Apparently Lebron James Thinks Basketball Started in 1984 (Merged)

[RAcker]

When I heard this earlier this morning, I was left with my mouth open.

Um...Bill Russell.  That was my first thought.

Um...also Dr. J.  That was my second thought.

What a complete idiot.  I was glad to see that Jalen Rose called him out on this on SportsCenter.  Rose sounded shocked at LeCrab's ignorance, but I don't think it's really that shocking.

Heck, if we're going to start not wearing numbers league wide, why not 33 (Bird, Jabar) or 32 (Magic, McHale) or the before mentioned 6 (Russell, Erving).  Can this man be this stupid?  The answer is no doubt a resounding "Yes."

[BballTim]

The game makes stars, the stars do not make the game.

  With the possible exception of Magic and Larry, who helped rescue the nba from insignificance...

[nickagneta]

I saw the interview and it made sense to me cause Jordan was the 1st player to put it all together on and off the court. Sure, Russell was a great player, but he didn't have a signature shoe or apparel company. This isn't about just basketball, its about the whole package and entertainment in general. LBJ has a huge ego, but I'm 100% sure he was not disrespecting all the great players before Jordan. LBJ usually rubs me the wrong way, but he didn't this time, it seemed like a logical statement hearing it live.

Did you hear Reggie Miller trying to cannonize Michael last night during the game. It was ridiculous. Sorry, Michael was a great player but if Michael never existed, I'm convinced the NBA would still have become every bit as big and wealthy and famous as it is.

I'm sorry but there's no way.  Jordan was the league's first international superstar - he opened up a lot of markets to the league. He was by far the biggest part of Nike's massive growth over the 80s and 90s.  He was and probably still is the most famous athlete in the world, and made a lot of teams (not just his own) a lot of money.   Look up old attendance figures - Jordan was good for a sellout or near-sellout everywhere he went, regardless of how poorly attended other games were.  His fame kept the league going during the godawful slow-down days of the 90s.  And how many athletes can keep their own brand going when they've been retired for years?  How many athletes can convince current star athletes to endorse a brand with his own name on it?

I agree that as a player he shouldn't be considered to be on a tier of his own, but as a marketer he has no equal, in the NBA or in any other sport.  Tiger's the only one who comes even close.

The same thing with attendance and international fame happened in the 80's, the exact same thing. He just took what was already happening and expanded upon it. That's it. The NBA was a third or fourth rate league and had almost as bad a national exposure as the NHL in the early 80's. The NBA on CBS became what it was because of Bird and Magic, not Michael. International interest started because of the advent of cable television and the Lakers-Celtics rivalries of the 80's, not Michael. The explosion of shoe contracts and their marketing started in the 80's with Larry and Magic, not with Michael.

The economic upturn of the 90's and the advent of technology had as much to do with Michael's rise as Michael himself. heck it could be argued if Bias and Reggie never died and the Celtics won championship after championship through the early 90's under them and the Big Three then Michael may never become Michael as the marketing would have centered around the C's and their players.

Michael was transcendent as a crossover marketing star. He was. But he was who he was because of those before him and does not deserve any more or any less adulation league wide for his contributions over those of others.

I think a petition to never have anyone wear his number for his contributions is nuts.

[Chris]

I really think Lebron did not think this out.  I think he came up with this idea on the spot, and did not have a chance to think about the irony of saying that he was going to switch to 6.  This just makes him look like either a total blowhard, or a total fraud...or both.  And if this was something that was thought out, then shame on him, because it just makes it look like he has no sense of history.

[housecall]

I think this is little to do with the jersey numbers and more to do with James' ego and his feelings being bruised.He wore 23 in honor of MJ but Wade has a new contract with MJ to promote his sneakers.Maybe James feels on a business side of it,if Wade is going to make the money from MJ's sneakers,then maybe he should be the one wearing #23.The timing of all this was what makes it looks a little suspect.

[RAcker]

Dear LeBron,

See above.

Sincerely,
Logic

[WeMadeIt17]

Its really whatever i mean i will be the first one to argue that Bill Russell is top 5 players all time in NBA's history but in no way is he better the Mike and you have to realize the time we are in, in which NBA players now grew up watching MJ not Bill. I am only 19 but i would have to say i wouldn't argue a league wide retirement of the number 23 i believe they do it in baseball for Jackie Robinson where of course it was a bigger deal but, the only reason people ever wear 23 is to think they are like mike but they just wont be. LeBron is the closest to being like Mike and wear his number. I have to say i am all for the idea of LeBron changing his number. Actually going to make his own mark and make people want to be like LeBron not like mike, And the reason why he is going to wear 6 is because its what he wore in the Olympics. Well anyways maybe he will come hear and wear the number 8! Here is to wishing!

