Watching LeBron James play basketball is a privilege.
If you’ve been paying attention to the NBA this season, you’d know that this guy is only getting better. That’s scary considering he’s already won an NBA championship, three NBA MVP awards and two Olympic gold medals.
Did I mention he’s only 28-years-old?
A player with his kind of talent is rare. It’s even more rare that you find a player that young who has already achieved so much in his career.
The comparisons to Michael Jordan are both naive and unfair. Jordan was the greatest player to ever step on the hardwood. He won six NBA championships.
That being said, Jordan didn’t win his first championship until he was 28. James was 27 last June when he won his first ring. I’m not comparing the two, just simply stating a fact.
Even the comparisons to Kobe Bryant are still premature. He, too, has six rings.
James has a long career ahead of him. He has some bare fingers that need rings before he’s even mentioned in the same breath as those two.
However, the more you watch LeBron, the more starstruck you become.
He’s so much better than every other player in the NBA that it’s not even fair. You could try and make the argument that Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant or Carmelo Anthony are a close second, but they aren’t.
LeBron has the most complete game of any basketball player I’ve ever seen.
He’s so efficient and the stats back it up. His last five games might be one of the greatest stretches in NBA history.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, James is in elite company. He’s averaged 30 points and is shooting over 60 percent over his current stretch of five games. Only Adrian Dantley and Moses Malone have done.
When I watch LeBron play, I see an entirely different type of demeanor on the basketball court.
He no longer plays with the burden of playoff failures. He’s a world champion and now he can do what he does best which is play basketball with ease and for the love of the game.
He can play the role of distributor and have 15 assists per game if he wants to. He’s also developed an adequate post game that’s still improving.
The two biggest knocks on James’s game early in his career were that he couldn’t post up or shoot. Now he can do both very effectively.
Coming into the NBA, James’s body and athleticism were his biggest assets. Adding the jumper and post game have made him special.
When you combine his ability to handle the basketball, shoot and facilitate an offense, James has become an unstoppable force.
I’m not sure the NBA has ever seen a player quite like LeBron James. He can literally play all five positions on the court. He’s 6 feet, 8 inches and weighs 250 pounds. James is such a physical specimen that he’s impossible to stop.
Only one player in NBA history was similar to James in the ability to play every position; his name was Magic Johnson.
Magic had the unique ability to play multiple different positions, just like James. Magic could post up down low and primarily played point guard.
Now it is like everything is coming together for James at once. The monkey is off his back. He’s in his physical prime, and he’s the most talented player in the NBA.
His court awareness is graceful and his athleticism is unparalleled. Right now, nobody on earth can stop LeBron James. Lebron is on track to go down as the player of our generation.
What we’re witnessing is a basketball player that completely dictates the way the game is played. He’s just having fun out there and makes for some real entertainment.
James is at the peak of his great career. He has a window of 3-5 years that he could win several more championships.
James has a long way to go before he’s mentioned alongside Bryant and Jordan.
Following the Heat’s 107-97 win over the Lakers on Sunday, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said it best:
"Don't take it for granted. He's making greatness look easy."
That’s very true. Thanks to LeBron James, we’re all witnesses.
Reach the columnist at jbisacci@asu.edu
