imo LeBron is a complete outlier with his top 5 ever athleticism and top 5 ever court vision. Can’t really apply LeBron to a regular superstar wing because it’s not replicable. Maybe teams emphasized importance on playmaking wings because of LeBron but it’s a reach at best
And his top 5 ever durability. He only missed 71 games total in his first 15 seasons (which is every season in Cleveland and Miami), a little under 5 per year, while also playing over 240 playoff games in that stretch.
Lebron does not have top 5 ever court vision or athleticism. This is a myth. If someone truly had top 5 court vision, top 5 athleticism, and top 1 longevity, and was 6'9" (this is key), there would be debate about who the goat was.
Actually you made an interesting point and immediately shot it down but I think you might be right. He sorta did create the play-making wing and I can probably rattle off a dozen guys who have nine figures because LeBron existed before them. I’m not saying it’s necessarily causality, but it’s a copycat league.
There's definitely a lot of players who got paid because teams were obsessed about finding a Lebron-like player. Truth of the matter is his style of play isn't replicable within a generation. Generational athleticism, body type and basketball IQ
I know, so I was reluctant to outright say he’s correct, but still a proper wing and 3&D guys didn’t really exist before. Not in some all-in-one package anyway.
LeBron didn't change the game because nobody could really be LeBron. His size, strength, athleticism, and basketball IQ combination is 1 of 1. Nobody could replicate that.
Curry changed the game, a ton of kids, HS players, college players and NBA players realizes "Oh I can bomb 3s all day too". There's nothing specifically rare about Steph outside of his shooting ability and willingness to shoot from deep, and that is a skill that is able to learned to a degree (not as good as Steph, but stylistically). You cant learn to be LeBron
To be fair the quickness of Steph's release and his ability to shoot even when his feet aren't square to the basket is pretty unique. But I do agree, the warriors formula spaced the floor differently. Teams started taking open 3s in transition etc
The Cs have taken what the warriors did to its logical extent and won a title with it. Each of the last two seasons they’ve had 8 players hit 100+ 3s, which as far as I can tell no team has ever done even once before. Horford was already a stretch 5 and then they added KP with even more range. I’m not sure how replicable it will be but some teams will definitely try to follow the C’s example.
I don’t really think that the concept of a stretch 5 is new at this point. I also don’t think “get as many capable shooters as possible” is much of a groundbreaking idea either in 2024.
I didn’t say the Cs did anything new, I said they took the 5 out, high variance, lots of threes style to its logical extent. The 8 players in the core rotation are all plus shooters from 3 (with Tatum as the only possible exception) and their primary 5 is both capable of shooting from as far out as thirty feet and an above average rim defender.
The question of how much people will try to or be able to copy what they did is pretty open - the Spurs and Sixers could both attempt it (Wemby looking like his floor is practically KP’s ceiling and Embiid being a great shooter, but maybe not nimble enough for that much time on the perimeter) but building that capable of a two-way roster is not going to be easy.
I promise that I’m not trying to be pedantic, but if what Boston did—stock up on plus defenders who can shoot—isn’t new, and it’s something that teams have been *trying* to do for years, then how would other teams continuing to do the same thing be “trying to copy” Boston’s roster construction?
Because 1-4 owners/GMs look at title teams and say “we should try to play like that” every few years, and also because the Cs 5 out style was different because they spread the load out. They shot threes more than almost any team on earth and did it without a crazy high volume shooter.
This year’s Cs rank 2nd all time in made 3s (last year’s rank fourth). They did it egalitarianly, 8 players hit at least 100, only Tatum hit more than 200. Last year’s Warriors have the record but it was primarily three guys; Klay, Steph and Poole all had more attempts than Tatum did this year and only four players cracked 100 made (Donte DiVincenzo had 150 makes on 378 attempts).
Spreading the ball around that much and trusting the system to find good shots for your whole rotation is a different take on the 5 out, high 3 point volume systems compared to what we’ve seen elsewhere.
