It appears that talking about LeBron James and his legacy is popular these days, especially among the former NBA players. Kenyon Martin called out LeBron recently saying that he will never be on Michael Jordan's level, while NBA legend Isiah Thomas said that James is already the greatest basketball player of all time.
The most recent comments about "The King" and his accomplishments come from a former All-star and an NBA champion - Caron Butler. Butler played 14 seasons in the NBA, and made the All-star team twice in his career. He averaged 14.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game throughout his career, and his best season was during the 2008/2009 campaign with the Washington Wizards when he averaged 20.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
He won his championship ring with the Dallas Mavericks during the 2010/2011 season when the Mavericks managed to beat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. LeBron James was a part of that Miami Heat team that lost to the Mavericks, and just a couple of days ago Caron Butler talked about James and his legacy.
Butler thinks LeBron is still better than Durant
On Wednesday, Caron Butler joined the HoopsHype Podcast hosted by Alek Kennedy and among other things he talked about LeBron James and his legacy. LeBron is fresh off his latest Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors, and even though his Cavaliers lost convincingly in five games, Butler thinks LeBron is still the best player in the world. "He's still the best player on the planet." said Butler and continued: "He's probably the best all-around basketball player we've ever seen."
Butler obviously has great respect for LeBron James and his accomplishments as he went on to say that it is amazing to see all the things James has been able to do in his career.
When he was asked what is it about LeBron that makes him so tough to defend, Butler said: "His IQ is amazing, and his combination of strength, power, and quickness." Caron also added that he thinks LeBron's game should be compared to Magic Johnson's, and his legacy is somewhat similar to Jerry West's.
Cavaliers - Warriors rivalry good for the NBA
Former 10th overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft also commented on the Cavaliers vs Warriors rivalry. Butler said that he thinks their rivalry is good for the NBA and he believes that they will continue to face each other in the Finals for at least two or three more years. When asked about what he thinks about Kevin Durant, this is what Butler said: "At his size, I think he is one of the most unique scorers of all time.
He is the only real rival to LeBron in today's NBA. I wanted to see Durant achieve his goal." Obviously, Butler played with Durant during the 2013/2014 season when they both played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and these compliments are no surprise.