What does another NBA Finals loss do to Lebron's Legacy ?

[rondohondo]

If the Spurs go on to win the title , that would make Lebron's team 1-3 in NBA Finals, and 1-2 with the Heat super friends teams .

Would it effect his all time position as a great player ?

Like Stephen A Smith mentioned on SC, Lebron hasn't even scored 20 points yet in the series . We all know the struggles he had in 2011 against Dallas .

No doubt he is a great player , but if he goes down again in the Finals, I have to believe his reputation as one of the greatest of all time(top 10 players) has to be in question .

[Who]

Depends on what he does in future seasons.

It could be [dang]ing if he fails to win enough in the future or it could just be part of the road to LeBron winning many more titles.

[CelticG1]

It probably will although I don't really think it should.

[slamtheking]

it depends on how many he wins in his career (hopefully it's only the 1) but if he continues to lose in the finals regardless of how he tries to finagle having the team with the most impressive roster, IMHO his superhuman/best-in-the-world reputation will take a real hit.

a record of 1-2 with the Superfriends in the finals would certainly bring him back down to human levels since he can't point to a weak supporting cast as the reason he's losing (like he did in Cleveland)

winning establishes a player's greatness.  Losing on the biggest stage tears that down (if it occurs repeatedly). 

[Roy H.]

Depends on what he does in future seasons.

Yep.  If Lebron ends his career with one ring and three Finals losses, then I think it damages his legacy.

If he wins multiple more rings, I don't think it hurts him.  Magic Johnson lost in the Finals four times, for instance.  It hasn't hurt his legacy, because he also won five rings.

[wdleehi]

If he goes on and wins future titles, not much.


Bird lost finals

Magic lost finals

The Dream lost in the finals

Outside of Jordon, most great players have lost in the finals.

[Cman]

No doubt he is a great player , but if he goes down again in the Finals, I have to believe his reputation as one of the greatest of all time(top 10 players) has to be in question .

He's not yet cracked that list of top 10 yet, in my opinion.

[Bosstown]

it depends on how many he wins in his career (hopefully it's only the 1) but if he continues to lose in the finals regardless of how he tries to finagle having the team with the most impressive roster, IMHO his superhuman/best-in-the-world reputation will take a real hit.

a record of 1-2 with the Superfriends in the finals would certainly bring him back down to human levels since he can't point to a weak supporting cast as the reason he's losing (like he did in Cleveland)

winning establishes a player's greatness.  Losing on the biggest stage tears that down (if it occurs repeatedly).

I strongly disagree with this. Lebron is the best player in basketball right now, hands down. His team is just significantly overrated. Wade is showing his age and Bosh is nothing but a 7ft streaky jump shooter. I never really believed in the Heat, they cannot handle dominate post players, and putting all of the blame on Lebron isn't exactly fair. I don't think his supporting cast is really suited for his playing style. Lebron would thrive playing with a dominate 2 way big, someone like Duncan or KG and a sharpshooting 2-gaurd. Instead he has Bosh Spice and Dwayne "My body is giving up on me" Wade.

Lebron has elevated his game, he is one of the most complete basketball player to ever play the game. He can literally play all 5 positions. All of the greats had better teams built around them, yes Lebron chose to go to Miami and he thought it would be easy. Cleveland could of had a much better team if they drafted better from '04-'09. They picked Luke Jackson (over Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, JR Smith and Kevin Martin), Shannon Brown (who they basically traded away after 2 seasons), took JJ Hickson over Serge Ibaka....ect. Point being the Cavs organization had some major wiffs in building a contender around Lebron. So he grew impatient and left.

[KCattheStripe]

But it would do wonders for Duncan's.

[wdleehi]

But it would do wonders for Duncan's.

He will still be underrated. 

[Moranis]

Depends on why they lose.  If Lebron in the next two games has monster 40-15-10 type games and they still lose them, I don't think his legacy would be affected at all even if he doesn't win another ring, but if he continues to play poorly, he will need to win some more rings for it to be disregarded.

[Donoghus]

Like others have said, it depends on what his future holds.  If he wins 2-3 more rings, it won't matter much.  If he finished his career something like 1 for 5 in the Finals, then he's looked at a different way.  Julius Erving lost 3 Finals and only won 1.  I don't think people necessarily remember nor care.  They just remember him as a great player and he did get that one ring. 

Obviously, Lebron is on a different level but, like others have mentioned, almost all the NBA greats lost in the Finals (often multiple times) outside of Jordan, so I don't think it'll hurt him that much.  However, to be in the upper echelon of things, he's really gonne need to retire with 3-4 rings, IMO.

[Bosstown]

But it would do wonders for Duncan's.

He will still be underrated.

Anyone who has watched basketball for the last 20 years knows what Tim Duncan can do. Yes he's boring to watch, but I'd take a 22 year old Tim Duncan on my team anyday of the week. Just because he hasn't been hyped up since High School, doesn't mean the guy is underrated.

Underappreciated. Absolutely.

[PhoSita]

I think we're already past the point where LeBron can ever be considered on the same level as Jordan.  Just too many no-shows in big games.

If LeBron is 1-3 in his first 4 Finals appearances, that matters.  Sure, he still got to the Finals 4 times between 2007 and 2013.  But only winning once isn't a great sign for his legacy.

But as others said, if he goes to the Finals another 3 or 4 times and wins most of those opportunities, you're still talking about a guy with a bunch of rings and a long career characterized by dominance.

I think what's at stake for LeBron's legacy is whether or not he can ever be considered ahead of somebody like Duncan or Bird.  He's already ahead of Kobe in my book, but that's probably in question for many people, too.  I don't think he'll ever convince me he's ahead of Magic, Russell, Kareem, or Jordan etc.

[edwardjkasche]

In the present, as long as he's employed by ESPN it does nothing.  He'll still be the top story on every Sports Center and he'll be on their webpage every second of every day.

In the future, it tarnishes his legacy quite a bit.  A day will come when LeBron isn't the "hot story" he is right now.  Other players will take his place as he ages.  And, in a decade or two, when people look back on his playing career, they'll see a championship (maybe two), but they'll also see one Finals loss, two Finals loss, three Finals loss...

This is all dependent on the Spurs winning this year's Finals, but... Duncan will be 5-0 in the Finals.  Even if they lose, he's 4-1.

We all know Jordan is 6-0.

Kobe is 5-2.

Bird is only 3-2.  Magic is only 5-4.

The point is that they ALL have winning records.  So, it's not so much that LeBron will have lost a Finals or two, it's that he'll potentially have a losing record in the Finals.  That tarnishes a legacy quite a bit.