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.