the great Wilt Chamberlain, the man who scored 100 points in one game, was only able to lead the franchise to 1 championship.

Granted, the majority of us are absolutely ecstatic that we now have LeBron. I mean, come on, this is LeBron James we’re talking about. The best player in the league without question. The man who has redefined the game of basketball. Cleveland and Miami legend. Imagine he wins a title for the Lakers....that would be 3 franchises that he would have done that for. Unmatched.

Ultimately, how could you not be excited about having the two most dynamic, and arguably popular players in the NBA in the last 20 years playing for your team?

We are blessed as a franchise, and our fan base isn’t filled with just the band wagoners that yes, we do unfortunately have. We have some of the most hardcore diehard fans in the world. And being a part of that die hard fan base includes being a fan of Kobe for 20 years, which includes the ability to criticize him when he deserves criticism.

But please, just try to be impartial and look at it from a viewpoint that isn’t so blind sided. I’m not arguing that Kobe was or is better then any other player he played against. I’m simply stating that he provided 20 years worth of memorable moments for us, and that making the claim you made is simply not accurate based on that fact alone.

If you're talking Lakers resume then yeah Kobe is ahead of LeBron due to him being there for 20 years vs. 1 for LeBron. But if the question is simply "who are the best basketball players to ever play for the Lakers", then Bron is unquestionably ahead of Kobe, and also likely any other Laker in history

 

[GTL]

If you're talking Lakers resume then yeah Kobe is ahead of LeBron due to him being there for 20 years vs. 1 for LeBron. But if the question is simply "who are the best basketball players to ever play for the Lakers", then Bron is unquestionably ahead of Kobe, and also likely any other Laker in history

Fair enough. I'm not arguing who the better player is. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy LeBron's consistency vs. what was too often inconsistent play by Bryant. You won't find me arguing that point considering LABron is now one of our own. It's a beautiful thing, having King James on our team. He instantly makes any team a contender. And for those who assume the Lakers are some terrible team, we have some really talented young players in Ingram, Kuzma, Ball and Hart. Along with some solid vets. Our coaching can be improved, specifically our shooting coaches, or assistant coaches. Tired of Jeanie Buss always keeping it in the family. But LBJ makes everyone else look like a million dollars, and the fact that at his age at this point in his career he's able to accomplish these things is nothing short of phenomenal. So no doubt about it, LeBron James is the current King of LA, and that's something we here in Los Angeles have embraced with open arms, and he seems to be enjoying his time here thus far. So far, so good for us in the LeBron era of Lakers basketball.

 

[Ruggeder]

Mikan, Baylor? no...

Mikan was as dominant as Wilt. So yes.

 

[JrRD35]

Refs must hate Lakers. I just saw Ball go up for layup got clobbered by JOHN WALL and they called it a block!!

 

[GTL]

Refs must hate Lakers. I just saw Ball go up for layup got clobbered by JOHN WALL and they called it a block!!

LeBron In particular is quickly learning that if you’re a superstar wearing purple and gold, your “special treatment” card gets revoked. I must have seen James get hacked, mauled, and clobbered on numerous occasions thus far with the Lakers with no calls.

He’s in actuality, easily the most fouled player in the league currently, but these zebras don’t seem to care now that he’s in LA.

 

[lukecfg]

LeBron In particular is quickly learning that if you’re a superstar wearing purple and gold, your “special treatment” card gets revoked. I must have seen James get hacked, mauled, and clobbered on numerous occasions thus far with the Lakers with no calls.

He’s in actuality, easily the most fouled player in the league currently, but these zebras don’t seem to care now that he’s in LA.

Gotta disagree there... No question he gets fouled all the time without calls, but no chance he gets less respect playing for the Lakers than Cleveland. The notion that Laker players get rough treatment from the refs is suspect at best... Just ask Sacramento lol

 

[cavsfever]

Btw, is it me or is LeBron somehow bigger now? He always looked big, but now he looks more... ripped? Also bigger shoulders. Idk, he just looks like he's in the best shape of his life, which is pretty incredible.

Guys get bigger and more muscular as they age (also fatter), but they also get slower. Size of muscles is not the place to look for the telltale hints of decline with age.

 

[Ethan]

I seen a drive of lebron going to the rim and dunking the ball. I thought, damn hes fast. Still looks like his prime.

Then I realized my youtube video was 1.25 speed

 

[GTL]

Gotta disagree there... No question he gets fouled all the time without calls, but no chance he gets less respect playing for the Lakers than Cleveland. The notion that Laker players get rough treatment from the refs is suspect at best... Just ask Sacramento lol

The Queens have nobody to blame but themselves for losing that series .They had opportunity after opportunity to expose the Lakers lack of depth, and they didn't .Also, Shaq at the time wasn't called the most dominant player because he was flopping around like James Harden. He was legitimately an unstoppable monster in the paint. And neither Vlade nor Webber we're ever going to contain him to a level that would deplete that dominance. Say what you want about the level of talent and depth that 02 Sacramento team had, that never had an answer for O'Neal.

 

[David.]

Guys get bigger and more muscular as they age (also fatter), but they also get slower. Size of muscles is not the place to look for the telltale hints of decline with age.

Only fatter, not more muscular, as your testosterone drops consistently and significantly as you age. Body fat percentage raises with age and it's natural to get bigger, but not likely how you're seeing it in LeBron James.

Without looking at him, I'm guessing his body fat is lower than his average which makes muscle definition more pronounced

Edit:looked at him, looks the same as last year to me.

 

[JrRD35]

I seen a drive of lebron going to the rim and dunking the ball. I thought, damn hes fast. Still looks like his prime.

Then I realized my youtube video was 1.25 speed

Not all the time. Certainly not every game. It's like 80 percent he plays like old prime James. And sometimes he plays like old father time James. Like today's game. He slow and old and missed a lot of drives to the rim that he would of made 6 years ago.

 

[JayDD1972]

The Queens have nobody to blame but themselves for losing that series .They had opportunity after opportunity to expose the Lakers lack of depth, and they didn't .Also, Shaq at the time wasn't called the most dominant player because he was flopping around like James Harden. He was legitimately an unstoppable monster in the paint. And neither Vlade nor Webber we're ever going to contain him to a level that would deplete that dominance. Say what you want about the level of talent and depth that 02 Sacramento team had, that never had an answer for O'Neal.

No way. The Kings were absolutely robbed in game 6. One of the worst travesties in the history of the NBA. No debate on that. Lakers had 27 free throws......IN THE 4TH QUARTER.