For the biggest part of his career, LeBron James has been under heavy criticism, fairly or not. He came into the league at a very young age, straight out of high school, and was expected to carry the Cleveland Cavaliers and perform on the highest level straight away. 14 years later, since LeBron entered the NBA at 18 years old, we look back and it's safe to say that he hasn't underachieved and surely he has met the expectations. He is a four-time league MVP, three-time NBA champion and three-time Finals MVP. Even though he will turn 33 in December, LeBron is still the best player in the world and still has a lot of good basketball in front of him.
Kenyon Martin disses LeBron James
One of the things LeBron has had to deal with throughout his career is the comparison between him and Michael Jordan. The two of them have often been compared in the context of the "greatest of all time" and while LeBron obviously still has a lot of catching up to do, he surely is one of the best ever. Just two days ago, former NBA player Kenyon Martin was a guest on a radio show called "The Breakfast Club" and he talked about LeBron James and his legacy. When Martin was asked if James was better than Michael Jordan, this is what he said: "No, no, no. Six-for-six in the Finals." Martin was referring to Michael Jordan's record in the Finals as he never lost one.
He then proceeded to speak about LeBron's losing record in the NBA Finals by saying: "You have 5 L's in the Finals man! You up there with Jerry West."
Martin admitted that James is a "hell of a talent" but he thinks he has a different mentality than Michael Jordan and some of the other great players. "He makes everybody around him better, we know that." Martin said, and continued: "For me, it comes down to mentality.
I think the closest thing to Michael Jordan, in my opinion, is Kobe Bryant."
Strong words from the former first pick
Kenyon Martin was the number one pick in the 2000 NBA draft, drafted by the New Jersey Nets. He played 15 seasons in the NBA, and had his best years in 2003 and 2004 playing for New Jersey. Martin led the Nets to two straight NBA Finals appearances but they faced much better opponents and failed to win the championship.
Therefore, he should know how hard it is to win the NBA title, especially against the competition LeBron has had to play against in his career. Kenyon gave LeBron credit for overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the Finals against the Warriors, but basically called him soft as he stated James doesn't want to dunk on centers in the NBA.
These are strong words, coming from a player that never really played at the level LeBron's been playing at his entire career. It's going to be interested if and how LeBron responds to these comments.
