Responding to Charles Barkley's "State of the NBA" Address

Charles Barkley says:

To quote Nick Wright -

"(Charles Barkley) is bordering on not being taken seriously anymore." (link)


This last decade has been the most diverse NBA league we have seen since the 70s. Charles Barkley (as well as others)can't seem to remember the past. They think that there used to be so much parody in the NBA until recently. We'll lets take a look back on the different decades of the NBA:


NBA in the 60s - the Celtics won 9 of the 10 championships.
NBA in the 70s - was the decade with the most NBA parody. There were 8 different champions in 10 years.
NBA in the 80s - the Lakers or Celtics won 9 of the 10 championships.
NBA in the 90s - the Bulls won 6 of the 10 championships. There were only 4 different champions in 10 years.
NBA in the 00s - the Lakers or Spurs won 7 of the 10 championships. There are 5 different champions in 10 years.
NBA in the 10s - We've already had 6 different champions out of 7 years. That's more than any other decade except the 70s and there are still 3 more years to go.






Conclusion
60s = 2 different champions
70s = 8 different champions
80s = 3 different champions
90s = 4 different champions
00s = 5 different champions
10s = 6 different champions and counting.


The NBA has always been top heavy. This decade is actually the most diverse the NBA has been since the 70's. The sentence "the NBA is worse than it's ever been because there's only 4 good teams" is an oxymoron. It contradicts itself. There's been more good teams than ever this decade and we're not even done yet! There was only 2 good teams in the 80s and 2000s. There was only 1 good team in 90s. You either have to say "the NBA is worse than it's even been because there's more good teams than ever" or "the NBA is better than it's ever been."

The Most Overrated Starting 5 Basketball Team of All Time

The team I am talking about is, of course, the Monstars from Space Jam.

When talking about "Overrated," there is only one team that was viewed as super amazing and unfairly talented as the Monsters. But, if we're being honest, they were not that good.


Backstory - Aliens, known as the Nerdlucks, stole the talent from "five of the best NBA players" and made an ultimate team called the "Monstars." They were intimidating and, for all intents and purposes, an All-Star team.



But how good was that team really?

First let's break it down player by player

Muggsy Bogues. Point Guard. 5 foot 3 inches. Didn't make the Basketball Hall of Fame. Never won an MVP award. Never won a ring.

Charles Barkley. Power Forward. Made the Basketball Hall of Fame. One MVP award. Never won a ring.

Larry Johnson. Power Forward. Despite his name being a combination of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, Larry Johnson didn't make the Basketball Hall of Fame. Never won an MVP award. Never won a ring.

Patrick Ewing. Center. Made the Basketball Hall of Fame. Never won an MVP award. Never won a ring.

Shawn Bradley. Center. Didn't make the Basketball Hall of Fame. Never won an MVP award. Never won a ring.

Together, that makes a combine 2 Hall of Fame players, 1 MVP award, and 0 rings.

Lets compare that "All-Star" team to the current Golden State Warriors (a real team).

If you take the starting 5 of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguadala, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green, you get a combined 4 MVP awards (3 regular season and 1 finals) and 4 rings.

Ps - And the Warriors are not done.

Now let's look at team chemistry

The Monstars had one non-HOF point guard, two power forwards and two centers as their starting 5. What else can I say? That was obviously never going to work.

Conclusion

It's no wonder why they lost to the Michael Jordan, Bill Murray, and the Loony Toons. A team of Bogues, Barkley, Larry Johnson, Ewing and Shawn Bradley wouldn't even be a good starting 5 in the NBA let alone an all-star team. They stole the talent from five guys who never won a ring, the majority of them didn't make it into the Hall of Fame, and only one of them was an MVP and it was just once. Comparatively, Michael Jordan alone has 11 MVP awards (5 regular season and 6 finals MVPs). It's no surprise the Monsters couldn't win the big game.

The AFC West is Very Overrated

Today, as I was listening to a sports radio station, I realized that many of us have fallen in love with the AFC West. I listened to these "experts" rank the NFL teams. Each one put the Oakland Raiders at #2 overall and the Kansas City Chiefs at #5.

The AFC West has tricked many of us into thinking they have the best teams in the NFL and that their's is the best division. However, if we look deeper and actually watch their games, we can see the truth. They not not among the NFL's elite.

Here's the proof:

Their records are good because the easy out-of-conference schedule.

Face it. The AFC West's schedule is the easiest. They get to play all the teams from the two worst divisions in the NFL: The AFC South and NFC South. Playing bad teams all season = good records. They get to beat up on bad teams like the Titans, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Saints, etc. For reference: The NFC South is the only NFC division without an 8 win team, and the AFC South is the only division that doesn't have a team with a winning record.

Oakland and Kansas City both keep winning close games to average teams.

