Tag Archives: John Stockton

When LeBron came into the league, I wanted to watch him chase greatness.  Really, I did.

I’d be dishonest if I said that I actively rooted for him to surpass Magic, Michael, and Larry, but I  certainly wanted to watch him try.  Watching historic greatness is one of the most fun things for a basketball fan to do.  Fans of different generations have the guys whom they defend in arguments about who was the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time, for those who aren’t familiar with the acronym).  I already got to watch Michael, and I was interested to see what the Next Big Thing did.

I wasn’t sure I liked him – his “Chosen 1” tattoo is kind of obnoxious, as far as I’m concerned – but I was willing to reserve judgment until I saw how he handled the difficult moments. To me, that’s the true test of greatness – how one handles the difficult moments.

After watching his career in Cleveland, I felt like he was a disappointment.  It’s not that he did anything wrong, in fact, he was phenomenal.  It’s just that he didn’t live up to the hype.  (To be fair, I don’t know that anyone could have.)  True greatness, the type that puts someone among the top-10 players ever, manifests itself consistently, with hardly any deviation.  It does not manifest itself in magnificent bursts, followed by disappointing disappearances.  That’s why LeBron’s career in Cleveland – capped by his incomprehensible performance last year in Boston during the playoffs – left me feeling like he failed to live up to the hype.

In any event, by the time the off-season rolled around, that was water under the bridge, and the questions shifted from LeBron’s past to his future.  He stood at a fork in the road, with a decision to make.  (You might have heard about it.  It had its own TV show, called The Decision.)  One path was The Easy Way Out, and the other was The Path To Greatness.  He was perfectly within his rights to choose either one, so all of the LeBron defenders who tell me that it’s a free country, and we all get to choose where we want to work, can spare me. I’m not saying he didn’t have the right to make The Decision he made.  I’m saying that his Decision, like all decisions, has consequences.  And the consequence should be that he took himself out of the debate about who’s the G.O.A.T.  He might win a championship, but he’s out of the running for The Crown, The Heavyweight Championship, The Top Spot On The Totem Pole.

Rather than try to elaborate with my own words, I resort, as I often do when explaining something important, to the wisdom of Yoda.  (Admittedly, I’m too angry right now to claim to be following all of Yoda’s words.  But whatever.  LeBron’s the one who tattooed “Chosen 1” on his body.  I’m just a fat guy sitting at a keyboard.  Nobody is mistaking me for a Jedi Knight, or for one of the greatest basketball players of all time.)

Yoda knew that The Easy Way Out is not The Path To Greatness.  He explained it to Luke in the following dialogue:

Yoda: Yes, run! Yes, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan’s apprentice.

Luke: Vader… Is the dark side stronger?

Yoda : No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.

Quoting Yoda is appropriate, because, watching the Heat march through the playoffs this year, I think often of the scene in Star Wars when Obi-Wan and Anakin battle.  Anakin embodies LeBron; the talented young Chosen One, who does not want to pay his dues to earn the glory he thinks he deserves.  Obi-Wan embodies the great players who came before LeBron.  Each of them resisted the path that tempted LeBron (Ewing never ran to Utah to play with Stockton and Malone, Barkley never ran to Detroit to play with Isiah and Dumars, etc., etc., etc.)

Here’s a link to a video of the battle.  (If you’re not interested in lightsaber fights, you should skip to 5:30, when the important dialogue begins, or, if you’re really antsy, to about 6:50, which is right before Obi-Wan cries out “YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!!!!!)

Is comparing him to Darth Vader too harsh?  Maybe.  But he’s the one who got a tattoo that says “Chosen 1,” and then took The Easy Way Out, so he essentially invited a comparison to Anakin Skywalker.  Don’t blame me.

Whether it’s  too harsh or not, the bottom line is that LeBron’s Decision (you know, the one that had its own tv show) can destroy the game.  Now that a precedent has been set that joining up with a team that’s already set to contend for a title can be a legitimate way for a potential G.O.A.T. to boost his legacy, the future of the game has been put at risk.  Competition is the very essence of the game we love, and if it becomes possible to achieve the perception of greatness while ducking competition, well… then we gots problems.

To illustrate, ask yourself: what should Chris Paul do when he becomes a free agent?  What should Dwight Howard do?  What if they don’t want to take the Easy Way Out, but they also don’t want to be martyrs, who, just for the sake of courage, spend their careers without a legitimate chance to win a title?  Because of The Decision (I don’t know whether you heard about it – it had its own tv show), they have little choice.  Even superstars who want to take the Path To Greatness see that the obstacles on that road are now more daunting than they used to be.  Cowardice now seems like the only way for a superstar to wind up on a contender.

The game is now heading for a future where 3 or 4 teams have clusters of stars, and the rest of the teams in the NBA have no shot at competing.  In other words, the game is serious trouble.  All because The Chosen One selfishly made a Decision to take The Easy Way Out.

