Of GOATs and Fruitless Debates

We’ve entered the legacy-building portion of the professional spring sports calendar, when reputations are burnished and tarnished, and legions of humans who might have trouble locating their ass with both hands piously weigh in. No accomplishment or disappointment is judged strictly on its own merit, that someone or some team simply had a great season or a bad week. All of it must be inserted into a larger context. It must *mean* something, even if the meaning varies from one cerebral cortex to the next. 

Sporting debate is both pointless and vital, mostly unanswerable yet critical for engagement. Results temper some discussion because they provide actual winners and losers and accompanying statistics, rather than aesthetic taffy pulls related to topics such as beauty, music and Scotch whisky. But sports also launch conversations among those who are invested, psychically if not financially, about legacy and history and comparison. 

If sports weren’t consuming to so many, people might devote their energies to improving themselves and society, and where’s the jollies in that? Debates about Greatest This and Best That frequently involve baseball, but other sports figure in the mix. Which brings us to today’s chew toy: LeBron James. James and his band of Angelenos are in the Western Conference finals as he pursues his fifth championship. [We posted about a version of this narrative more than a decade ago.]

Did someone mention my pal LeBron?

A fifth ring may or may not tweak the narrative surrounding where he stands among the pantheon of GOAT-ness. It seems that most folks tilted toward Greatest Ever discussions are comfortably in Michael Jordan or LeBron camps already. One more piece of jewelry or a couple more productive seasons are unlikely to sway opinions. Inarguable is James’s sustained excellence. At age 38, in his 20th season, he became the NBA’s career leading scorer. He is averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. He’s averaged at least 25 points per game every year since his rookie season. He’s 6-9 and 270 pounds and effectively banging away against guys 10 and 15 years younger. He isn’t the defender he once was and may have lost a half-tick, but you still wouldn’t bet against him. 

The case for Jordan over LeBron usually comes down to championships and Jordan’s killer instinct. Jordan went to six finals and won six rings. LeBron has been to 10 finals and won four titles. Though if rings are the criteria, then Bill Russell should be the GOAT, or at least in the discussion. I’d also point out that if the Miami Heat don’t grab a late offensive rebound and subsequently Ray Allen doesn’t hit an immense 3-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals versus the Spurs, or if Draymond Green wasn’t suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 Finals with the Warriors up 3-1, LeBron likely has two fewer championships and *still* should be in the conversation. 

For what it’s worth (negligible), I think the debate should include Jordan, LeBron, Kareem and Russell. Compelling cases could be made for all four, and I wouldn’t argue with any of them. Pushback against LeBron as GOAT also carries a whiff of nostalgia that’s most commonly found in regards to baseball. For example, no one credibly argues that Jesse Owens was faster than Usain Bolt, that Sammy Baugh was better than Aaron Rodgers, that Olga Korbut was superior to Simone Biles, that Mark Spitz was more accomplished than Michael Phelps, that Maurice Richard was a greater talent than Sidney Crosby, that George Best was a more gifted footballer than Leo Messi. 

Yet if one were to suggest that, say, Mookie Betts is better than Stan Musial, or that Max Scherzer is better than Lefty Grove or Bob Feller, the Guardians of Baseball descend on that notion with the weight of a dozen planets and summarily dismiss it as absurd, bolstered by favorable numbers and the sparkle of fairy dust. We’re supposed to believe that athletic evolution applies to every sport *except* baseball and that Mike Trout cannot possibly be better than Ruth and Mays. A questionable construct, to say the least. 

There’s a bit of that with Jordan and LeBron, though Jordan’s career is just recent enough that a sizeable chunk of the populace saw and grew up with it and are willing to champion it over the current wave. Not saying they’re wrong, only that the games and their participants change and evolve. Enjoy and marvel at them all, whenever they compete. Rank them if you must, you grouchy bastards, and if your criteria is cold statistics or the tug of your heart or some combination thereof, well, good luck and Godspeed. 

Let a thousand arguments bloom.

Mail It In, Big Fella!

It's a disaster of week here in the GTB editorial offices. Don't expect much. 

In the wake of last night's epic, ugly, crazy, intense Cavaliers win, here's a flashback to another time LeBron found himself in the center of a media firestorm. I don't think there's ever been a superstar who gets the same treatment as James. As I said on Twitter last night, if LeBron was officiated in the same way as Michael Jordan was, James would go to the line 25 times a game, and score 45 each night. He's simply an original, and I think he's the best ever.