None of them have played a top tier NFL team (Dallas, New England, Seattle, etc.) except when Kansas City got destroyed by the Steelers. And whenever they play a second tier NFL team, they've never won by more than one score. Have you watched an full game of either Oakland or Kansas City? They haven't looked like the "better team" in a lot of their games.

Here's a look at the best out-of-conference teams the Raiders have played:

W Saints 35-34

L Falcons 35-28

W Ravens 28-27

W Texans 27-20

W Panthers 35-32

Here's a look at the best "out of conference" teams the Chiefs have played:

L Texans 19-12

L Steelers 43-14

W Saints 27-21

W Panthers 20-17

W Falcons 29-28

Not one convincing win against a good opponent. Notice that every win against a decent team came by 7 points or less. And the best team either one of them have played (the Steelers) destroyed them 43-17. 

Neither AFC West team is a tier 1 team. Whichever one wins that conference will be relying heavily on home field advantage to get them to the superbowl. They are tier 2 teams with good records because of an easy schedule and winning close games to other tier 2 teams.

Top 14 NBA players of all time

A year and a half ago, I made a top 25 NBA players list. So really this is a "condensed" and "updated" list.

I do top 14 players because I think these 14 players are clearly the top 14 to play in the NBA. It's hard to choose a top 10 or a top 15 but a top 14 is clear to me.

1. Bill Russell
2. Michael Jordan
3. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. LeBron James
6. Magic Johnson
7. Larry Bird
8. Oscar Robertson
9. Shaquille O'Neal
10. Tim Duncan
11. Hakeem Olajuwon
12. Moses Malone
13. Kobe Bryant
14. Jerry West

Links:
A chronological look at when these 14 players were the best in the league

Here is my top 25 list from a year and a half ago.

PS - Before you complain about Bill Russell having a good team, may I remind you Michael Jordan also had a great team. When MJ retired the first time in 1993, the Bulls were one questionable call away from advancing to the Eastern Conference finals and perhaps winning the whole thing and Scottie Pippen was the second runner up in MVP voting. The Bulls were legit contenders without MJ, Pippen was one of the best players in the league, and Phil Jackson is perhaps the greatest coach in NBA history. Magic's Lakers even made the playoffs after Magic retired. The Celtics, however, had never won a ring before Bill Russell and missed the playoffs for two years in a row after Russell. In fact, no other team ever fared so well after losing an all time great player in their prime than the Bulls fared without MJ (LINK).

The Year After

A look at the "year after" from NBA teams after losing an all-time NBA great in their prime:

• Bill Russell
• Final year with Celtics - Wins a ring. 
• First year without him - Miss playoffs with 34-48 record.
• Wilt Chamberlain
• Final year with Warriors - Lost in NBA finals
• First year without  him - Miss playoffs with 17-63 record.
• Final year with 76ers - Lost 7 game series in Conference Finals to Bill Russell
• First year without him - First round playoff exit losing 4-1.
• Final year with Lakers - Lost in NBA finals.
• First year without him - First round playoff exit losing 4-1.
• Magic Johnson
• Final year with Lakers - Lost in NBA finals
• First year without him - First round playoff exit losing 3-1.
• Michael Jordan
• Final year with Bulls (before coming back)- Won a ring.
• First year without him - Bulls were one questionable call away from moving on to the Conference Finals.
• Shaquille O'Neal
• Final year with Lakers - Lost in NBA finals
• First year without him - Miss playoffs with 34-48 record.
• LeBron James
• Final year with Cavaliers (before coming back) - Lost 6 game series in second round.
• First year without him - Miss playoffs with 19-63 record 
• Final year with Heat - Lost in NBA finals.
• First year without him - Miss playoffs with 37-45 record

PS - Some names I didn't include because they were far past their prime when they left their teams, so it would be an unfair comparison to see their "final year" compared to the "year after" (Kobe Bryant, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, etc....)

.

Before seasons mixed with after seasons

Five Reasons Why Kawhi Leonard will win the 2016-17 MVP.

I think Kawhi Leonard could be the obvious choice for MVP this season in the NBA. And here are my five reasons:

1) He finished 2nd in voting last year.

2) I think he is better offensively this year than he was last year.

3) With Tim Duncan retired and Kawhi separating himself from Aldridge as "the man", Kawhi has become the main guy on a Gregg Popovich team.

4) This Spurs team will surely be a top 3 seed in the West and most likely top 2. The MVP is almost always on a top 2 seeded team. You have to be on a good team to win MVP in the NBA

5) No one else is set up as good as him. Other candidates: LeBron is done getting votes from "fatigued" voters and he also is in "chill mode" too often in the regular season. KD/Curry will hurt each other being on same team. Same with Blake and CP3 like always. And Lillard, Westbrook, Davis, and Harden's teams probably won't get top 3 or 4 seeds, which will greatly hurt their chances even if they have great stats.

Tim Duncan won back to back MVPs in 2001-2003 when he was the main man for Greg Popovich. Kawhi has established himself as the man now in San Antonio. As long and the Spurs finish top 2 seed, I believe Kawhi (who got a lot of love last year, again, finishing 2nd in the MVP race) will be the front runner for the award.