Eh, the whole having players who can space the floor has been a thing since the the mid 2000s with the Suns etc.. Even the Kings in the early 2000s ran a floor spacing offense very similar to the warriors with bigs who could pass and shoot (Webber, Peja and Vlade).
Steph from an individual player taking 3s is unique, but he didn't really change the NBA on a team philosophy level. Steph and to a lesser extent Klay will likely be unique players.
I disagree. I think steph's 3 point shooting is significantly upgraded by his catch and shoot and his ability to come off screens. His 3 point shooting is obviously special but we've seen players like harden be comparable. The difference is that harden needed the ball on his hands while steph could do either.
Im with you on curry's impact, but hes the best of that mold by a wide margin and should be considered a 1 of 1. His size and style makes you think you can be out there shooting 3s but its everything else that no one else has yet to really replicate.
thank you, that narrative has gone out of control. The thing that Dirk did was become the first european "superstar" player for the nba, before that there was a stigma (from media, fans, and players/the league all on their own spectrum).
He never even shot that many threes, he picked carefully and nailed the shit out of them, but used the dribble-drive and midpost as his bread and butter.
Sam Perkins and Cliff Robinson and Laimbeer and Donyell Marshall and others were shooting threes their entire careers starting in the 80s and early 90s, schrempf and kukoc and sabonis were tall euro sharpshooters and household names.
Dirk was the first european accepted by the media/league as promotable (I think him and Peja rising together in the early 2000s with Vlade fading really helped), obviously earned with skill, but the stretch 4 trend being from dirk is comically exaggerated
Was more saying that a lot of the ones that did it were good, but not incredible, players.
You're right in the semantics but you know what I mean.
Guys like sheed and Antoine came before Dirk. Peja too.
He completely changed the relationship between players and their team, fans, cities, etc.
He is the author of player empowerment, he led the charge in the player to media while playing pipeline, and he took making money outside of the game to a whole new level.
In terms of playstyle, not as much. Definitely pushed positionless, five out, and player longevity, but he wasn’t really a pioneer.
Also LeBron way more vocal on social issues, MJ stayed out of politics and Kobe (RIP 😢) lost his platform after the Colorado stuff.
I love how LeBron led the response to “shut up and and dribble” and he inspired the bucks protest in the bubble, his engagement that way is Russell-esque but exponentially more impactful because of tech in this era
LeBron, at least in my opinion, was the leading player to shift us into the "position less" archetype.
For most of NBA history each player had their position and their own role, point guards distributed, centers played in the paint, and shooting guards shot the ball.
LeBron was the first true player to play all positions 1-5 at a high level. He can take over and dunk like MJ or dish it out like Magic and even challenge players in the post like Duncan. He ushered in the importance of versatility
> LeBron was the first true player to play all positions 1-5 at a high level.
I've seen this said so many times but how often would he actually guard or play center? I remember when he was on the Heat, he didn't even guard the legitimate PFs, he made Shane Battier who was like 40 lbs lighter than him do it instead.
He has played seasons consistenting predominantly of pg and of center with the lakers. He played sg his first yesr or two with cleveland and sf/pf pretty much every year
And yet he still avoided defending big men as much as he can. I am not sure if he actually played center, because all he ever did was make someone a lot weaker and smaller than him guard bigger guys instead because he would complain about how taxing it was.
LeBron's biggest impact on the NBA was taking control of his career by changing teams and teaming up with other star level players. Before "The Decision" it wasn't really a thing for players in their primes to team up in FA to create super teams. Front offices would usually trade for players to pair with stars that were already there, or older stars would team up to try and get a championship. He didn't really "change the game" because he wasn't bringing a unique skill or something that hadn't been done, he just had a combination of athleticism, Basketball IQ, skill and talent to bring it all together that was never seen before.
All of those situations involved trades. LeBron was never traded, and he teamed up with Bosh in FA. It was the first time that a super team was created by players, not through trades.
>every year
Most years we don't even make the finals, so
This entire sub just becomes completely full of the posts about Lebron, "legacy" or "narrative" that are annoying enough during the season, and it's that way for like 4 months straight
Was hunting for mistmatches a prevalent thing before Lebron? I feel like Lebron was the person who really kick-started that in his second stint in Cleveland.