[LarBrd33]

so basically Bron is saying... "I saw how many jerseys Kobe sold when he switched from 8 to 24... i want to top the list now"

But it isn't going to matter if he switches teams ...

I kind of have to respect Kobe a tiny bit more though, because he did win 3 championships wearing #8... and he's won his first with #24.   Looks like he could have a legitimate claim to retiring both numbers when he's done.  Sidekick Afro kobe #8 with Shaq and bald leader kobe #24.

[RAcker]

Its really whatever i mean i will be the first one to argue that Bill Russell is top 5 players all time in NBA's history but in no way is he better the Mike and you have to realize the time we are in, in which NBA players now grew up watching MJ not Bill. I am only 19 but i would have to say i wouldn't argue a league wide retirement of the number 23 i believe they do it in baseball for Jackie Robinson where of course it was a bigger deal but, the only reason people ever wear 23 is to think they are like mike but they just wont be. LeBron is the closest to being like Mike and wear his number. I have to say i am all for the idea of LeBron changing his number. Actually going to make his own mark and make people want to be like LeBron not like mike, And the reason why he is going to wear 6 is because its what he wore in the Olympics. Well anyways maybe he will come hear and wear the number 8! Here is to wishing!

Did you just compare Michael Jordan to Jackie Robinson?

Di...wha...wow.

That is like comparing Al Sharpton to Martin Luther King.   

[LarBrd33]

When I heard this earlier this morning, I was left with my mouth open.

Um...Bill Russell.  That was my first thought.

Um...also Dr. J.  That was my second thought.

What a complete idiot.  I was glad to see that Jalen Rose called him out on this on SportsCenter.  Rose sounded shocked at LeCrab's ignorance, but I don't think it's really that shocking.

Heck, if we're going to start not wearing numbers league wide, why not 33 (Bird, Jabar) or 32 (Magic, McHale) or the before mentioned 6 (Russell, Erving).  Can this man be this stupid?  The answer is no doubt a resounding "Yes."

Bron says it's a tribute to Erving:

"James wore No. 6 as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team at the Beijing Games. According to the Plain Dealer, he's also worn the number in Cavs practices in the past two years.

"My second-favorite player was Julius Erving, and he wore No. 6," James said, according to the newspaper. "I wore 32 in high school because Dr. J wore it at first. My first child was born on Oct. 6, it's my Olympic number, my second child was born in June.""

[WeMadeIt17]

Not comparing mike to jackie and i am saying it was a league wide retirement of his number and i believe Mike is the best that has ever played the game of basketball EVER. Jackie's part in baseball will never be compared to because he simply did what no one has ever done before or do again. BUT there will never be another MJ which is why i am saying there should be a league wide retirement of his number. 

Its really whatever i mean i will be the first one to argue that Bill Russell is top 5 players all time in NBA's history but in no way is he better the Mike and you have to realize the time we are in, in which NBA players now grew up watching MJ not Bill. I am only 19 but i would have to say i wouldn't argue a league wide retirement of the number 23 i believe they do it in baseball for Jackie Robinson where of course it was a bigger deal but, the only reason people ever wear 23 is to think they are like mike but they just wont be. LeBron is the closest to being like Mike and wear his number. I have to say i am all for the idea of LeBron changing his number. Actually going to make his own mark and make people want to be like LeBron not like mike, And the reason why he is going to wear 6 is because its what he wore in the Olympics. Well anyways maybe he will come hear and wear the number 8! Here is to wishing!

Did you just compare Michael Jordan to Jackie Robinson?

Di...wha...wow.

That is like comparing Al Sharpton to Martin Luther King.  

[RAcker]

Not comparing mike to jackie and i am saying it was a league wide retirement of his number and i believe Mike is the best that has ever played the game of basketball EVER. Jackie's part in baseball will never be compared to because he simply did what no one has ever done before or do again. BUT there will never be another MJ which is why i am saying there should be a league wide retirement of his number. 

Its really whatever i mean i will be the first one to argue that Bill Russell is top 5 players all time in NBA's history but in no way is he better the Mike and you have to realize the time we are in, in which NBA players now grew up watching MJ not Bill. I am only 19 but i would have to say i wouldn't argue a league wide retirement of the number 23 i believe they do it in baseball for Jackie Robinson where of course it was a bigger deal but, the only reason people ever wear 23 is to think they are like mike but they just wont be. LeBron is the closest to being like Mike and wear his number. I have to say i am all for the idea of LeBron changing his number. Actually going to make his own mark and make people want to be like LeBron not like mike, And the reason why he is going to wear 6 is because its what he wore in the Olympics. Well anyways maybe he will come hear and wear the number 8! Here is to wishing!