Fun Fact - Tim Duncan won his two MVPs with the Spurs when he was in his 5th and 6th season. This is Leonard's 6th season.

Best NBA Player Per Season

In honor of 2016-17 NBA opening night, I have compiled the greatest NBA players of all time; per nba season. (Starting with Bill Russell.)

Bill Russell was great from day one. In his first season (1956-57), Russell lead the league in rebounding and brought defense unlike the NBA had ever seen. Defensive stats like blocks and steals were not recorded at the time so one can only imagine what stats Bill might have had. He lead his team to 12 finals, winning 11 of them in his 13 year career. Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain came on strong not long after Russell. The three players won 10 of the 11 MVP awards from 1957-1968. In the 60's, Oscar and Wilt had some of the best statisticals season of all time (LINK), including being the only player to average a triple double (Oscar while also averaging 30+ PPG) and averaging 50.4 PPG (Wilt).

The 70's had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who won six MVP awards, and (eventually) six rings, ten finals appearances, and the all time leader in total points. Moses Malone's prime started mid-70s and ended mid-80s. He is perhaps the most forgotten about great. Moses won three MVP awards but only ended up winning one championship in two appearances. Moses often lead the league in rebounding while also being a good scorer and defender.

The 80's were dominated by the entertaining players Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Between 1983-1990, Magic and Bird won six of the seven MVPs (Three each) (Michael Jordan winning one in 1988). And between 1980-1989, the finals always had at least one of the two teams lead by Magic or Larry.

Michael Jordan was one of the best players in the NBA since the late 1980s. And in the 90's, he won six rings, had six finals appearances, and ended up with five MVP awards. Jordan also broke some of Wilt Chamberlain's scoring records like total scoring titles (10) and highest career PPG average (30.12). Hakeem Olajuwon capitalized on Michael's year and a half retirement, having his best two seasons, making the finals his only two times, and winning both of them.

Shaquille O'neal and Tim Duncan dominated the early 2000's. From 1999-2005, either Duncan lead or Shaq lead teams were in the finals all seven times and they won six of them. O'neal ended up with only one MVP, four championships, three finals MVP awards, and six finals appearances. Duncan ended with two MVPs, five championships, and six finals. Once Shaq and Duncan weren't so dominate, Kobe Bryant had some of his best seasons and LeBron James was taking the NBA by storm. Kobe ended up with one MVP award, five championships, two finals MVP awards, and seven appearances.

LeBron James, to me, looks a lot like Oscar Robertson but without Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain competing against him. LeBron James every season finishes in the top 5 of PPG. In fact, finished in the top four in PPG from 2005-2016 (LINK) (Last year he broke that streak when he finished 5th in PPG). Like Oscar Robertson, scoring isn't the only thing he does well. LeBron rebounds well, has good passing and court vision, a good basketball IQ, and plays great defense. James has won four MVP awards, three championships, three finals MVP awards, and seven final appearances so far.





(LINK) - "LeBron has been the best player in the best player in the league since 2007 not even close" "You can make an argument Kobe Bryant was never the best player in the league."


(LINK) - A great article on Bleacher Report:

"Ranking the 10 Greatest Individual Seasons in NBA History"

"1. Shaquille O'neal (1999-2000)

2. Wilt Chamberlain (1966-1967)

3. Michael Jordan (1990-91)
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1970-71)

5. Tim Duncan (2002-2003)

6. Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94)

7. LeBron James (2011-12)

8.Wilt Chamberlain (1961-62)

9. Magic Johnson (1986-87)

10. Michael Jordan (1987-88)

Honorable Mentions

Larry Bird 1985-86

Lebron James 2008-09

Oscar Robertson 1961-62"

Here's the difference between the Heat LeBron joined and the Warriors Kevin Durant joined.

Stop putting Steve Kerr's Warriors pre-Durant and Eric Spolstra's heat pre-LeBron together. They're not similar.

Heat's last 3 seasons before LeBron James
15-67 (no playoffs)
43-39 (1st round exit)
47-35 (1st round exit)

Warrior's last 3 seasons before Kevin Durant
51-31 (1st round exit)
67-15 (won championship)
73-9 (lost in 7 game finals)


Heat's league MVPs LeBron joined up with: (none)

Warrior's league MVPs Durant joined up with: 2x defending MVP Steph Curry.

Miami Heat's odds of winning it all before LeBron joined them: 50/1.  

Warrior's odds of winning it all before Durant joined them: 7/4. 

