Ever since he entered the league as an 18-year-old, LeBron James has been the most talked about NBA player. The amount of pressure he has had to deal with has been incredible, and even today, with all that he has accomplished, James continues to be doubted and criticized. While there are those who believe that he will never be on the same level as Michael Jordan in terms of the greatest player of all time, there are those who believe that LeBron is special in his own way. And indeed, if we take a look at what he's done so far in his illustrious career, it's hard not to consider James as one of the best to ever play the game.
Whether you like him or not, you have to respect what this man has done, and last season he showed that he isn't going to slow down anytime soon.
And indeed, if we take a look at what he's done so far in his illustrious career, it's hard not to consider James as one of the best to ever play the game. Whether you like him or not, you have to respect what this man has done, and last season he showed that he isn't going to slow down anytime soon.
Sports Illustrated believes LeBron is still the best
The 2016/2017 season was the 14th season of LeBron's career, and even at the age of 32, he proved last season that he's still the best player in the NBA. Even though his Cavaliers failed to win the NBA championship, James' individual numbers were astonishing once again.
Last season, he averaged 26.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 54 percent from the field. No player has ever done that in his 14th season, except LeBron James.
He will turn 33 in December and while it might be hard to believe that he can maintain this level of greatness in his 15th season in the league, Sports Illustrated believes that James will be the best player in the NBA next season also.
Ben Golliver and Rob Mahoney of SI.com recently published their list of top 100 NBA players for 2018 with LeBron James leading the way as the number one player on the list, ahead of Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.
The King is yet to be dethroned
Even though the Golden State Warriors won the 2017 NBA championship, and Kevin Durant was named the Finals MVP, sports illustrated still gives the advantage to LeBron James over Durant.
This is what Golliver and Mahoney wrote in their article as an explanation of why LeBron is still the best player in the NBA: "James maintains the No. 1 spot on this list for the fifth straight year because he continues to consistently reach heights that no other current player—and virtually no other player from any era—can touch. He’s proven in each of the past three years that he can sustain that transcendent level of dominance throughout an entire postseason run and against superior opponents whose game plans are specifically geared toward exhausting him."
It's hard to argue this, especially if we take a look at LeBron's playoff numbers during last season. During the 2016/2017 playoffs, James averaged 32.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.9 steals per game.
He also became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double in NBA Finals, as he averaged 33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists per game against the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals. Impressive to say the least, and all we can say is what Golliver and Mahoney wrote in their report: "Basketball’s King remains James."
