@ gooki88, RPGenerate, nickagneta
Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing MJ for wanting to take the last shots. I was trying to refute Who's argument that LeBron should be less ball dominant.
The way I see it, all superstars who play on the perimeter are/were ball dominant players (to varying degrees). If they weren't ball dominant, they wouldn't have become superstars.
There are two sorta ideologies (main idealogies) that I identify among star players:
(1) I am the most talented player on this team. I am the one most able / best able to adapt my game to get most out of my teammates -- Bill Russell's mentality. To a lesser degree, Bird, Magic, Duncan, Pippen.
(2) I am the most talented player on this team. This team is best when I am at my best. By allowing / freeing me up to do what I do best and then finding the right pieces (role players) to put around me while I do those things -- this has become the dominant mindset since Michael Jordan and most star players of past 35 years fall into this category. Examples like MJ, Kobe, LeBron, Shaq.
As a fan, I greatly prefer the first one and in LeBron's case I thought he was one of the best able stars to exemplify these qualities because of how astoundingly well rounded he was and is as a basketball player. Someone who can adapt his game to get the most out of everyone around him. Instead, he has gone the MJ / Shaq route which I believe has hurt his teams at times (especially in Miami) and cost him some rings.
I see it a bit differently. Imo, there are 2 types of players:
1. score-first players (MJ, Kobe, Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Dream)
2. pass-first players (Magic, Bird, LeBron, Russell)
Just like you said, I would always opt for the pass-first players. I mean, basketball is a team game. The best players are the ones who make their teammates better. Pass-first players are rare animals. At the end of the day, they are the ones who help their teammates/their team the most.
Thing is, most pass-first players need a closer next to them (excluding Larry legend who was a closer himself!). This isn't something to worry about. Score-first players are easy to find. The vast majority of the players have score-first mentality. Magic had Kareem (obviously, an elite scorer). Bird had McHale and Parish. Russell had numerous scorers around him. LeBron had Wade, Bosh, Kyrie and Love. He now has AD.
Here's where we disagree, I presume. The way I see it, LeBron is a pass-first player. Imo, this is exactly why he wants to play next to other great players. He needs somebody that he trusts in order to pass him the ball. That's not a weakness. On the contrary, it's his special way of helping his team win games.
Big men are different from perimeter players, primarily because they are not ball handlers (although Giannis is breaking this trend). For instance, AD is not a ball handler. He needs someone to pass him the ball to the right spot in order for him to score. Who's better for that job if not LeBron?
The conversation is not complete without listing the others with legitimate consideration for G.O.A.T:
Michael Jordan
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlin
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Kobe Bryant
Kobe is a legit GOAT candidate? Nuh, I don't see it. Gimme Oscar over Kobe. That would be my only objection to this list.