Bleacher Report and one of their writers has provided us with another
inane slideshow. The title of the slideshow is "Young Stars Mostly
Likely to Yield LeBron-Like Greatness." LeBron James is 28 years old and
will most likely be one of the Top 5 players in NBA history by the end
of his career. This list of six players on eight slides (the first slide
is the introduction slide and the 8th slide is actually a completely
different article, which is one of the many ways Bleacher Report manages
to get pageviews in an effort to make up for an inferior product) are
players who could be the next LeBron James...or have "LeBron-like"
potential. Spoiler alert: This article is shitty because
none of these players have the potential to be one of the Top 5 players
in NBA history. It's just a desperate plea for pageviews.
LeBron James is doing things on the basketball court that no other player ever has.
"So
here's a list of players in the NBA right now who may also have the
potential to do things on the basketball court that no other player ever
has. It makes sense as long as you don't think about it."
He's the best player on the planet and looks nowhere near ready to relinquish that title.
But there are some players entering the league with their targets set on the Heat star.
James
is "nowhere ready" to relinquish the title as best player on the planet
at the age of 28, but here is a list of six players in the NBA right
now who may end up being great like him. Anyone else completely lost
trying to follow this logic?
James blends such a unique combination of size, skill and athleticism that anyone would struggle to enter his atmosphere.
Except
for these six players currently in the NBA. They won't struggle to
enter his atmosphere. It's like back in the late 1990's and early 2000's
when no player had gotten very close to Roger Maris' home run record,
but then two or three players were getting close to this achievement.
Nobody could get close to that record and then all of a sudden something
that was rare happened more and more frequently. In that case, PED's
allowed these players to get close and exceed 61 home runs in a season,
but in this case of someone replicating the combination of size, skill,
and athleticism that James has, this Bleacher Report writer is just
making shit up.
But that won't stop these players from trying.
Let's start the slideshow!
Iman Shumpert
Shumpert is 22 years old and has career averages of 9.5 ppg, 2.8 apg, and 3.2 rpg.
At
the age of 22, LeBron James' averages were 27.3 ppg, 6.0 apg, and 6.7
rpg. Boy, Shumpert certainly is close to those numbers isn't he?
Good size for his position? Check (6'5", 220 pounds).
Relentless, physical defense? Check.
Gifted athlete? Check.
Unique fashion sense? Check, check.
This has to be a joke. I know it isn't supposed to be funny, and it isn't, but it still has to be a joke.
Like James, it's still unclear exactly what position he'll play.
Haha,
what bullshit. It isn't clear what position James will play on the
court because he can play every position on the court. It's not clear
what position Iman Shumpert will play because he isn't a good enough
shooter for a shooting guard and isn't big enough to be a small forward.
Way to shade the argument in the most ridiculous way possible.
But he's a playmaker on offense, capable of beating his defender and finishing plays himself or finding open teammates.
He's
just like LeBron in that they are both black, both tall and both play
basketball professionally. The comparison ends there. Sometimes there
are articles that are so ridiculous they almost don't even merit to be
covered on this site. This slideshow almost reaches that point. Saying
Iman Shumpert can have LeBron James-type greatness is so ridiculous, it
is almost trolling.
Kawhi Leonard
Scouts weren't sure what to make of the San Jose State product when he entered the 2011 draft.
They
probably didn't know what to make of Leonard being from San Jose State
because he didn't go to college at San Jose State. He went to San Diego
State. Again, this is the type of editorial and written work you get
from Bleacher Report sometimes. Half-assed and the main point seems to
be purely to get pageviews. The editor of this column had to edit seven
slides and he still couldn't do it effectively.
But the Spurs liked what they saw: a basketball player.
This
is as opposed to when the Spurs didn't like what they saw when they
drafted Pete Sampras in the early 90's: a tennis player.
Leonard projected as a plus-defender at the NBA level. With length
(6'7", 225 pounds) and athleticism on the wing, he figured to collect
his paychecks at the defensive end.
Just like LeBron he is a defensive specialist.
But he's already displayed a versatile offensive repertoire in his
season-plus pro career. He's shot 49.3 percent from the field in each of
his two seasons, and his range has extended beyond the three-point line
(37.0 percent).
Because Leonard is 6'7" and can
shoot the ball well from the three point line and from the field he is
just like LeBron James...as long as you ignore his 10 point, 1 assist, 5
rebound averages on the season. But hey, those are just numbers, but
relevant and meaningful numbers don't really matter to Bleacher Report
writers if they aren't in the form of pageviews.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Scouts questioned his ability to score at the NBA level, and while he's
only averaging 10.4 points per game, he's shot 48.5 percent from the
field.
The author does realize questioning a
player's ability to score at the NBA level means they are questioning
how many points a player can score, not the player's field goal
percentage? Actually, I'm pretty sure this slideshow was thrown together
in five minutes, so the author doesn't realize this. Will Perdue
couldn't score at the NBA level and he had a career field goal
percentage of 51.5%. His high field goal percentage doesn't mean he
could score at the NBA level.
Defensively, he's used his athleticism to compensate for his lack of
experience. With his length (6'7") and hops, he's capable of recovering
from poor defensive reads.
There's no description
here on how Michael Kidd-Gilchrist can have LeBron James-type greatness
in the NBA. The author basically says, "Uh...Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is
good at defense and he is 6'7" and can jump high. That's just like
LeBron!"
This is just supremely lazy writing. The
author doesn't tell us exactly how these NBA players are supposed to be
like LeBron, but just lists a bunch of attributes the player has and
ignores the talent differential between LeBron James and the player this
author is describing.