Conclusion

These teams are not comparable. The Warriors are/were already being discussed as an all-time great team. Curry is/was already being discussed as the best player in the league. The Heat were never close to being the best team before LeBron. Wade was never even close to being considered the best player in the league. The Heat hadn't been to the finals for 4 seasons, including a 15-67 season where they finished 15th in the East. The Warriors are a young team that have dominated the West for two straight years, The Warriors had years left of dominance in them without Durant. If Durant gets a season ending injury, the Warriors are still the favorites to win it all. When LeBron left the Heat, the replaced him with Luol Deng and Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside and still missed the playoffs that next year.

Harder Road to Rings - MJ vs LeBron - 1st Ring

Sports fans love to throw around statements that they actually have no idea if they are true.

Two of the statements going around right now are the comments "LeBron James' road was harder than Micheal Jordan's road" and visa-versa "Jordan's road to rings was harder than LeBron's..."

Which one is correct? Let's us dig into NBA history and see how the to "roads" compare. This blog will cover the road to the 1st ring:

The Road to the First Ring

Playoff Round 1

MJ - Bulls vs Knicks. These Knicks got into the playoffs as the 8th seed with a losing record (39-43). The Bulls handled the Knicks easily in the sweep. The Knicks were led Patrick Ewing, who averaged 16.7 PPG in the series.

Notable award winners - Patrick Ewing: All-NBA 2nd Team.

LBJ - Heat vs Knicks. These Knicks got into the playoffs as the 7th seed with a winning record (36-30). The Heat handled the Knicks easily winning 4-1. The Knicks were led by Carmelo Anthony, who averaged 27.8 PPG in the series.
Notable award winners - Tyson Chandler: Defensive-player-of-the-year. Tyson Chandler: leader in FG%. Steve Novak: leader in 3FG%. Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler: All-NBA 3rd Team.

Playoff Round 2

MJ - Bull vs 76ers. The 76ers were the 5th seed in the East finishing the season with a 44-38 record. The Bulls handled the 76ers easily winning 4-1. The 76ers were led by Charles Barkley, who

averaged 25.6 PPG in the series.

Notable award winners - Charles Barkley: All-NBA 1st Team

LBJ - Heat vs Pacers. The Pacers were the 3rd seed in the East finishing the season with a 42-24 record. The Heat won the series 4-2. The Pacers didn’t have a clear leader, and is showed as all five starters scoring double digits in the series. 

Notable award winners - Larry Bird: Executive of the Year.

Eastern Conference Finals

MJ - Michael faced the team that knocked him out of the playoffs plenty of times: The “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons. The Pistons were the 3rd seed in the East finishing with a 50-32 record. The Bulls had no problem with the Pistons sweeping them 4-0. 

Notable award winners – Dennis Rodman: Defensive player of the year. Joe Dumars: All NBA 3rd team.
 


LBJ - LeBron faced the team that knocked him out of the playoffs plenty of times: The “Big 3” Boston Celtics. The Celtics were the 4th seed, finishing the season with a 39-27 record. The Heat won a competitive 7 game series. 

Notable award winners – Rajon Rondo: Leader in triple doubles, leader in assist per game, and All NBA 3rd team.

The Finals

MJ - Michael’s finals were against the last of the Showtime Lakers. Kareem had retired and Magic Johnson was in his last season. The Lakers were the 3rd seed in the West. The Bulls handled the Lakers easily winning 4-1. 

Notable award winners – Magic Johnson: All NBA 1st team. James Worthy: All NBA 3rd Team.

LBJ - LeBron’s finals were against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder were the 2nd seed in the West. The Heat handled the Thunder easily winning 4-1. 

Notable award winners – Kevin Durant: Scoring title. Serge Ibaka: Leader in blocks-per-game. James Harden: 6th man of the year. Kevin Durant: All NBA 1st team. Russell Westbrook: All NBA 2nd team. Serge Ibaka: NBA All-Defensive 1st team.

Conclusion

After looking at both MJ’s and LBJ’s road to their first ring, I say they are surprisingly similar. And Degree of difficulty being about the same.





A last look of some other stats and possible factors:

Michael won his first ring in the 1990-1991 season at 27 years old.
LeBron won his first ring in the 2011-2012 season at 27 years old.

Pippen lead the Bulls in minutes per game.
LeBron lead the Heat in minutes per game.


The Bulls used the same starting line in every playoff game.
Chris Bosh only started in 10 of the Heat’s 23 playoff games as he battled injury.
Because of injury, the Heat only had three players start all of the games (LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Mario Chalmers).

Finally, I look at the head-to-head stats of MJ vs LeBron.

Again, surprisingly similar.

Kevin Durant joining Steph Curry would be something we haven't seen since 1982!

It looks like Kevin Durant is seriously considering joining forces with the reining two-time MVP Stephen Curry. 

The last MVP before Curry? Mr. Durant himself... 

That got me wondering... When was the last time, if ever, that two MVPs joined forces in the middle of their careers? 

I had to go back a bit...

The first thing I found was Karl Malone joining Shaquille O'Neal. However, Karl was well past his prime when he joined the Lakers. Being 40 years old and it ended up being his last season in the NBA.

