LeBron James: Why The 1 Would Be King Remains Crownless

By Steve Rogers 

22 years later, and here we still are having LeBron James continue to verbally sell the story of how and why he deserves to be labeled and or crowned the Greatest Of All Time. Aka the “King”. As he was proclaimed to be way back when he was still just a mere teenager in high school. You might even say he wasn’t even a “Prince” yet.

Let’s dig deeper into that point in particular. When did Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or Kobe Bryant come out and tell us, or begin a long-standing campaign for being the GOAT or “King”? Not so much. In fact, quite the opposite.  As the kids these days are saying, their auras wouldn’t allow them to publicly agree with public opinions of their greatness or their own personal beliefs in their greatness. They would DEFLECT that kind of questioning. They showed respect and reverence to those who came before them. Here’s a link to an old interview of Jordan denying even the comparability of his greatness to those of his idols or players he looked up to growing up.

In the case of Kobe, it’s an entirely different animal or level altogether. It even had its own identity, the “Mamba Mentality”.  Kobe’s desire to win is unmatched. You couldn’t tell Kobe he was great, he would give you that classic, almost cunning smile, and tell three or four things he needed to work on in his game, or how many more rings he needed BEFORE he could consider himself great.

He was so tenacious and unforgivingly driven to succeed that it was borderline a disease. To the point he could have the best regular season win MVP the scoring title, etc… but if he didn’t come home with the Larry O’Brien trophy, the year was a waste and a FAILURE. This is what separates and defines the REAL G.O.A.T.s when their resume is so DIFFERENT you have to talk about them in a DIFFERENT, separate manner and category of conversation.

The other issue here is on what planet, world, or universe are we living in where LeBron James thinks he has any ground to pick up the baton and become the spokesperson for the Famers who either NEVER won or won fewer rings than the greatest of the greats. Excuse me, Mr. James, but at last check, you have 4 rings to your credentials. You also don’t help your cause or case when in your statement you offer incorrect information, such as Peyton Manning having won ONLY 1 Super Bowl ring. Manning has won two Super Bowl rings. Oops!

There is no way Iverson, Barkley, or any other NBA legend without a ring is thinking “We need LeBron to be OUR spokesperson for the ringless.” You are further hurting your legacy by trying to knock down the idea of winning at the highest level to be called a “champion”. Kevin Garnett won only one ring and has one of the most famous celebrations EVER when he screams “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!!”. Jerry West is one of the foundational architects responsible for the early success of the NBA, to which his image dribbling the ball is the NBA LOGO. Oh yeah, FYI, that guy only won one ring as a player. Do you think either of them wants or needs to have LeBron speaking on behalf of them to solidify and or quantify their place among the greats? Of course not!

Let’s play devil’s advocate for James’ argument for a moment. If the number of rings is no longer part of the measuring of greatness, then you open the door for others with fewer rings than even yourself to potentially rise above James himself. His former Miami Heat teammate and 3-time ring winner Dwayne Wade might be able to say his resume with 3 rings is worthy of a spot in the all-time top 5.

Is LeBron James’ brain or mouth his single greatest flaw or downside? His first major mistake was the infamous “Decision”. How many fans did he spurn or seemingly turn his back on? There were people in Cleveland making videos, BURNING his jerseys.

Then, in an attempt to ingratiate himself to his new Miami Heat fan base in their introductory press conference, James uttered possibly the most outlandish proclamation ever. Before he ever played one game together. Before he won his first ring. There was LeBron at the OPENING premier press conference of the Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh super team in Miami, advertising they’re going to WIN multiple championships. Not 1 not 2 all the way up to not 6 not 7 but EIGHT EIGHT freaking titles.

James, to his credit, might be the case study for a superstar to navigate fame and fortune as smoothly and correctly as possible. He has avoided all the normal pitfalls of someone with his stature. He has stayed out of ANY legal trouble, down to I don’t believe he has ever been ticketed for speeding. James hasn’t made a scene being drunk and disorderly. James hasn’t dealt with domestic issues.  James is and has been a model citizen.

LeBron James was hyped on sports and social scenes as “The Chosen One”. Then, along the way, he’s been referred to as the “King”. Now, did he give himself these nicknames? No,  but he sure has no problem wearing them. Has he lived up to the outside hype Sure. Has he lived up to his own hype, though? That’s where I’m stuck here. Did Joe Montana come out in 1981 and declare he’d win multiple championships? Jordan didn’t hold a press conference to offer a declaration of dominance to win six out of six championships.

As someone who has been a fan and watched the NBA since the 1980s. I’ve seen a lot of games and players. I remember how magical “Magic” was. I remember hearing Bird is or was the greatest shooter ever. I didn’t see Bill Russell, but he has the unequivocally greatest finals and ring resume in ALL OF SPORTS. He played 13 years, went to 12 finals, and won 11. Simply unmatched, and it’s not even close. Robert Horry has seven rings in seven tries. Then you get Jordan and his 6 for 6. 13 guys have more than four rings at a 100% success rate.

No, you won’t find LeBron’s name on that list. In fact, James is third on the all-time finals LOST list at six.  That’s two away from tying Jerry West for the MOST EVER. Also, LeBron is currently tied with West for the most finals games lost at 33!

LeBron has built an incredible resume over the years. He is in the top 5 or 10 in just about every statistical category the NBA keeps track of. That should be no surprise when you play more years, games, and minutes than just about any player in the history of the game.

It’s my opinion that part of being in the greatest ever conversation, your highlights are sought after to watch again and again. So why then can I make a list of 5 or 10 non-ring winners whose highlights I would rather watch clips of over and over, over those of LeBron?

Allen Iverson

Vince Carter

Jason Williams

Penny Hardaway

Tracy McGrady

Mike Bibby

Dominique Wilkins

Russell Westbrook

Steve Nash

Shawn Kemp

Stephon Marbury (bonus)

If you want a fun internet rabbit hole to fall down for a couple of hours. Do yourself a favor and watch the highlight reels of these stars, MOST of whom came BEFORE LeBron. Then tell me you’d rather watch LeBron highlights with a straight face.

LeBron is great at many things on the basketball court. Winning rings just isn’t one of them. Yes, he has four of them. However, LeBron has also lost SIX of them. In 10 total appearances, which is incredible in in of itself.

LeBron has a winning rate of a mere 40%!?! If rings shouldn’t matter, how about winning percentage? Chris Bosh is ahead of LeBron with 50%. Wade is at 60%.

Lastly, what or where is the LeBron theme song? Who’s singing “I wanna be like LeBron!”? LeBron James’ biggest holdup of being considered the greatest of all time might be that LeBron James talks too much about it. LeBron oversold his bill of goods when he was going to get like eight championships. Now he knows he’ll never get to six and wants us to accept a lower deal but keep the original valuation? LeBron wants us not to see he’s ambivalent and unconcerned with the importance of winning? Kobe was destroyed by losing the finals TWO times. LeBron has LOST THREE times that many. He seems unfazed and wants to convince us we should be too, and bypass and overlook that he has lied to and let himself down, or is a walking contradiction.

At this point, LeBron is in the top 10 all-time for me, but not sure he cracks the top 5. He could be talking his way down the list. True greatness rises to the top naturally. You don’t have to campaign for yourself; it gets chosen for you.