Whoa! Lebron James the Greatest?

By Chris Carpenter

Inevitably, as the NBA postseason marches toward its conclusion talk always seems to turn toward who the greatest player of all-time is.  Never has that notion been more evident than this postseason.

As soon as the final seconds ticked off the clock in Boston’s improbable series upset of Cleveland last Thursday, the talk radio switchboards from New York to Los Angeles and back to San Antonio lit up like pyrotechnics on the Fourth of July.

“Lebron James is no Michael Jordan!”

“Kobe can run circles around Lebron.”

“And this guy calls himself King James?  Try Prince No Rings.”

For better or worse, when you size up the greatest players who ever ran up and down the NBA hardwood, there is one common thread that separates the greats from the not so greats.  It all comes down to the rings.  How many championship teams did that player suit up for?

Several years ago, the NBA created a list of the 50 players who they felt were the greatest of all-time.  Of the 50 who were honored, 42 won championships.  Simple math tells us that is 84 percent!

 Boston Celtics legendary center Bill Russell won 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons.  His “Airness”, Michael Jordan won six with the Chicago Bulls.  Magic Johnson propelled the Showtime-era Los Angeles Lakers to five.  Oscar Robertson and Julius Erving each held the trophy aloft once.

I could go on and on but I won’t.  My point is that until Lebron James wins a championship he will never be considered a truly great player.  To consider him for that honor with the likes of Jordan, Magic, and Russell would be preposterous.

Lebron James is an excellent basketball player.  He is a chiseled physical specimen who dominates games by sheer brute force coupled with the agility of a much smaller player.   

But is Lebron James great?  Not yet.  To his credit, I have never heard him try to place himself into consideration as one of the all-time legends.  But that hasn’t stopped critics from around the globe to speculate where the Akron, Ohio native fits in the NBA pantheon.

From my vantage point, I will never place Lebron into that conversation until he is wearing a finely carved NBA championship ring.  To me, the five greatest players by position of all-time are:

Point Guard:  Magic Johnson

Shooting Guard: Michael Jordan

Center: Bill Russell

Small Forward: Julius Erving

Power Forward: Larry Bird

How about you?  Is Lebron in the mix?  Who is your all-time NBA starting five?