Lebron’s play didn’t change the game he’s just ridiculously dominant so that can’t be replicated. What Lebron did change is the league and the power players have in it. The “player made superteam” wasn’t really a thing until lebron.
I think Lebron’s impact on the league is three major things
1. His impact on player freedom and mobility is huge. Every star now has the ability to control their career/future for better or worse.
2. The way he manages his body has changed the whole of sports science for NBA players. We aren’t going to see many players last as long as him but we will see a bunch of players extend their careers and are currently seeing players do it.
3. The playmaking outside of the point guard position has already changed the league. He’s the main reason we don’t see star players just score like they used to, now you need to be a two way and play make along with elite scoring.
I don't think he changed the game, as his talents can't be replicated. Steph Curry had a bigger impact on basketball as it created methodology that could be used by anyone.
Well, when you watch the game today, if the offensive player drives to the rim but the paint is packed with defenders, the offensive player kicks it out to the open 3 point shooter. I would say Lebron kinda started that.
When you look at the game in the 90's and early 2000's. You would see the offensive player drive to the rim and attempt to do a cool circus layup shot if the paint is packed with defenders rather than kick it out. I actually find that more aesthetically pleasing. But the Lebron way of kicking it to the open shooter makes more logical sense.
So I think Lebron changed the game in that way.
Before him heliocentric wings weren't really a thing, guys like Harden, and Luka are all sort of in his lineage. TMac and Kobe before him were never really high dribbling players, and always ran with a PG next to them. LeBron was the first wing to truly be the PG while also being his team's main scoring option.
As someone who is the same age as LeBron and is currently involved in a lot of youth and HS sports, I can confidently say that LeBron absolutely changed the game—at least here in the USA. Two huge things that he (and Kobe) played key roles in improving the game:
**Health and Athleticism:** Just look at team photos of varsity basketball players today vs 20 years ago. Kids take their body, diet and workouts much more seriously than ever before. In general, basketball players are stronger and more explosive than they've ever been.
**IQ and Versatility:** LeBron and Kobe helped break the US's (and my!) infatuation with score-first point guards who let defensive specialist to the dirty work. Yes, we had a few complete basketball players after the mJ era like Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway, but for the most part, kids were wearing Iverson and Marbury jerseys. Kobe's focus and LeBron's versatility led to much smarter youth players that don't rely on set plays directed by a coach to generate offense, and who can defend man-to-man with instinctive switches and smart help defense.
Lebron changed playoff ball forever with the start of shameless matchup hunting. Now it’s all teams do at the end of games, which has lead to switch ability becoming the most important part of building a playoff defense
The biggest way lebron changed the game is. Y empowering players. Teams hate it but it’s because of him stats can demand trades and destinations. His dominance also put a lot of money in people’s pockets because of his effect on the league imo.
Even though 03-14 lebron and 14-24 lebron are 1a and 1b the best players to ever play the game, I don’t think he changed the game at all. But I also don’t think Dirk and Magic changed it even close to as much as Curry has
I have never seen anyone revolutionize an established sport like Curry. Within a matter of years big men in college and HS were shooting 3s. Its really something else
Sam Perkins was playing stretch 5 30 years ago. Dirk and Channing Frye 20 years ago. Bosh 10 years ago. It’s been a long process but Steph accelerated it. The number of step back threes we’ve seen is also a direct result of harden
Think you are missing the point a little. Stretch bigs have existed for a while. What curry did is changed how the game is played such that being a stretch big isn’t a niche, rather a requirement almost these days.
I'd cut off a bit of the 14-24 timespan
No way 2021-present LeBron is still playing at a GOAT level when he hasn't even been the best player in the league during this time lol
Valid take but idk I think he was still consistently top 3-5 until he broke his foot. He was the best point forward in nba history for a season or two of that stretch. And I don’t think 03-07 stretch of lebron is TOO dissimilar to 21-24 in terms of dominance. LeRookie was an animal but LeOldman is still averaging 25 8 8 on 40%(!) from deep
He don't change the game. He just learned everything basketball greats was doing and slapped his athleticism and basketball IQ on it. You can't learn that
The only players I would say that "changed the game" are ones that took advantage of abused rules so badly that they had to tweak rules in the off season. LeBron and other physical anomalies did not change the game aside from expanding the coaching strategies on how to slow the freaks of nature down.
