Lebron - 3 best players in history - MJ, Dr. J, Bird

[Moranis]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/lebron-james-names-top-three-basketball-players-time-172622319.html

[dark_lord]

he's an idiot, lol

[McHales Pits]

Dr. J?

Haha! Iconic, yes. Top-3 All-Time, no.

[fairweatherfan]

Dr. J?

Haha! Iconic, yes. Top-3 All-Time, no.

I was actually thinking about this the other day.  Dr. J a couple months ago had an interview where he was griping about the Celtics and Lakers ripping off everyone in trades. 

I realized that Dr. J's Sixers were basically a Top 3 team for about 9 years straight, but only got 1 ring out of it.  If not for the Celtics snagging McHale/Parish and the Lakers fleecing New Orleans for the pick that turned into Magic, Dr. J could've easily won 4-5 titles.  Would that make him a top 3 guy?  Nah, but I bet most would have him in the top 10.  Instead he's mostly remembered just as a flashy dunker with a cool 'fro who played on the Atlanta Braves of the NBA.  Kind of a neat "what if?" to think about.

[Donoghus]

He got one out of three in my mind.

[aporel#18]

I guess that's LeBroid's contribution to "What If" Day. He could be 2 out of 3 right if Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain never played basketball.

MJ and Bird are on the third tier (Russell 1st, Chamberlain 2nd) with Kareem and Magic. Dr. J, as good as he was, doesn't belong with them.

But whatever, BSPN says LeBron is a "student of the game", so he might be studying which players gave the NBA their best marketing tools, but then he should've said Magic, Bird and MJ, who where the reason for NBA's global growth.

But, in short, LeBroid is an idiot.

[quidinqui33]

Wow...a lot hate on Lebron for a decent list.  I do agree, however, I would not have had Dr.J in there.

All time great list are always tricky.  What are your rating? Greatest winner, did it at a high level for the longest amount of time, or had the greatest peak for atleast a few years.

With that in mind, my list would be:

1.Jordan (Could do it all, did it for a long time, and won multiple MVPs, 6 rings, and 6 Finals Trips)
2.Bird (Had the greatest 4 year peak of any player ever. (84-87, 3 MVPS in a row)  Larry literally could do everything at an exceptional level, yes even defend.  Won 3 finals, 5 finals trips).
3. Russell (Greatest winner ever.  Most finals wins and trips by a long shot)

[lightspeed5]

magic was better than dr. j.

[SparzWizard]

My top 3 players in history?

Bill Russell, Larry Bird, and Wilt Chamberlain.

 

[rondoallaturca]

he's an idiot, lol

If he's an idiot for having his opinion, shouldn't you be an idiot for thinking he's an idiot?

[Mazingerz]

Lebron is telling this so that he hopes someone will also consider him as a top 3 player.

Err no lebron you are not.

[hpantazo]

WOW! Dr. J over Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson!

Lebron seemed to have a lot of respect and knowledge of the league history compared to most other players, but now I have some serious doubts.

[fairweatherfan]

BTW LeBron was asked for his top 3, so he probably was listing his favorites, not making a historical statement.  It's no coincidence all 3 were game-changing wings.

[sed522002]

Are we really getting upset over his top 3?..lol. I can see if he said his top 3 players were himself, Wade, and Bosh.

You can ask this same question to another player and get 3 totally different people on their list. It doesn't make it a right or wrong answer. People were upset/confused when KD said that he most looked up to Bird. Some analyst/people thought he should have a different answer.

[hpantazo]

Are we really getting upset over his top 3?..lol. I can see if he said his top 3 players were himself, Wade, and Bosh.

You can ask this same question to another player and get 3 totally different people on their list. It doesn't make it a right or wrong answer. People were upset/confused when KD said that he most looked up to Bird. Some analyst/people thought he should have a different answer.

well, this is celticsblog. If Lebron said Bird instead of Dr. J, we would be praising him right now.