From June 9, 2011:

"A disaster of mammoth proportions."

"Inexplicable."

"Inexcusable."

"Mystifying."

These and dozens (if not thousands) of other words died in vain over the past two days, sent forth to battle from the tongues and pens of the warriors of the great chattering sportshype machine in response to LeBron James' subpar and oddly passive effort in the 4th quarter of Tuesday's NBA Finals Game 4. General Stephen A. Smith implied (hell, he asserted) on this morning's Mike and Mike Show that LeBron was facing personal issues that were impacting his performance. (In a stunning display of both cowardice and look-at-me yellow journalism, Smith also claimed to know all about the issues, but declined to elaborate.)

Let us stipulate that James, the most physically gifted player in the NBA indeed played badly and un-starlike in the quarter in question. Let us further stipulate that his self-aggrandizing "Decision" was badly conceived and terribly executed. But we come here today not to bury LeBron James, but to wonder what the fuck we as a sports society want from him?

While we all say championships are what matter and build shrines to winners, we have an oddly skewed perspective on LeBron. Instead of celebrating a player who has routinely sublimated his (fairly massive) ego in pursuit of a championship, we flay LeBron any chance we get. The man took less money to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. He was clearly the star of the Eastern Conference Finals with his two-way play against Derrick Rose and the Bulls. And now, four games later, he's a bum because Wade's outshone him against the Mavericks? Bullshit.

Sally Jenkins rode to the rescue in today's Washington Post, channeling no less a sage than Phil Jackson, the man who convinced both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant that they needed to share the ball at least a little in order to win. Says Jenkins,

“The fact is, selflessness is the soul of teamwork,” Jackson said a few years ago to EnlightenNext magazine. “We have a practical rule in our game: When you stop the basketball — when it resides in your presence and you hold it for longer than two counts — you’ve destroyed our rhythm. When the ball is in your hands, you become the focal point. And when you become the focus, our system breaks down. It’s that simple.”

“It doesn’t matter how good individual players are — they can’t compete with a team that is awake and aware and trusts each other. People don’t understand that. Most of the time, everybody’s so concerned about not being disrespected. But you have to check that attitude at the door — that defensiveness, that protection of your own image and reputation. Everybody needs help in this game.”

It's not enough to win now, we need style points. We need our superstars to win the right way, to dominate, to see their enemies driven before them, to hear the lamentations of their women. And to do it selfishly, individually, alpha male-style. That seems a perversion of everything we teach our kids and claim to want from our colleagues.

For obvious reasons, I have a soft spot for LeBron. I'm rooting for him to have a big game tonight and lead the Heat to a win. And then I want him to walk over to the nearest big-mouth media member and stab him to death with a pencil, exclaiming for all our blood-lusting benefit, ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

Stephen A. would still call him a pussy.

Shlara Congratulates Danny Ferry On His New Gig In Atlanta

As you know, we at G:TB love a good guestie, especially a good Shlara guestie. So, we figured why not kick off NBA Draft Week here at GTBHQ with a few (kind) words from the First Lady of G:TB on Danny Ferry's recent hiring as Atlanta Hawks GM (good luck with those contracts, chief). Without further bob mcadoo...

Danny left (got run out of) Cleveland when he couldn’t keep LBJ on the Cavs roster and headed back to Texas and the safe confines of the Spurs front office to wait for a new opportunity. I was hoping Ted would get rid of Ernie this summer and bring Danny in to fix the Wizards. Danny was basically groomed for the job since he was a toddler (Bob Ferry was Bullets GM from 1973-1990) - but Ted apparently has other ideas.

Some of you may know that Danny was my all-time favorite player back in college when he looked like this:

And I was one of the only people who cheered for him when he played in the pros - he wasn’t the most talented player on the court, but he worked hard, has good basketball sense, and is SUPER nice. So, he will always have a special place in my heart - which is why I’m happy to see him land the GM job with the Hawks today.

Hopefully he can help build a real fan base there in Atlanta. Welcome back to the Eastern Conference Danny!!

Gheorghe: The Decision

As noted in the comments below, shortly after 9pm this evening a member of the G:TB editorial staff will be terminated. Live post-termination interview with esteemed blog journalist Alf to follow. And don't try to read anything into the picture...seriously. Why would we fire rob?