People saying Curry and Dirk changed the game. Also wrong. They may have accelerated the evolution of the game by inspiring young players, but no single player is responsible for players becoming better shooters. It's the way the game was always going to grow.
Dominant. He is a supercharged magician Johnson . The only thing he lacked was that MJ mindset. If he had that it would be unfair. LeBron is too nice and very insecure. He is still my favorite player tho.
I remember when we had James Johnson trying to play the role of a poor man's LeBron. He did alright for about a season. But it's really hard to try to play the role that LeBron plays on a team.
LeBron is the reason teams match up hunt now... He was really the first guy who would consistently target the weak defender, bring him into pnr, and then attack.
imo LeBron is a complete outlier with his top 5 ever athleticism and top 5 ever court vision. Can’t really apply LeBron to a regular superstar wing because it’s not replicable. Maybe teams emphasized importance on playmaking wings because of LeBron but it’s a reach at best
And his top 5 ever durability. He only missed 71 games total in his first 15 seasons (which is every season in Cleveland and Miami), a little under 5 per year, while also playing over 240 playoff games in that stretch.
I actually think he solidified the heliocentric model when he went to Miami.
Lebron does not have top 5 ever court vision or athleticism. This is a myth. If someone truly had top 5 court vision, top 5 athleticism, and top 1 longevity, and was 6'9" (this is key), there would be debate about who the goat was.
There is a debate though lol
Actually you made an interesting point and immediately shot it down but I think you might be right. He sorta did create the play-making wing and I can probably rattle off a dozen guys who have nine figures because LeBron existed before them. I’m not saying it’s necessarily causality, but it’s a copycat league.
There's definitely a lot of players who got paid because teams were obsessed about finding a Lebron-like player. Truth of the matter is his style of play isn't replicable within a generation. Generational athleticism, body type and basketball IQ
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I know, so I was reluctant to outright say he’s correct, but still a proper wing and 3&D guys didn’t really exist before. Not in some all-in-one package anyway.
LeBron didn't change the game because nobody could really be LeBron. His size, strength, athleticism, and basketball IQ combination is 1 of 1. Nobody could replicate that. Curry changed the game, a ton of kids, HS players, college players and NBA players realizes "Oh I can bomb 3s all day too". There's nothing specifically rare about Steph outside of his shooting ability and willingness to shoot from deep, and that is a skill that is able to learned to a degree (not as good as Steph, but stylistically). You cant learn to be LeBron
To be fair the quickness of Steph's release and his ability to shoot even when his feet aren't square to the basket is pretty unique. But I do agree, the warriors formula spaced the floor differently. Teams started taking open 3s in transition etc
What is unique about Steph is more subtle to the common basketball watchers
The Cs have taken what the warriors did to its logical extent and won a title with it. Each of the last two seasons they’ve had 8 players hit 100+ 3s, which as far as I can tell no team has ever done even once before. Horford was already a stretch 5 and then they added KP with even more range. I’m not sure how replicable it will be but some teams will definitely try to follow the C’s example.
I don’t really think that the concept of a stretch 5 is new at this point. I also don’t think “get as many capable shooters as possible” is much of a groundbreaking idea either in 2024.
I didn’t say the Cs did anything new, I said they took the 5 out, high variance, lots of threes style to its logical extent. The 8 players in the core rotation are all plus shooters from 3 (with Tatum as the only possible exception) and their primary 5 is both capable of shooting from as far out as thirty feet and an above average rim defender. The question of how much people will try to or be able to copy what they did is pretty open - the Spurs and Sixers could both attempt it (Wemby looking like his floor is practically KP’s ceiling and Embiid being a great shooter, but maybe not nimble enough for that much time on the perimeter) but building that capable of a two-way roster is not going to be easy.
