Lebron James: A Paradox of Greatness

How Lebron's unparalleled ability to adapt to the ever-evolving game may also be the root of his failures.

From the very beginning of Lebron James's illustrious career we knew we had something special: A 6'8 250 pound cadillac of a man whose innate athletic ability was only surpassed by his God-given feel for the game of basketball. Journalists dubbed him the Chosen One at the same age that MJ was just beginning to play varsity basketball. Typically when a journalist labels a high school athlete as "the next great player," that player flames out. However, this wasn't just a glorified high school athlete, it was Lebron James: Mozart meet Einstein culminated onto the 94 feet of hardwood. He is the first and the last true prophet of our generation.

Since I've spent the first paragraph uplifting Lebron a tad bit (Mozart meet Einstein. . last true prophet. . . blah de blah, all that good stuff), I hate to detract and start speaking against the legend himself, so I won't. . . not exactly. Lebron is downright dominant; Jordan fans, Kobe fans, NASCAR fans, none of them can deny this statement. So I'll steer away from beating a dead horse and save you the facts and stats. I'll instead do you one better and provide you with stats and facts that will steer this conversation of Lebron towards a different horizon; a horizon I like to call the Lebron Paradox.

Since the inception of the NBA in 1946, the game and the league have been dominated by different schools of thought that have dictated the zeitgeist of that era. Typically, the best players and the best teams usher in these schools of thought as their dominant style of play changes the way we see the game of basketball: from the stuffing the stat sheet attitude of the 1960's driven by Wilt, Oscar, and West, Dr. J's showmanship and flare during the 70's and early 80's, Bird and Magic's Celtics' and Laker's team-oriented full-court style of the 80's, and Jordan's mastery in half-court isolation ball during the 90's. Each era of basketball has been different than the last, typically for the better. However, once the 2000's rolled around, we appeared to be stuck in stagnation.

After Jordan's dominance in the 90's, everyone became fixated on being "Like Mike." Nike's canonization of "Air Jordan" made people literally become worshipers of Jordan; no longer did kids want to grow up and play basketball, they grew up and wanted to be Michael Jordan. Due to this worship, the game of basketball ceased to evolve for years. Jordan appeared to be the pinnacle of what basketball could be. . . I mean where can you go from here:

Just as the evolution of the game became stagnant, Jordan made the actual game stagnant. In the 80's we saw league average paces of 102.1 (1984-1985), but as the game got slower and mores structured during and after the Jordan era, we started seeing league average paces of 88.9 (1998-1999). Even someone like Allen Iverson, someone who made the crossover a cultural icon, didn't change the game of basketball during this period. Do you know when Allen Iverson's primarily used his crossover? Half-court iso situations. The creativity of players was subjugated to isolation situations as offenses became structured and slowed down.

2003 comes rolling around, and boy oh boy, Lebron enters the league: The Chosen One, the heir to the throne, the likeness of Mike. And look at this. . . the league that Lebron is entering looks very similar to the league that Jordan won six championships in. This isn't unusual for superstars. Take Jordan for example; when he entered the league we were in the midst of the Celtics-Lakers fast tempo era. What becomes unusual is what happens throughout the course of Lebron's career.

Unlike Jordan, Lebron never did, and never has, spearheaded a transition in the way the game of basketball is played. Lebron has played in two definitive eras of the game (and one transitional one): for the first four years of his career the NBA was still stuck in the post-Jordan stagnant era, where the average pace of play during these five years was 90.9 possessions per game. From 2007-2008 to the latter Heat years, the NBA entered a transitional period where the game was still slowed down, but three pointers started to become more of a prevalent offensive weapon for teams (2007-2008 was the first time the league average for three pointers per game reached 18, up from 16.9 the previous season). And then lastly, starting in 2013-2014, the Golden era of basketball began; as a three point explosion coupled with a steady increase in pace of play took to the forefront of basketball (peaking during this most recent season with an absurd 29 threes attempted per game, and a pace of play of 97.3 possessions per game). Lebron has been dominant in all these eras, the best player for a majority of these seasons, but yet still, none of these eras were driven by Lebron's play.

