We might call him desperate, stat padder, and whatnot but when it’s all said and done we would miss seeing LeBron James on the basketball court. And that’s not because he has been the face of the NBA for the longest, 20 years to be precise, it’s because he has done everything expected of him and more.
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The 38-year-old is closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record with just 36 points to go if he takes the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder. And that ‘just’ in the last sentence is what gives him the advantage in the debate for the GOAT of the game.
Stan Van Gundy’s recent Tweet will explain to you how we expect a man in his 20th year in the league to score 36 points in one night against a team full of youngsters and still question him the most for his GOAT candidature.
Stan Van Gundy declares LeBron James the GOAT backing it up with facts
There are a few players who won more championships, a few who won more MVPs, a couple who won more Finals MVPs, three players who have more assists, and just one man who has 35 more points than LeBron James, to date.
Tonight or a maybe couple of days later, that last thing would change and we would be looking at a man whom we will remember for redefining greatness in sports. Let former Miami Heat coach and TNT’s game analyst Stan Van Gundy explain it to you.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of who the best NBA player ever is. What can’t be argued is that LeBron James is the most ACCOMPLISHED player of all time combining stats, honors, longevity, and team success. It is frankly impossible to argue that anyone has done more,” said Van Gundy in the now-deleted Tweet.
Although he deleted his initial Tweet you’ll get the idea from his replies to it.
I should have said it was a 2-man race between Kareem and LeBron. My mistake.
— Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) February 6, 2023
To me longevity puts LeBron and Kareem way ahead in terms of accomplishments
— Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) February 6, 2023
He also said this to put things in perspective.
Let me try to put LeBron James imminent all-time NBA scoring record in perspective. There will very soon be only 6 men (Kareem, Malone, Jordan, Bryant, Nowitzki and Chamberlain) within 10,000 points of James. 10,000 points more than all but 6 players in history!
— Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) February 6, 2023
Nobody could be as one-dimensional to see it. But let’s assume it’s not the truth until we have to. One fine morning in the future is all that would make it happen.
What next for James after he achieves the historical feet?
As he has already said, this record was never his aim when he started playing. Neither was competing with Mike for the GOAT title. Now that he is as nearest to it as anyone could be, James would want to win a title or two more to settle it once and for all.
If not his multiple 40-point nights this season, his recent disappointment in Lakers management failing to sign the 8x All-Star Kyrie Irving is proof of how badly he still wants to win.
However, there is another thing he wants to do that didn’t happen before in the history of the NBA, and that is to play with his sons. Although that is just a season or two away, we can’t wait to actually see it. This man is the true definition of longevity and consistency.