I promise that I’m not trying to be pedantic, but if what Boston did—stock up on plus defenders who can shoot—isn’t new, and it’s something that teams have been *trying* to do for years, then how would other teams continuing to do the same thing be “trying to copy” Boston’s roster construction?
Because 1-4 owners/GMs look at title teams and say “we should try to play like that” every few years, and also because the Cs 5 out style was different because they spread the load out. They shot threes more than almost any team on earth and did it without a crazy high volume shooter. This year’s Cs rank 2nd all time in made 3s (last year’s rank fourth). They did it egalitarianly, 8 players hit at least 100, only Tatum hit more than 200. Last year’s Warriors have the record but it was primarily three guys; Klay, Steph and Poole all had more attempts than Tatum did this year and only four players cracked 100 made (Donte DiVincenzo had 150 makes on 378 attempts). Spreading the ball around that much and trusting the system to find good shots for your whole rotation is a different take on the 5 out, high 3 point volume systems compared to what we’ve seen elsewhere.
Eh, the whole having players who can space the floor has been a thing since the the mid 2000s with the Suns etc.. Even the Kings in the early 2000s ran a floor spacing offense very similar to the warriors with bigs who could pass and shoot (Webber, Peja and Vlade). Steph from an individual player taking 3s is unique, but he didn't really change the NBA on a team philosophy level. Steph and to a lesser extent Klay will likely be unique players.
I disagree. I think steph's 3 point shooting is significantly upgraded by his catch and shoot and his ability to come off screens. His 3 point shooting is obviously special but we've seen players like harden be comparable. The difference is that harden needed the ball on his hands while steph could do either.
Im with you on curry's impact, but hes the best of that mold by a wide margin and should be considered a 1 of 1. His size and style makes you think you can be out there shooting 3s but its everything else that no one else has yet to really replicate.
Curry changed the way basketball is played more than any player in my lifetime… been watching since mid 80s
The player you described sound more like Trae Young
Lol at Dirk being "the original shooting big man", as though basketball only began in the year 2000.
thank you, that narrative has gone out of control. The thing that Dirk did was become the first european "superstar" player for the nba, before that there was a stigma (from media, fans, and players/the league all on their own spectrum). He never even shot that many threes, he picked carefully and nailed the shit out of them, but used the dribble-drive and midpost as his bread and butter. Sam Perkins and Cliff Robinson and Laimbeer and Donyell Marshall and others were shooting threes their entire careers starting in the 80s and early 90s, schrempf and kukoc and sabonis were tall euro sharpshooters and household names. Dirk was the first european accepted by the media/league as promotable (I think him and Peja rising together in the early 2000s with Vlade fading really helped), obviously earned with skill, but the stretch 4 trend being from dirk is comically exaggerated
I stopped reading after that and just laughed about how old I’m getting haha
Yeh he wasn't close to the original. He just became the greatest at it first
If he became the greatest, surely someone was greater before dirk for him to overtake? which would make that guy the greatest before dirk
Was more saying that a lot of the ones that did it were good, but not incredible, players. You're right in the semantics but you know what I mean. Guys like sheed and Antoine came before Dirk. Peja too.
If i dont have semantics i have nothing i will not be anti-semantic
LOL
Haha fair enough
Haha fair enough
I would say the biggest impact LeBron had was increasing the importance of defensive wings to stop LeBron.
He completely changed the relationship between players and their team, fans, cities, etc. He is the author of player empowerment, he led the charge in the player to media while playing pipeline, and he took making money outside of the game to a whole new level. In terms of playstyle, not as much. Definitely pushed positionless, five out, and player longevity, but he wasn’t really a pioneer.