Next thing I found was David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Robinson won an MVP in 1995 and retired in 2003. The Spurs drafted Tim Duncan in 1997 who ended up winning an MVP in 2002. So technically it was two MVP players played together. But not quite what I was looking for. It is not the same as two MVP players joining forces in the middle of their careers.

Next one I found was Charles Barkley at age 33 joining Hakeem Olajuwon at age 34. Barkley played his last 4 seasons there in Houston. This is close to the same, but  33 and 34 isn't quite the same as 27 year old Durant joining 28 year old Curry. Plus, Charles and Hakeem only had 2 MVPs between them. Curry and Durant will have had 3 (Curry with two and Durant with one).

Further down the NBA timeline I found Kareem Abdul-Jabber and Magic Johnson. However, much like the Robinson/Duncan scenario, Kareem was 39 going on 40 when Magic won his first MVP award.

Then I found it. The Perfect match. Moses Malone was 27 years old just like Durant when he joined a 31 year old "Dr. J" Julius Erving. Moses was a two time (and reigning) MVP just like Curry is and Dr. J was the last one to win an MVP before Moses just like Durant before Curry. The similarities are astonishing! 

The 76ers had just lost in the finals the year before to Magic Johnson's and Kareem's Showtime Lakers. 

What happened the year the 27 year-old reining MVP joined the 31 year-old Dr. J? It became what is now know as the legendary 1982-1983 76ers. Both Moses and Julius made all-NBA first team. Moses won the MVP (his 3rd) and the finals MVP. Moses was asked before the playoffs his prediction and he gave the famous response "Fo, fo, fo" (meaning all sweeps). Well... They did sweep the first round, won the next round in five games, and then swept the Lakers in the finals. So "Fo, five, fo" (which ended up being engraved into their championship rings).

The 76ers avenged themselves that year in the finals after they had lost to to the Lakers the year before. Just like the 76ers, the Warriors would most likely have a chance to avenge themselves against LeBron James and the Cavs.

If KD were to join the Warriors, I could see the same thing happening that happened over 30 years ago: Curry and Durant both making all-NBA first team, one of them winning MVP and finals MVP, and the Warriors avenging their loss to the Cavs in the finals.

LeBron James 2016 Free Agent: Where is he going to go?

When I began to wonder about if LeBron James was going to leave Cleveland this year, I originally thought he was staying... out of loyalty and love for the city and what-not. Then, I went back and read his letter he wrote to Sports Illustrated:

"My goal is to win as many titles as possible, no questions. But what's most important for me is bringing ONE trophy back to Northeast Ohio."

So.... Now LeBron has brought one trophy back to Northeast Ohio. Mission accomplished!! ✓

Unless the King changed his mind or was lying, his only goal now is to win as many titles as possible. LeBron James will have no problem leaving Cleveland right here and right now if it means winning more titles somewhere else.


Where might he go then? Perhaps our two best clues are:

1. "My goal is to win as many titles as possible, no questions."
2.  And we know LeBron absolutely cherishes his bond with "The Brotherhood" of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade. He has said he would take a pay cut to play with them. Although getting all four on the same team next off season is unrealistic, getting two together is a good start...

Miami Heat

Going back to Miami would be simple and easy. He already refers to Miami as his "second home." He is comfortable there. It has warm weather. His BFF Dwyane Wade is there. He trusts Pat Riley. And this Heat team is better than the one he left two years ago. Since he's been gone, they have acquired Hassan Whiteside, Luol Deng, Joe Johnson, Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow. The year he left Miami, they missed the playoffs. This year, however, they got the 3rd seed and won a playoff series. Perhaps LeBron believes Miami is now his best chance to "win as many titles as possible."

Los Angeles Lakers

Just the name "Lakers" makes big time free agents want to play there. Now that Kobe Bryant is (finally) out of the picture, they are even more attractive than they have been since LeBron started become a free agent. They have plenty of money to spend. It is another warm weather place and has a very desirable market. The Lakers have quite the history of signing big name free agents. And we know LeBron is not afraid to do something huge and unexpected (see: "The Decision"). The Lakers could lure LeBron in by also having other big free agents come too and/or bringing in players via trade like (cough cough) Chris Paul or Carmelo Anthony. I definitely don't put it past LeBron or the Lakers to make a huge splash in free agency.

