LeBron James may truly be the most discussed basketball player of all time, because for every person who loves him, there are two who hate him. The King brought up a specific criticism people have about his game on a recent episode of Mind The Game with co-host Steve Nash and guest Luka Doncic.
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LBJ spoke about the idea of ‘having a bag,’ which Nash clarified as a bag of tricks, specifically when it comes to dribbling. The four-time NBA Champion has gotten some flak for having limited handling skills. Don’t worry, he’s not losing too much sleep over it.
“I see it all the time,” James stated. “I’ll be on social media, and it’s like ‘LeBron has no bag.’ LeBron has no bag and I’m sitting here with 50 billion points.”
Shannon Sharpe decided to discuss this story on the latest edition of his Night Cap show, where he adamantly defended LeBron by making a valid point about ‘having a bag.’ “All these people that got bags let me ask you a question. Of all the people that got bags, how many of them gonna have more points than LeBron?” asked the NFL legend.
The Night Cap panel collectively responded, “Nobody.” Sharpe then decided to name some top superstars who do in fact have excellent handles and compared than to LBJ’s numbers.
“Whoever we think has a bag, Kyrie, James Harden, Steph Curry, who else we think got bags? Who gonna have that many points?” Sharpe asked again. Again, the panel said “nobody.”
And it’s true. James never approached the game with how many dribbles he could fire off. He used his sheer size and strength to bully guys in the paint. He developed a reliable jumper, including the 3-ball, and played smart high-IQ basketball to become the all-time scoring leader.
And no offense to Harden, Kyrie, or Curry. All three are certified Hall of Famers. But each man is past their physical prime, and is under 30,000 points. Do they have the longevity to reach 50,000 and surpass LBJ? Probably not.
This prompted the Night Cap panel to bring up Michael Jordan, as is often the case when speaking about LeBron. “I don’t think Michael Jordan had a bag like that. When you talking about handles, he was just efficient,” stated former NBA star Joe Johnson.
Sharpe immediately jumped in with agreement. “He wouldn’t handle that thing like Kyrie or Steph Curry,” he added. And the three-time Super Bowl winner is right. MJ wasn’t just efficient. He used the moves that worked and dominated opponents for his entire career.
So James and Jordan share a similarity. But it will never be discussed in the age of debate television because it will always come down to ‘who is better?’ Sharpe and company addressed this topic as well
“That’s what debate television has done,” claimed Sharpe. “When you pick one, I got to accentuate my guy while all the while addressing the flaws of your guy.”
It’s unfortunate that these kinds of debates exist in every sport alongside the NBA. Perhaps one day, true fans of ball will just watch the game they love and enjoy greatness when they see it, rather than always comparing it. Until then, game on.
