King James Gospel
Fansided

How LeBron James Has Elevated the NBA

By Kameron Duncan

May 25, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; The Cleveland Cavaliers pose for a team photo after defeating the Boston Celtics in game five of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; The Cleveland Cavaliers pose for a team photo after defeating the Boston Celtics in game five of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 25, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and teammates celebrate a score in the fourth quarter of game five of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and teammates celebrate a score in the fourth quarter of game five of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

Elevating the Game

The entire point of Parker’s rant was to establish that LeBron has not elevated the game of basketball during his career. The facts simply don’t back that up.

One thing that LeBron has stressed since his rookie season is the importance of team play. Above all else, LeBron strives to win, but he wants to do so while making those around him better. This was a stark contrast to what the dominant style of play was in the league at the time LeBron was drafted.

In the early 2000s, the NBA was led by several players who had grown up alongside the rise of Jordan. As Parker said on The Herd, everyone wanted to be “Like Mike.” But what exactly did that mean?

In Jordan’s best seasons, the ones in which he won the MVP award, he led the league in points every time. This means that during Jordan’s era, the hallmark of a great player was largely based upon how many points he scored.

That hallmark led to an isolation-heavy style of basketball that saw the rise of players like Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant. While all three of those players are Hall of Fame caliber talents, their ability to affect the game lied largely in how many points they were able to score.

In this way, the game of basketball has changed dramatically since LeBron has become the league’s standard bearer. In LeBron’s four MVP seasons, he has averaged over 26 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. He’s not a stat-chaser, he’s a stat-stuffer.

Evident in this year’s MVP race, which became fixated on triple-doubles, contributing to every area of the game has become the primary criteria for the MVP award, and have also changed what we call a great player. To be considered great in today’s NBA, a player must not only be able to score but be able to affect the game in just about every way possible.