I’m not prepared to tout LeBron James as the greatest basketball player of all time, a title I, and the majority of others, reserve for Michael Jordan. Jordan’s accomplished too much over too long a span to drop him to that No. 2 spot.
But in terms of the greatest single season? Thus far, James is King.
I already felt this way based on his statistical dominance this season, but Miami’s Game 3 victory over Indiana Sunday night drove the point home like a spine-jarring LeBron slam dunk: there is no answer for him. As an offensive basketball player, he’s effectively wielding every tool in the box these days.
Paul George is a fabulous defensive stopper. I’m not sure that anyone – aside from James himself – can replicate what George can do on that end of the floor as a wing defender, with his unreal athleticism and ridiculously long arms. Being backed up by Roy Hibbert also affords George plenty of freedom to do whatever he deems necessary to harass an opposing scorer.
He has the size, speed and length to bother James. But not the bulk, and James spotlighted the fact that you need all four to effectively shut him down on Sunday. He repeatedly took the 214-pound George down low and locked him inside the King’s personal torture chamber, posting up more than ever before. The result was a near perfect game of offensive basketball by Miami; while James’s individual numbers weren’t eye popping (22 points, three assists), he facilitated from down low and helped the Heat shoot 55 percent while garnering 28 free throws, all against the league’s best defensive team.
James is listed at 250 pounds, and probably weighs more than that these days. George is overmatched physically in the paint, but Indiana has to live with it; were they to put a big like David West on him, he’d just take his game back out to the perimeter and that matchup (and this series) would be over.
Double James, and his pinpoint passes and court vision destroy you. Single him down low, and he bullies you. Make him shoot jumpers – that was the old plan of attack – and watch him catch fire from the outside (he shot a career high 40 percent from the outside this season). He shot 57 percent from the field this season playing mostly as a wing, taking a healthy number of threes, averages seven free throws attempts night and is an unstoppable locomotive in transition. He combines all of this with lockdown defense, the ability to rebound like a big man and almost two steals and a block a night.
Jordan did it all, yet never did this; physically, James just has him outflanked. Jordan was what happens when a freak athlete develops an insane work ethic. James took heed and has begun closing the holes in his game at a torrid pace.
James probably needs to nail down the NBA championship for his season to earn the “best ever” recognition by the masses. And despite what I just wrote, I believe that’s going to be something of a tall order – Dwyane Wade’s knee injury has sapped him of his explosiveness, and a limited Wade could leave Miami exposed in this series or next; the Heat rely on a smaller team than a year ago, something that’s rarely an issue with James and Wade both wreaking havoc.
I do think they’ll best Indiana, but the Spurs team awaiting them in the Finals is a very, very good squad that has the size to punish Miami inside.
But basketball’s a team game. Even without a championship, I’ll leave this season with this belief: LeBron James just played basketball at the highest level its ever been played.