Kareem's record goes down...

[selmaborntidefan]

I'm not even a basketball fan (I watch March Madness because it's my retirement plan; it has never gone very well btw). But a few things.

Jordan missed almost 5 full seasons when he was avg over 28 PPG

But so what?

If I even say Jordan would only avg 20.0 PPG for 393 missed games in his Prime that's 7,860 Points

That would still be 2,000 more total points than LeBron.

Plus I honestly don't think Jordan would drop from 28 PPG to 20 PPG in the time period he missed.

That's not even getting into things like Dominance and Leading the League

He might also have suffered a career-ending injury on the court, too.

 

[TexasBama]

I think the "The Decision" bit LeBron did when he left the Cavs the first time was a real turnoff.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I've followed basketball off and on since 1959 -- I still love the Celtic teams with Havlicek, Sam Jones, K.C. Jones, Bob Cousy, Bill Russell and Tommy Heinshohn just to name a few. Lots of different ages, rule changes and styles of basketball.

My pantheon of truly great players include Bill Russell, MJ, Wilt C., Kareem, Kobe, Dr. J... Stephon Curry & LeBron will be added to that list when they retire.

IMHO, the greatest player is the one who won the most championships, i.e., Bill Russell followed by MJ. You play the game to win...winning championships is the ultimate measure.

While I get that (and it's a common sentiment in every sport)...there were EIGHT TEAMS in the NBA.
There are now THIRTY - and if Russell had had to compete against 22 additional teams, he wouldn't have won anything close to 11 rings. That shouldn't be taken as a knock on Russell, just a reality. Montreal won all those Stanley Cups - mostly in a six-team league. The Yankees won all those World Series in what was technically a 16-team league although the Browns, Senators, Athletics (most years), Phillies, and Braves were next-level awful most years, so it was about a 10- or 11-team league at most. (Since their dynasty died in 1964 and all those changes occurred, the Yankees have won seven World Series championships in 58 years. That's still a good total - it's still the most in that time frame (the Cards are second with 5 if you include 1964). But it's obviously much more difficult now.

However - I agree with the rest of your post, although maybe George Mikan ought to be in there.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I think the "The Decision" bit LeBron did when he left the Cavs the first time was a real turnoff.

Exactly. I think that phrase "gonna take my talents" - which has become a cliche right next to "the check is in the mail" and "I'll respect you in the morning" - haunts him.

Let me add this, though - regardless of mitigating circumstances or qualifying factors it's still one hell of an accomplishment by LeBron James. Hank Aaron had 4,000 more at bats over the course of his career than Babe Ruth did. Doesn't matter. Hank hit 755, the end. We don't get to say, "Ted Williams lost enough at-bats he would have approached 700 homers - and we all know if he was that close, he'd have gone for it."

I think what gets me is that I remember living in Germany and what a big story it was then when Jabbar broke the old record almost 40 years ago; LeBron wasn't even born yet. And tbh with you, I thought that if MJ didn't break that record - and he could have without the retirements, yes - nobody ever would.

Slice it however you want - it's still a fantastic accomplishment.

 

[JayBama_in_PCOLA]

I'm not even a basketball fan (I watch March Madness because it's my retirement plan; it has never gone very well btw). But a few things.



But so what?




He might also have suffered a career-ending injury on the court, too.

He almost did with that broken ankle.

 

[JayBama_in_PCOLA]

Much love for breaking that record. That’s all I can say about that.

 

[Bazza]

NBA legend Michael Jordan is celebrating his 60th birthday on Friday by making a $10 million donation to Make-A-Wish America.

It's the largest individual contribution the organization has received in its 43-year history.

The donation is Jordan's latest sign of support — the first wish he granted was in 1989, and he's fulfilled hundreds more wishes to children with critical illnesses since.

More here:

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/16/1157437074/nba-michael-jordan-make-a-wish-60th-birthday

 

[Crimson1967]

If it happens, you can put an asterisk by it the size of Jupiter. But Pete Maravich’s scoring record is in jeopardy.

Antoine Davis’ recent scoring binge makes NCAA scoring record more realistic

Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis has a shot at college basketball's scoring record

www.mlive.com

 

[Con]

If it happens, you can put an asterisk by it the size of Jupiter. But Pete Maravich’s scoring record is in jeopardy.

Antoine Davis’ recent scoring binge makes NCAA scoring record more realistic

Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis has a shot at college basketball's scoring record

www.mlive.com

Definitely! Pistol Pete didn’t have the three pointer to help his numbers.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I think the "The Decision" bit LeBron did when he left the Cavs the first time was a real turnoff.

And so has everything else he’s done off the court since then. And a great deal on the court as well but I digress.

Everything about him screams narcissistic, emotionally fragile child. No I am not a fan. It is rare, extremely rare, that I watch NBA anymore. But I used to watch devotedly. LeBron would not have held up in the 80s and 90s. He would have wilted. Not because he lacks the physical gifts, including physical strength. But mentally? Like I said, he would have wilted.

But maybe I am being too critical. Often we are forged by our environments and it is true that James has played in an NBA that was already soft when he was drafted.

 

[TexasBama]

But maybe I am being too critical.

I'll agree with you on this part.