Paul George
He hasn't yet sniffed out superstar numbers (16.4 points in 35.9 minutes
per game), but he's shown enough flashes for the Pacers to hold on to
that hope for the third-year pro.
You mean the
Pacers should hold on to hope that George is going to end up being a Top
5 player in NBA history right?...which is the impact Paul George would
have to have on the NBA to have LeBron-like greatness.
But
no, the author says he could be a superstar, which is what LeBron is.
So since they both fall under the generic category of "superstar," Paul
George and LeBron James are basically the same player. There's no need
to differentiate between the levels of being a superstar is there?
He's already a better three-point threat than James (39.7 percent in
2012-13). With his size (6'8", 210 pounds) and handles, he's a matchup
nightmare for any defense.
George is a better three
point shooter than LeBron? Well, he's already on his way then since
this cherry-picked category supports your argument. LeBron weighs 50
pounds more than Paul George by the way. When comparing George to LeBron
and saying he's a matchup nightmare for any defense, the fact LeBron is
as quick as George with 50 more pounds on his body is incredibly
relevant.
And he's blossoming as a creator for his teammates. His 3.7 assists per
game has him on pace to shatter his previous career high, more
impressive considering he's been without the prolific Granger for the
entire season.
LeBron averaged 6 assists when he
was the same age as Paul George. Which was impressive considering he was
playing with Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden as the second and fourth
leading scorers on the Cavaliers team.
He reads offenses, anticipates plays and has the requisite athletic ability to complete those defensive efforts.
Paul George plays defense. LeBron James plays defense. The differences between the two are hard to spot.
Evan Turner
(Bengoodfella stops laughing long enough to continue typing)
The
author thinks Evan Turner has LeBron James-like greatness about him.
Turner is only four years younger than James by the way.
Evan Turner doesn't have the defensive acumen of James, but he's the best distributor of the group.
If
he isn't as good of a defender as James, then he can't have a
James-like impact or be great like James. James had an MVP award by the
time he was 24 years old. Case closed. End of story.
But Turner is such a visionary passer (4.2 assists per game) that he's
more than capable of serving as the offense's focal point. He's got a
quick first step and the dribble moves to exploit it.
This
is silly. Evan Turner can't be great like LeBron James. Every time I
think a Bleacher Report column can't get any more dumb and pointless, I
am proven wrong.
Defensively, he's a bit hindered by a lack of strength against bigger
wings. But he approaches that end of the floor with the same cerebral
approach that continues to evolve his offensive game.
He's
hindered by his lack of strength, which isn't a problem LeBron James
has, and Turner isn't strong defensively, which is the opposite of
LeBron...so how is Turner capable of James-like greatness again?
Nicolas Batum
With four years of NBA service already under his belt, Nicolas Batum is the most experienced of these players.
But he's still only 24 years old.
Or
as I state it, Batum has been in the NBA for four years now and still
isn't close to being on the same level as LeBron James. Batum is
becoming a good player, but he isn't anywhere close to being on LeBron's
level. Could he get there at some point? Probably not. I don't think
Batum is going to end up being one of the greatest NBA players of
all-time, so I doubt he has a LeBron James-type greatness in him.
He's increased his scoring (15.8 points per game in 2012-13) and
rebounds (5.6) for the fifth straight season. And he's averaging at
least one block and one steal per game for the second consecutive year.
Batum's statistics are improving, which means by the time he is 30 years old he will naturally be on LeBron's level, right?
He has a wiry frame (6'8", 200 pounds) and could stand to add more muscle.
Just like LeBron!
He may not have the commanding personality to fully realize his superstar potential.
Then
why the fuck would he be on a list for young stars who are most likely
to achieve LeBron James-level greatness if Batum may not even be a
superstar?
And he's frustrated Portland fans with his inconsistent effort as often as he's dazzled them with a highlight finish.
Just like LeBron! LeBron is famous for being lazy and not giving a consistent effort on the court.
But he may be the most naturally gifted of any player on this list. He's certainly got enough time to further his development.
Batum
is improving, but exactly how is he going to reach LeBron-levels of
greatness? This is never explained. As usual, a Bleacher Report
slideshow has a title that doesn't match what is contained in the
slideshow, all in effort to get pageviews. If this was a list of young
players who could develop into superstars, that's fine, but "LeBron
James" was put in the title to gain pageviews and none of the content in
this column in any way suggests why/how any of these six players could
ever be great like LeBron James.
Steve Novak is a better 3-point shooter than LeBron too. Wonder if the Heat will trade James for Novak? *smh*
ReplyDeleteEric, well obviously that will happen. Iman Shumpert is the next LeBron James so if the Heat can get Novak and Shumpert for James then that's a no-brainer trade for them.
ReplyDeleteLMAO was just about to leave your page and found more great commentary on BS articles roming the net, Well if there is one player on the way to being the next LeBron James it's clearly ....drum roll... no one! Sad thing is people swear by Bleacher Report and a number of their columnist are lazy writers there are some well knowns who write articles for them from time to time but Bleacher Report is pretty crappy. had to drop another line, I def like the content you put out, being critical without critizing is a skill. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I appreciate it. Bleacher Report has improved over the past year or two, I have to admit. The problem is there are still writers who end up putting out crap like this. It's nice that rather than the crap being featured on the main page, good writing can be found there though.
ReplyDeleteSo when is Iman Shumpert going to be the next LeBron James? I'm waiting...