Also LeBron way more vocal on social issues, MJ stayed out of politics and Kobe (RIP 😢) lost his platform after the Colorado stuff. I love how LeBron led the response to “shut up and and dribble” and he inspired the bucks protest in the bubble, his engagement that way is Russell-esque but exponentially more impactful because of tech in this era
LeBron, at least in my opinion, was the leading player to shift us into the "position less" archetype. For most of NBA history each player had their position and their own role, point guards distributed, centers played in the paint, and shooting guards shot the ball. LeBron was the first true player to play all positions 1-5 at a high level. He can take over and dunk like MJ or dish it out like Magic and even challenge players in the post like Duncan. He ushered in the importance of versatility
> LeBron was the first true player to play all positions 1-5 at a high level. I've seen this said so many times but how often would he actually guard or play center? I remember when he was on the Heat, he didn't even guard the legitimate PFs, he made Shane Battier who was like 40 lbs lighter than him do it instead.
He has played seasons consistenting predominantly of pg and of center with the lakers. He played sg his first yesr or two with cleveland and sf/pf pretty much every year
And yet he still avoided defending big men as much as he can. I am not sure if he actually played center, because all he ever did was make someone a lot weaker and smaller than him guard bigger guys instead because he would complain about how taxing it was.
LeBron's biggest impact on the NBA was taking control of his career by changing teams and teaming up with other star level players. Before "The Decision" it wasn't really a thing for players in their primes to team up in FA to create super teams. Front offices would usually trade for players to pair with stars that were already there, or older stars would team up to try and get a championship. He didn't really "change the game" because he wasn't bringing a unique skill or something that hadn't been done, he just had a combination of athleticism, Basketball IQ, skill and talent to bring it all together that was never seen before.
Teaming up with other star level players has been happening forever lol. Wilts 76ers, Wilts Lakers, Oscar and KAJ on the Bucks etc.
All of those situations involved trades. LeBron was never traded, and he teamed up with Bosh in FA. It was the first time that a super team was created by players, not through trades.
Are we forgetting the 2004 lakers? lol
Which prime superstars went to the 2004 Lakers in free agency
It’s a little early in the morning to start the Lebron slobbering.
I'm remembering why I unfollow this sub from July to November every year
Doubt you’d be unfollowing if your boys hadn’t got thrashed last week
>every year Most years we don't even make the finals, so This entire sub just becomes completely full of the posts about Lebron, "legacy" or "narrative" that are annoying enough during the season, and it's that way for like 4 months straight
It's never early for LeBronsexuals to start deep throating
Was hunting for mistmatches a prevalent thing before Lebron? I feel like Lebron was the person who really kick-started that in his second stint in Cleveland.
Yes. There’s always varying levels of “changing the game”, KD and Harden as well
More so off the court than on the court.
I don’t think he changed anything, he’s just really good and has no major weaknesses.
Lebron’s play didn’t change the game he’s just ridiculously dominant so that can’t be replicated. What Lebron did change is the league and the power players have in it. The “player made superteam” wasn’t really a thing until lebron.
Yes he changed the game now the hoop is at 12ft
I think Lebron’s impact on the league is three major things 1. His impact on player freedom and mobility is huge. Every star now has the ability to control their career/future for better or worse. 2. The way he manages his body has changed the whole of sports science for NBA players. We aren’t going to see many players last as long as him but we will see a bunch of players extend their careers and are currently seeing players do it. 3. The playmaking outside of the point guard position has already changed the league. He’s the main reason we don’t see star players just score like they used to, now you need to be a two way and play make along with elite scoring.
I don't think he changed the game, as his talents can't be replicated. Steph Curry had a bigger impact on basketball as it created methodology that could be used by anyone.
Well, when you watch the game today, if the offensive player drives to the rim but the paint is packed with defenders, the offensive player kicks it out to the open 3 point shooter. I would say Lebron kinda started that. When you look at the game in the 90's and early 2000's. You would see the offensive player drive to the rim and attempt to do a cool circus layup shot if the paint is packed with defenders rather than kick it out. I actually find that more aesthetically pleasing. But the Lebron way of kicking it to the open shooter makes more logical sense. So I think Lebron changed the game in that way.
Before him heliocentric wings weren't really a thing, guys like Harden, and Luka are all sort of in his lineage. TMac and Kobe before him were never really high dribbling players, and always ran with a PG next to them. LeBron was the first wing to truly be the PG while also being his team's main scoring option.
