Despite being 35 years old and playing in his 17th NBA season, LeBron James is still one of the best, if not the best, players in the league.
Sports analyst Colin Cowherd shared his thoughts on the gap between LeBron and the rest of the NBA players, including superstars.
“Year seventeen for LeBron James. That cannot be understated. Remember what Michael Jordan looked like in his final year? Couldn’t really jump,” Cowherd said.
“Year seventeen for LeBron. LeBron says ‘Let me guard the hottest young guard in the NBA. He’s 23, he’s in his prime. I’m a power forward. I got this.’ And shuts him down. a) most stars don’t want to do that and b) if you give it to them, they can’t do it.
“This is what I would call the gap. And I have seen it twice in the NBA. When Michael Jordan was at his best the gap between Jordan and everybody else in this sport, it’s the stars, was massive. Magic was the only player that was reasonably close. And Magic could do one thing better than Michael – elevate others. Michael didn’t always do that. But even in scoring and defense Magic wasn’t even close to Michael.
“The gap between LeBron and everybody else is now absurd. Let’s take recent MVPs, they should be close to LeBron. Giannis. Can’t shoot, three playoff series wins in the East in seven years. Harden. One trick pony, all offense. Westbrook. Three words. Out of control. Anthony Davis. Completely irrelevant until he joined LeBron.
“Like Magic to Michael, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard have things, elements they can do better. Kevin Durant’s just a better shooter and Kawhi right now at his point in his athletic prime probably better at getting a stop over the course of 8-9 minutes. But it’s not close. Kevin Durant isn’t the leader and can’t stay healthy and Kawhi doesn’t talk and communicate and, frankly, doesn’t elevate others, he’s just great.”
According to Cowherd, there were only four other athletes that had the same gap that the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has now, namely Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Tom Brady and Michael Jordan.