Thankfully, all is not lost.  LeBron has chosen the Dark Side, and his march to a championship continues, but there are still two ways for the game we love to be saved.  The first way involves we fans saving it from the selfish Chosen One.  We fans are the ones who control the legacies of the people who play the game, which means that we have control to ensure that cowardice is not rewarded.  To do so, we must pay close attention, because it is sometimes hard to perceive the difference between The Easy Way Out and the Path To Greatness.  On both roads, one needs help from teammates to reach the end.  On both roads, one can accomplish extraordinary things.  The difference is that, on The Easy Way  Out, there are places to rest, and have your teammates carry you closer to the finish line.  On The Path To Greatness, there is no rest.

Having chosen The Easy Way Out, LeBron now gets to rest.  He now winds up in the NBA Finals after having two playoff games of 15 points, and one of 16 points.  These are the types of things that happen while traveling The Easy Way Out, but not The Path To Greatness.  We fans must keep this in mind, and not treat him as one of the top-10 players ever.  Then, hopefully, the other superstars who will one day stand at a fork in the road will have the courage to avoid the path that the Chosen One selected.

The second way to save the game we love is for the Chosen One to lose.  As Yoda said: “”Stopped they must be; on this all depends. Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will conquer Vader.  I know it is a challenge, young Jedi, for Vader is very powerful, and he has surrounded himself with a roster of teammates who were capable of competing for a championship without him.  If you end your training now, young Jedi – if you choose the quick and easy path as Vader did – you will become an agent of evil.  Because, unlike Vader, young Jedi, you do not have teammates who can carry you when you are weary.  If you rest for even a moment, young Jedi, you will allow Vader to win.  So, listen to me, Dirk, and continue to train.  Then go drop 50 on his cowardly butt, and you can save your game from destruction.”

1 Comment:

  • Enlighted One

    Wow. That is a lot of Hate!!! You definitely would be nominated for Hater of the year at the Hater’s Ball (DC Show ref).

    That being said, did Magic play with Kareem and Worthy? Didn’t Clyde Drexler and some others team up with Hakeem to win. Also didn’t Malone and Payton team up with Shaq and Kobe to win a championship. Shaq played with Kobe (arguably both could be considered in the top 5 to ever play the game). Jordan and Pippen were nominated in the 50 best players ever and Jordan is arguably the best to ever play. For all the hate that everyone has against Lebron for choosing who he works with it, it sums up to jealousy. Last night Van Gundy stated this and he made a great point.

    Lebron should be applauded and emulated. Lets look at some of the positives he has done verse others in our beloved sport – he actively sought out Warren Buffet. He took the power of making his professional life more fulfilling. Don’t we all do this when we search for a new job or career. He has two kids with the same woman and has never been accused of negative or illegal activities. So far he has embraced being a role model. He plays team first basketball – what he loves passing – the horror. He loves playing defense – don’t follow that habit.

    I hope Lebron wins, dances, and then Miami throws a party even more out there then their intro party. When this happens you will see me in the middle of it. Don’t hate because our game is captivating and beautiful to watch.

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So, I was out with a couple of friends last week, talking about hoops.

One of the friends is the dude I mentioned the other day, who thinks that the NBA needs The Undertaker to sign with some team as a power forward.  When we were out, he and I discussed the possibility, and agreed that The Undertaker would be best suited as a sixth man.  When it came time for him to check in, the announcer would turn off all the lights in the arena, and play his music.  Then smoke would rise from the scorer’s table, and he’d check in.  He’d plant himself in the middle of the lane on defense, daring the referees to whistle him for defensive 3 seconds.

Anyway.  Someone else I was out with had some intelligent things to say about hoops.  We were discussing LeBron, and I was making my case that he’s held to a different standard than other players.  Basically, the stuff I’ve said in a few different places (like here and here among others).  We started comparing LeBron to some of the other all-time greats.  Predictably, we acknowledged that LeBron hasn’t won a championship yet, and he argued that it’s because LeBron’s supporting cast is terrible.  I pointed out that LeBron now has Antawn Jamison, who has been a 20-and-10 guy for a while, Mo Williams, who was an All-Star last year, and a trio of 3 skilled big men, none of whom is a superstar (anymore) but who, collectively, represent as good a group of C’s / PF’s as just about any team other than the Lakers.  He was looking at me like I had three heads.  His points were that:

  1. Jamison and Mo Williams are not good enough to be the second and third best players on a championship team unless they have a complete freak of a superstar leading the way.  He argued that neither of them ever did much of anything other than put up big numbers for bad teams before they joined the Cavs, and that guys who merely put up big numbers for bad teams aren’t good enough to be among the best players on a championship team.
  2. The reason why people rank LeBron favorably against other all-time greats who never won a title (Barkley, Ewing, Stockton, Wilkins, etc.) is that none of those guys was ever the best player in the league.  And LeBron is.