Los Angeles Clippers

Just like the Lakers, the Clippers offer warm temperatures and the desirable L.A. market. Chris Paul is already there. DeAndre Jordan would complement LeBron beautifully. DeAndre is defensive specialist, a great rim protector and rebounder, and he is quite talented at throwing down ally-oops. Think Tristan Thompson but a lot better. And bonus: Doc Rivers would be the best coach LeBron ever played for... and Doc is no stranger to superstars joining forces and winning championships (see Boston Celtics 2008-2012)

New York Knicks

This one is a long shot, but I am not ruling it out. Talent wise, the Knicks are not as good as the Clippers and Heat already are or as good as the Lakers could potentially be. However, there is still a lure here. Playing in Madison Square Garden. Playing for the great Phil Jackson. New York market is great. Playing with BFF Carmelo Anthony. And, were LeBron James to bring a championship to New York, it would be almost as good as bringing a championship to Cleveland. New York hasn't won a basketball title since 1973, and the fans are very hungry for one.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Honestly, staying in Cleveland is the most likely destination. Kyrie Irving (24 years old) is starting to get really good. Tristan Thompson (also 24) is getting better and better too. Staying home with the team he built makes sense. He's only been back for two seasons now. I think he'll want to stay at least one more season or two to see how much potential this Cavs team has.

Wait... When was Kobe the best player in the NBA?

I was looking back at an NBA poster made in 2004 and I noticed a certain player missing; Mr. Kobe Bean Byant.

This poster had Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, and Paul Peirce. But no Kobe.

Soon after, I found another old poster: It was the '04 Lakers. Shaquille O’Neal was in the front of a “V formation.” Behind him was Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone. Derek Fisher and Gary Payton were behind them. Devean George and Rick Fox in the back.

Then I remembered: Shaq was always the best player on the Lakers. Kobe was great no doubt. But Shaq was the "Batman." And if you're not the best player on your own team, you're surely not the best player in the NBA.

So I started to do some more remembering. "When... if ever... was Kobe the best player in the league?"

I as able to break it down into 6 sections of his career:

1996-2004

Up until 2004 Kobe was not the best player on his own team. During his seasons playing with Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe never once came close to winning an MVP award. Shaq won the only MVP between them during these years and received plenty of votes for other MVP awards. Shaq also won all three finals MVPs during their three championships.

And besides Shaq, there were also other players on other teams better than Kobe. Just looking at the people who won MVP’s between 2000-2004; Shaq, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan (twice), and Kevin Garnett. Also a look at who won the scoring title those years: Shaq, Iverson (twice), and Tracy McGrady (twice).

Kobe surely was not the best player in the NBA during these years.

2005

This was Kobe’s first year without Shaquille O’Neal, and he missed the playoffs completely. I’m not saying you have to win the finals with a bad team if you’re the best player in the league… but can’t you at least carry a team to a 7^th or 8^th seed playoff berth if you're the best? Meanwhile in 2005, Shaq was tearing it up in Miami, Iverson won his 4^th scoring title, and Tim Duncan was winning another championships and another finals MVP. 

Kobe had still not taken over as the “best player in the NBA” in this year.

2006-2007

These are the two years Kobe won his two scoring titles. These are also the two years Kobe’s Lakers got knocked out of the first round by Mike D’Antoni’s Phoenix Suns. 

Shaq, still in Miami, won himself another championship in 2006. The young phenom LeBron James (drafted in 2003) was getting better every year. Steve Nash won the MVP. In 2007, young LeBron James carried a bad Cavs team all the way to the NBA finals. Also in 2007, Tim Duncan won another championship. Dirk Nowitzki won the MVP.

These two years could go either way as to who was the best player in the NBA. Had Kobe past players like Shaq and Duncan? Had LeBron already passed Kobe?

2008

Kobe wins his first and only MVP award. LeBron wins the scoring title. The Lakers trade for Pau Gasol and make their first playoff run since trading Shaq to Miami. 

Unfortunately for both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce's Celtics to form "The Big 3" in Boston. The Celtics beat LeBron James’ Cavs in the playoffs in an epic 7 game series. LeBron James, in the game 7 losing effort, had 45 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Then Boston went on to beat Kobe’s Lakers in the finals and it only took them 6 games. Kobe, in the game 6 losing effort, had 22 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist.

It's starting to look like LeBron James has become the best basketball player in the NBA.

2009-2010

Kobe goes on to win his 2 “Shaq-less” rings and both Final's MVP awards. But LeBron wins both (his first two of four) of the season MVP awards while having some very impressive stats, including averaging 29.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 8.1 APG over those two years.

Again, it could go either way to who was the best player in the NBA. Was it Kobe? Or was it LeBron and was Kobe simply the best player on the best team ?

2011-retirement 

Steadily declining and with injuries from time to time, Kobe never made it back to the finals. In fact, he never made it back to the Western Conference finals. Never won another scoring title or another MVP. He retired 2016.

LeBron got better and better, won two more MVPs, did some incredible things and broke a lot of records. He played all 6 finals since and won two (maybe three on Sunday) championships.

LeBron was undoubtedly the better player in the NBA from 2011 on.

Conclusion

Kobe Bryant was, at very best, the best basketball player in the NBA from 2006-2010. And at worse, he was never the best player in the NBA for even a season. Players like Shaq and Duncan were quite possibly the best players in the NBA until about 2006/2007 and then LeBron became the best basketball playing in the NBA at that time.