Did you just compare Michael Jordan to Jackie Robinson?

Di...wha...wow.

That is like comparing Al Sharpton to Martin Luther King.  

You might want to read up on the race relations in Boston and the rest of the country at the time Bill Russell was winning 11 in 13 seasons (Michael Jordan had 6 and was accepted and even adored by a great deal of the white population and the world).  This is not to mention the fact that Russell was the first black head coach in any major professional sport (winning a championship as a coach too).

So, Bill Russell did what had never been done before and what will never be done again. 

[fairweatherfan]

The same thing with attendance and international fame happened in the 80's, the exact same thing. He just took what was already happening and expanded upon it. That's it. The NBA was a third or fourth rate league and had almost as bad a national exposure as the NHL in the early 80's. The NBA on CBS became what it was because of Bird and Magic, not Michael. International interest started because of the advent of cable television and the Lakers-Celtics rivalries of the 80's, not Michael. The explosion of shoe contracts and their marketing started in the 80's with Larry and Magic, not with Michael.

Sure, Larry and Magic played a major role in the NBA's rise to prominence, and I'll always be a Bird fan over a Jordan fan, but Jordan moved more tickets, more merchandise, and was more famous internationally than either one of them.

The economic upturn of the 90's and the advent of technology had as much to do with Michael's rise as Michael himself. heck it could be argued if Bias and Reggie never died and the Celtics won championship after championship through the early 90's under them and the Big Three then Michael may never become Michael as the marketing would have centered around the C's and their players.

This is very hypothetical, and Jordan was already the most-marketed and most famous player in the league before he won his first title, which was one of the reasons lots of people (including a young me) resented him.

Michael was transcendent as a crossover marketing star. He was. But he was who he was because of those before him and does not deserve any more or any less adulation league wide for his contributions over those of others.

I think a petition to never have anyone wear his number for his contributions is nuts.

Absolutely agreed on all points here.  Jordan was and is the league's biggest star, but the shift from that to the idea that he somehow singlehandedly created today's NBA is a ridiculous one.  I just see the argument that he had no individual impact at all on the league's success as being wrong too.  

And a league-wide retirement is equally stupid, especially since other teams have different players retired under 23.  It's absolutely pathetic that the Heat retired an opponent's jersey, and I'd be very angry if the Celtics ever did the same.

[WeMadeIt17]

Once again not trying to say Bill Russell is not great or anything of that nature.. I am just saying in this day in age MJ is much bigger then anyone who has played the game of basketball and for god sakes its a number. It's really not that big of a deal its not like he is coming here and asking to wear number 6 or anything like that.

Not comparing mike to jackie and i am saying it was a league wide retirement of his number and i believe Mike is the best that has ever played the game of basketball EVER. Jackie's part in baseball will never be compared to because he simply did what no one has ever done before or do again. BUT there will never be another MJ which is why i am saying there should be a league wide retirement of his number. 

Its really whatever i mean i will be the first one to argue that Bill Russell is top 5 players all time in NBA's history but in no way is he better the Mike and you have to realize the time we are in, in which NBA players now grew up watching MJ not Bill. I am only 19 but i would have to say i wouldn't argue a league wide retirement of the number 23 i believe they do it in baseball for Jackie Robinson where of course it was a bigger deal but, the only reason people ever wear 23 is to think they are like mike but they just wont be. LeBron is the closest to being like Mike and wear his number. I have to say i am all for the idea of LeBron changing his number. Actually going to make his own mark and make people want to be like LeBron not like mike, And the reason why he is going to wear 6 is because its what he wore in the Olympics. Well anyways maybe he will come hear and wear the number 8! Here is to wishing!

Did you just compare Michael Jordan to Jackie Robinson?

Di...wha...wow.

That is like comparing Al Sharpton to Martin Luther King.  

You might want to read up on the race relations in Boston and the rest of the country at the time Bill Russell was winning 11 in 13 seasons (Michael Jordan had 6 and was accepted and even adored by a great deal of the white population and the world).  This is not to mention the fact that Russell was the first black head coach in any major professional sport (winning a championship as a coach too).

So, Bill Russell did what had never been done before and what will never be done again. 

[ToppersBsktball10]

Bet cha Stern makes this a rule today. lol