Fresh on the heels of his first championship, Miami Heat superstar LeBron James finally kicked down the door separating him from being labeled one of the National Basketball Association’s best to being recognized as the league’s very best. Armed with point-guard skills, defense, rebounding ability and a knack for scoring, James has been one of the NBA’s most talented players since his entrance into the league in 2003. But where does LeBron rank after earning league MVP honors and a Most Valuable Player trophy in the NBA Finals? The AFRO Sports Desk has had this conversation before and it ended with Kevin Durant as the ultimate alternate to James. But after LeBron’s Miami Heat trumped Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals, is the argument of Durant over James still valid? Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley debate.
Green: Championship or not, I’m still taking Kevin Durant as my No. 1 pick across the NBA. James played well in the Finals, make no mistake, but Durant would’ve been hoisting the 2012 championship trophy, too, if his teammates had stepped up like the back-up LeBron received. Some of the shots he hit throughout the series were big-time baskets but he never got the same foul calls that seemed to go LeBron’s way. Durant’s one of the best, if not the best in the league but the officiating in this Finals series showed that the league hasn’t caught on yet.
Riley: Basketball to me is more than just scoring. It’s also about rebounding, defense and getting your teammates involved. Not only does James do that but he also scores. In the Finals he was everywhere. When he wasn’t checking Durant, he was checking James Harden or Russell Westbrook. When he wasn’t rebounding he was finding the open man. And when he wasn’t doing any of the aforementioned he was scoring and willing his team to victories. Durant’s a juggernaut offensive threat but LeBron’s a Swiss Army knife wrapped into a 6-foot-8-inch frame. We’re talking about a guy who can play positions one through four and never miss a beat. He’s the most versatile chess piece in the NBA and with the three biggest trophies you can win in one season (MVP, Finals MVP and championship) he’s the best player in the league without question.
Green: Being able to facilitate an offense and rebound makes you an all-around player but the game of basketball is about putting the ball in the basket and no one in the league does that better than Durant. He can shoot the three, post, hit the mid-range jumper and finish with authority. A three-time scoring champ before the age of 24, Durant’s on his way to a storied career. I admit, LeBron’s the ultimate chess piece and you can move him around anywhere on the court but even those skills never translated into a championship until nearly a decade in the NBA. Durant’s gotten better every season and he obviously has the skills to push a team into the championship round. Just because the Heat beat the Thunder doesn’t automatically make James a better player. It just makes him the recipient of a better team.
Riley: Cut it out. You can’t ignore LeBron’s trio of big time accomplishments. James was the most dominant player on the court this year in every aspect of the game. That’s what makes him the best. He can literally dominate the art of playing multiple positions and defending them as well. You’re not going to find that trait in anybody else in the league except for the league’s best player, LeBron James.
Green: A 30.6 points per game average in his first Finals is nothing to sneeze at. The reason I go with Durant here is that I know what I’m getting out of my three-time scoring champion every time he touches the court. And while James was huge in these Finals, a lot of us went into the final round not knowing what to expect from the so-called “best player” in the NBA. We didn’t know if he was going to dominate or average 17 points per game like he did in last year’s Finals. When it comes to crowning the best player in the NBA, I need someone I can trust. Someone whose psyche I don’t have to worry about. James answered his critics this year but that aura of doubt is always going to be there for me since I’ve seen LeBron’s mental instability show itself in two of the past three seasons. The only thing I’ve seen from Durant is an assassin’s mind frame armed with a wicked jumpshot. You can have your ticking time bomb in LeBron. I’ll take the scoring grenade in Durant.