And perhaps, and usually is the case, its somewhere in between the best and worse case scenario. Either way, most of us remember Kobe Bryant being a lot better than he really was. Why? Who knows? Perhaps it’s because he played for the LA Lakers (the "Yankees of the NBA") his entire career. Perhaps it’s because some of his moves reminded us of our favorite player Michael Jordan. 

Whatever it is, as we look back, we can see not only was Kobe not the best player of all time, but he was perhaps never the best player in the NBA for any particular season.

*Edit: My sports friend Andy (who is quite knowledgeable about sports himself) made a few comments when I first started digging into this. I feel his comments bring a lot to the table so here they are:

*Update*
3 days after I wrote this blog, The Herd came out with this video (LINK)
Colin Cowherd: "You could make an argument that Kobe was never the best player in the league."
Nick Wright: (paraphrase) Shaq was the best player in the leauge until at least '04. LeBron has been the best player in the league since '07. So, at best, Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant split 05 and 06 as best players in the league.

(click the link for the exact quotes. 1 min 19 sec video)

Update on Mock Draft

Just FYI - the mock drafted I did at the beginning of the year... yeah i totally won that league. I was criticized for not taking a quarter back until the very end, but everyone else was reaching for quarterbacks so I didn't both. I ended up snatching Carson Palmer and Derrick Carr of waivers early in the season and was able to win that way.

See the original mock draft, every pick, and the break down HERE

Screen Shots:

Peyton Manning And His Defenses

Observation:

The Bronco's defense that "carried Tim Tebow" seemed to get much worse when Peyton Manning took over at QB, even though not much changed on the defensive side of the ball for the Broncos. Also, last years Bronco's "not #1 defense" somehow became the "#1 defense in the league" this year going into the Super Bowl without making hardly any changes from last year.


Hypothesis:

When a QB throws the ball as much as Peyton Manning used to, the statistics of that team's defense will suffer. When an offense uses a lot of clock, the statistics of the same defense will appear better.


Prior knowledge:

There is a strategy in the NFL that goes something like "keep (the other team's quarterback) off the field."


Common sense:

If a defense only has to try to stop a Tom Brady, or an Aaron Rodgers, or a Peyton Manning led offense ten times, stats like "total yards allowed" and "total points allowed" will look a lot better then if they have to try to stop them twenty times.


"Ideal" experiment:

Let's have Tim Tebow and the Broncos play a game of football game against my 'Utah Ideals' (just because I wish there was a team in Utah ;) ). Let's also have Peyton Manning play a football game against the same team. Now, the Utah Ideals always score 7 points and take exactly 3 minutes of game block starting from their own 20 yard line when playing against this particular Bronco defense. Lets say Tim Tebow scores on every drive and his average drive time takes 7 minutes of game clock. Peyton also scores on every drive and his average drive takes only 2 minutes of game clock.

So everyone scores every time, and we'll assume a touchback on every kick off. Also, for this experiment, the game will end at the end of regulation (no overtime).


After doing the math, both games end in a tie.
Game 1 - 42 to 42
Game 2 - 84 to 84


Team 1's defense (Tebow's) allowed 10.5 points per quarter and half the yards.
Team 2's defense (Peyton's) allowed 21 points per quarter and double the yards.


Q - Which defense is better?

A - Both defenses are the exact same defense. Team 2 only appears worse


Conclusion:

High volume passing QB's, especially whose that prefer to go fast, do in fact make their defense seem worse than they actually are. 

PS - This experiment doesn't even factor in rate-of-interceptions nor a fatigue factor, which would have hurt Team 2's defensive statistics even more. 

Final Statement: 

Largely because of having to be on the field more, Peyton Manning's style of play both with the Colts and with the Broncos (until this year) has made his teams' defenses seem worse than they actually were.

Clarifying statements:

• I am not proposing whether Peyton Manning's style of play is good or bad.
• I am more so directing this article to those who believe one defense is better than the other because of "total yards allowed" or because of "total points allowed."
• I am concluding that you cannot compare defenses by yards allowed or points allowed. If one defense has to try to make more stops than another, they will tire as the amount of plays stack up,. If one defense has to try to make more stops per game than another, their yards and points allowed will clearly be higher. Simple math shows that the more opportunities an opposing offense has, the better chance of them gaining more yards and scoring more points.
• Thus, defenses that have a quarterback that uses small amount of time per possession will have "worse" stats than defenses who have a quarterback that uses large amounts of time. Stats like yards allowed and points allowed is not a good way to determine if one defense is more competent or efficient than the other.
• I'm not saying the Colts would have been better off without Peyton Manning. I'm just trying to point out that comparing defenses by looking at stats like "yards allowed" and "points allowed" isn't a very good system, due to the fact some defenses have to play a lot more drives than others.