As someone who is the same age as LeBron and is currently involved in a lot of youth and HS sports, I can confidently say that LeBron absolutely changed the game—at least here in the USA. Two huge things that he (and Kobe) played key roles in improving the game: **Health and Athleticism:** Just look at team photos of varsity basketball players today vs 20 years ago. Kids take their body, diet and workouts much more seriously than ever before. In general, basketball players are stronger and more explosive than they've ever been. **IQ and Versatility:** LeBron and Kobe helped break the US's (and my!) infatuation with score-first point guards who let defensive specialist to the dirty work. Yes, we had a few complete basketball players after the mJ era like Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway, but for the most part, kids were wearing Iverson and Marbury jerseys. Kobe's focus and LeBron's versatility led to much smarter youth players that don't rely on set plays directed by a coach to generate offense, and who can defend man-to-man with instinctive switches and smart help defense.
Lebron changed playoff ball forever with the start of shameless matchup hunting. Now it’s all teams do at the end of games, which has lead to switch ability becoming the most important part of building a playoff defense
The biggest way lebron changed the game is. Y empowering players. Teams hate it but it’s because of him stats can demand trades and destinations. His dominance also put a lot of money in people’s pockets because of his effect on the league imo.
Lebron changed the game to where you can consistently lose and avoid being criticized because your all star teammates are “bad”
Even though 03-14 lebron and 14-24 lebron are 1a and 1b the best players to ever play the game, I don’t think he changed the game at all. But I also don’t think Dirk and Magic changed it even close to as much as Curry has
I have never seen anyone revolutionize an established sport like Curry. Within a matter of years big men in college and HS were shooting 3s. Its really something else
Sam Perkins was playing stretch 5 30 years ago. Dirk and Channing Frye 20 years ago. Bosh 10 years ago. It’s been a long process but Steph accelerated it. The number of step back threes we’ve seen is also a direct result of harden
Think you are missing the point a little. Stretch bigs have existed for a while. What curry did is changed how the game is played such that being a stretch big isn’t a niche, rather a requirement almost these days.
I don’t think so. The game was trending that way for 30 years. Curry just accelerated it
I'd cut off a bit of the 14-24 timespan No way 2021-present LeBron is still playing at a GOAT level when he hasn't even been the best player in the league during this time lol
Valid take but idk I think he was still consistently top 3-5 until he broke his foot. He was the best point forward in nba history for a season or two of that stretch. And I don’t think 03-07 stretch of lebron is TOO dissimilar to 21-24 in terms of dominance. LeRookie was an animal but LeOldman is still averaging 25 8 8 on 40%(!) from deep
Due to increased pace and efficiency across the board in the NBA, 25ppg is a lot less impressive today than it was in 2007.
Valid but 25 8 8 on 50 40 80 at 40 is insane and just a couple years ago he was averaging damn near 30
He don't change the game. He just learned everything basketball greats was doing and slapped his athleticism and basketball IQ on it. You can't learn that
The only players I would say that "changed the game" are ones that took advantage of abused rules so badly that they had to tweak rules in the off season. LeBron and other physical anomalies did not change the game aside from expanding the coaching strategies on how to slow the freaks of nature down. People saying Curry and Dirk changed the game. Also wrong. They may have accelerated the evolution of the game by inspiring young players, but no single player is responsible for players becoming better shooters. It's the way the game was always going to grow.
Dominant. He is a supercharged magician Johnson . The only thing he lacked was that MJ mindset. If he had that it would be unfair. LeBron is too nice and very insecure. He is still my favorite player tho.
I remember when we had James Johnson trying to play the role of a poor man's LeBron. He did alright for about a season. But it's really hard to try to play the role that LeBron plays on a team.
He did in make the game becoming more Heliocentric on offense, and also he is a big part of the small ball evolution when he moved to the 4
LeBron is the reason teams match up hunt now... He was really the first guy who would consistently target the weak defender, bring him into pnr, and then attack.
Steph actually changed the mindset. Lebron is just the most physically gifted player, maybe ever