Interesting points.  A few responses:

One of the very first postings on this site hoopserved that, whenever we compare two superstar players against each other, we wind up talking about their teammates instead of the players themselves.  I now have an addendum: when we do that, and wind up comparing their teammates, we often wind up comparing their teammates’ teammates.  So, when we compare LeBron to Kobe, and I make the point that LeBron has a 20-and-10 guy in his supporting cast, it’s considered a legitimate counter-argument for someone to say that Jamison isn’t really a viable member of a championship supporting cast because Jamison only put up those gaudy numbers when he had lousy teammates.  And, when I point out that Mo Williams was an All-Star just last year, it’s considered a legitimate counter-argument for this guy to say that he was only an All-Star because LeBron made him one.

That seems like a simple enough point, but it’s actually kind of remarkable.  We expect our superstars to make their teammates better.  When it happens, and the superstar winds up with an All-Star teammate, we give the superstar the credit for making the guy an All-Star, but, if we want to argue that the superstar’s teammates are lousy, we’re able to say — with a straight face — that his supporting cast is terrible even though it includes an All-Star, because the superstar was responsible for making the guy an All-Star.  Of course, if no teammates wind up on the All-Star team, we don’t have to hold it against the superstar for failing to elevate his teammates; we can just use it as evidence that the supporting cast is awful. Either way, someone can say that the superstar’s supporting cast is terrible — whether it includes any All Stars or not.

Deep breath.  I must admit that, first hearing someone say this, it actually makes sense.  But, upon review…. no.  No way.  As us lawyer-folk say, it doesn’t withstand scrutiny.  At bottom, it’s just a way to perpetually excuse the superstar’s failure to win a championship; you shouldn’t be able to say his teammates are terrible if none make the All-Star team, and still argue that they’re terrible even if one or two of them make the All-Star team on the logic that they’re only on the All-Star team because the superstar raised their levels of play.

The bottom line is that LeBron has a good enough supporting cast for a superstar to win with.  Whether they’re good enough to be All-Stars without him is completely irrelevant.  Let’s see if he gets it done.

As to my friend’s other point, that LeBron is ranked favorably against Barkley, Ewing, Stockton, etc. because LeBron is the best in the game at this moment, and none of those guys was ever the best in the game, I think it’s a fair point.  But it begs the question: is LeBron really the best in the game at this moment?  When he plays like he played on Friday, I know that it’s folly to argue that he is not.  But the problem is that he doesn’t always play like that.  (See, for example, YESTERDAY.)

Whatever.  I’m not going to argue – not right now, at least – that LeBron isn’t the best in the game at this moment.  When I even hint at such an opinion, I piss off 3 of my 4 readers (they love LeBron), and, well, that’s not a good thing for a blogger to do.  So, without mentioning LeBron, let’s consider a broader question for now:  can a guy who has not proven himself capable of being the best player on a championship team be the best player in the league?  Is it possible?

Here’s what I’m thinking: The guys who distinguish themselves as stars – say, the top 20 guys in the league – generally do so because they are highly skilled, and either very (a) big, (b) fast, or (c) strong.  To dig a bit deeper, some guys make a big impact by using their strength (e.g., Ben Wallace in his prime), some make a big impact by shooting the lights out (e.g., Kyle Korver), some make a big impact because they are gritty and have high “basketball IQ” (e.g., Shane Battier), and some make a big impact because they are freakishly athletic (e.g., Gerald Wallace).  But, to be one of the real stars of the league – one of the top 20 guys – you typically have to have a combination of talents.  These guys separate themselves from the rest of the league based on talent and hard work.

Within that group of 20 stars, though, the cream rises to the top not because of skill or athleticism, but because of personalityWe have various ways of describing it: they have a “killer instinct,” or they are “clutch,” or they are capable of “willing their team” to victory.  Whatever the cliche, the point is that the guys who really rise to the top do so because something about them enables them to grab a game by the throat and not let go until they win.

If you’re with me so far, then you’ll probably be with me when I say that it’s hard to think of how a guy could be recognized as the best player in the league until he proves that he’s able to grab a playoff series by the throat and not let go until his team wins a championship.

If you’re with me still, well, you’ll have to acknowledge that the only guys in the league who have proven that they can be the best player on a championship team are Kobe, Wade, Billups, Pierce, Duncan, and Shaq.  (Carmelo Anthony deserves honorable mention, because when he was in college he proved that he could grab the playoffs by the throat and lead his team to a championship.  Where I come from, winning in college still counts for something.)

So, without mentioning that guy I said I wouldn’t mention, I must say… With all due respect to 75% of my readership, nobody on that list has a name that rhymes with KaBron Rames.  Sorry.

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