Wednesday, June 17, 2015

How Does LeBron's Playoff Work Compared to the Other Greats?

My top 36 Players of all-time:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ray Allen, Charles Barkley
 Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird 
Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Drexler
 Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Julius Erving
 Patrick Ewing, Kevin Garnett, John Havlicek
 LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan
 Karl Malone, Moses Malone, George Mikan
 Reggie Miller, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowtizki
 Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Paul
 Gary Payton. Bob Petit, Scottie Pippen
 Oscar Robertson, David Robinson, Bill Russell
 John Stockton, Dwayne Wade. Jerry West.


On List and Went to 6+ finals:
Kareem
Baylor
Kobe
Wilt
Duncan
Havlicek
LeBron
Magic
Michael
Shaq
Pippen
Russell
West


Led Their Team to 6+ Finals -- That is, Were the Best Guy On 6 Finals Teams
Kareem (2 w/Bucks, I will give him 80, 82, 83, 84 w/Lakers)
Wilt (7 Finals, even by 1972 he was still 1st team all-NBA, so...)
Duncan
LeBron
Magic (I would say 5, but if you give him 84, which is about when the team became his, it goes along with 85, 87, 88, 89 and 91)
Michael
Russell
West (at least has an argument for the lion's share of the Lakers' appearances, I will leave him here, though it may not be possible to leave both him and Wilt on)


Guys Who Led Their Teams to 6+ Finals and Ended Up With Both More Titles (2) and More Finals MVPs (2) Than LeBron Now Has

Magic (3 MVP, 5 titles)  - note that Magic's teams lost Finals in 1983, 1984, 1989 and 1991. 
Michael (6 and 6)
Duncan (3 and 5)

Should add Bill Russell (11 titles) even though there was no Finals MVP back then.

So yes, LeBron haters, he is a terrible player and a disgrace to playoff basketball.  There are a grand total of 4 guys who have led their teams to the Finals as many times and done better overall. 

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