LeBron James: Earned, not Given

QUICK OVERVIEW

LeBron James has established himself as one of the greats. Four mvp awards put him in elite company with just Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Bill Russell (5), Michael Jordan (5), and Wilt Chamberlain (4). His 27.3 career PPG puts him in elite company behind only Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. At 25,500+ NBA all time points (youngest player to reach 25,500 all time points), he is passing players like Vince Carter and Ray Allen before they even retired, and is gaining on Paul Pierce (25,900), Kevin Garnett (25,900) and Tim Duncan (26,200). He's not just a scorer, either. Lebron James is also known for being good at many things. He is often the best defensive player on his teams and many times he leads his team in rebounds and assists per game.


THESIS

Compared to other greats, LeBron James has had a difficult road to greatness.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

Here are five of the most talked about players with LeBron James when we talk about "the best of the best" and their 'given situations' (what they walked into).

PS - At the end of each one, I've added (what I believe to be) the grade. For example, If your head coach was Phil Jackson, you would get an "A+". If your head coach was Doc Rivers, perhaps a "B." And so on. Remember, this is evaluating the players 'given situations', so things like Jordan's Wizards and LeBron's Heat are obviously not factored here.

1. Earvin 'Magic' Johnson.
• Drafted by: The Lakers (A+)
• Best teammate: Kareem Abdul Jabbar (A+)
• Supporting Cast: 80's Lakers (A)
• Head Coach: (mostly) Pat Riley (A+)
• Owner: Jerry Buss (A+)
2. Larry Bird
• Drafted by: The Celtics (A)
• Best teammate: Kevin McHale (A)
• Supporting Cast: 80's Celtics (A+)
• Head Coach: (mostly) Bill Fitch (A) and KC Jones (B+)
• Team President and General Manager: Red Auerbach (A+)
3. Michael Jordan
• Drafted by: The Bulls (B+)
• Best teammate: Scottie Pippen (A)
• Supporting Cast: 90's Bulls (A+)
• Head Coach: Phil Jackson (A+)
• General Manager: Jerry Krause (A)
• Owner: Jerry Reinsdorf (A)
4. Kobe Bryant
• Drafted by: The Lakers (A+)
• Best teammate: Shaquille O'Neal (A+)
• Supporting Cast: "Shaq Lakers" (A) then "Pau Gasol Lakers" (A)
• Head Coach: (mostly) Phil Jackson (A+)
• Owner: Jerry Buss (A+)
5. Tim Duncan
• Drafted by: The Spurs (B+)
• Best teammate: David Robinson (A)
• Supporting Cast: 00's Spurs (B+)
• Head Coach and Team President: Gregg Popovich (A+)
• General Manager: R.C. Buford (B+)
• Owner: Peter Holt (A)
6. LeBron James
• Drafted by: The Cleveland Cavaliers (F-)
• Best teammate: Zydrunas Ilgauskas* (B-)
• *Ilgauskas best season was the 04-05 season averaging 16.9 points and 8.6 rebounds. 
• Supporting Cast: 00's Cavaliers (F)
• Head Coach: (mostly) Mike Brown (D-)
• General Manager: Jim Paxson (D) and Danny Ferry (D)
• Owner: Dan Gilbert (F)

THOUGHTS

Looking at these six superstars and their 'given situations', I think it's obvious LeBron James drew the short straw in terms of ideal given situations. These other super stars had some of the most capable franchises, owners, teammates, coaches, and management in NBA history to guide them as they entered their NBA career. Young LeBron, on the other hand, was drafted by perhaps the least capable franchise of all time, and guided by some unimpressive (to say the least) coaches, teammates and management.

What if LeBron James was drafted into an environment similar to these other all time greats? What if he was drafted by a top-end franchise, with top of the class management, coaches, and teammates? First of all, he surely would have had more success. His stats would have been that much better. And he probably could have been an even better player, considering he could have been coached and guided in a much better way with better management around him. He could have focused more on being a basketball player instead of trying to be a head coach and a general manager (to make up for the lack-there-of in Cleveland). 

What if one of these other superstars had been given a situation like LeBron's? Drafted by a horrible franchise with bad management and below average teammates? More than likely they would have had less success. They would have worse stats.  Perhaps they wouldn't have received the advice and the guidance that helped them become they player they were and never would have reached what they became.

CONCLUSION - Although we can't know for sure what these hypothetical scenarios might have brought, one thing is certain: LeBron James was given the short straw in terms of given situations among his colleagues of which we compare. His road to greatness was difficult when compared to many other of the greatest NBA super stars.

Links to other websights

I searched "best NBA teams of all time" and here are the first two links that show up:

Cheatsheet: "7 greatest NBA teams of alltime." - Four of the seven are different Bulls teams for Michael Jordan. One of them was the 85/86 Celtics (Larry Bird). Another was the 08/09 Lakers (Kobe Bryant).
Bleacher Report: "Top 10 NBA teams of all time" - including three of Jordan's Bulls, Kobe's 01/02 Lakers, Magic's 86/87 Lakers, and Bird's 85/86 Celtics.