Jordan came in to the league with a "give me the ball, clear out, and watch me work," kind of game. His post game improved later in his career, but his mentality and his overall style of play never changed. Jordan coerced other players and teams to play at his pace and his style, and that's what made him so great. Lebron's greatness takes to a different form. Lebron's has an ability that no other player in history has ever showcased; the ability to adapt to the game so fluidly. He came into the league as one of the smartest and most athletically opposing prospects we had ever seen, allowing him to assimilate into the NBA with ease. Lebron has never had to force his style of play on anybody because his greatness enables him to dominate in any style of play. As many veteran players in today's game have fallen off a cliff due to the change in the dynamic of the game (i.e Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard), Lebron has adapted and has continually elevated his play. As the game has become more a small ball, pace and space, team-oriented, three point shooting game, he's changed his play to accommodate this transformation. It's not only evident in watching his games, it reflects in his stats. Throughout the course of his career the rate in which Lebron took midrange shots has decreased, while the rate he has taken shots at the rim and from the three point line has increased (.321 of his shots in 2017-2018 were mid range shots or long twos, down from .54 in 2003-2004). To compare, in 1984-1985, Jordan's rate in which he shot three pointers was .032, in 1997-1998 it was .067. At the same time, Lebron has effortlessly transitioned from a three to a small ball four in today's game (He never played the four his rookie season, while in this last season he played 61% of his minutes at the four).

Unfortunately, as it was alluded to in the title, Lebron's ability to adapt has also played against his success. He notoriously has lost six times in the Finals, and as odd as it sounds I strongly believe these failures are a result of his greatness. Let me explain by taking an in-depth look at each of these Finals losses:

2007 Spurs

When your second best player is Donyell Marshall. . . I think we can excuse 22 year old Lebron for losing this one. Hitherto, we won't spend time examining this Finals.

2011 Mavericks

This is the one Finals loss where Lebron simply was not great. 2010-2011 was his eighth season in the league. He was 26 years old and just entering his prime. It also was his first season with the newly loaded Heat super team. Simply put; The Heat should have won this Finals. The league was still in the transitional era of where the pace of the league was still relatively slow (92.1 possessions per game), but three point shooting had not yet become the weapon it is today (18 per game). The Heat had the perfect team for this style of play; three dominant players who all didn't rely heavily on three point shooting but instead had the superb ability of creating their own shots in iso situations. Three all star players each with this ability should have put the Heat over the top, and thus this Finals loss is inexcusable for Lebron. Luckily, Lebron and the Heat redeemed themselves by winning the next two (and subsequently last two) championships in this transitional era.

2014 Spurs

By this Finals, Lebron had won two championships in a row, and now had reached four finals in a row; he had officially established himself as an all-time great. This Finals match up was a rematch of the 2013 Finals, in which the Heat overcame a 3-2 series deficit and a five point deficit in the last 25 seconds of game six to hand Greg Popovich and the Spurs their first Finals loss in their franchises' history. Despite their win in 2013, the Spurs were a superior team to the Heat, and it showed in this iteration of their Finals matchup. When we think of today's NBA and how the game is played, we think of how Golden State revolutionized the league; we are so quick to forget that just four to five years prior it was the Spurs who jump started this revolution. The Spurs were not the three point threat that today's Warriors are, but what they did establish that is returning to today's NBA is the team-oriented style of basketball. Their team style of basketball peaked during the 2013-2014 season where they averaged 25.2 assists per game (Heat averaged 22.5 assists that season). This team-oriented style of basketball was epitomized during the Finals. The Spurs spacing of the floor, passing of the ball, and use of small ball lineups (where we saw the passing aficionado Boris Diaw hold down the fort at center). looked like the London Orchestra on hardwood. The Heat tried their best to match this style with their own small ball lineups (Lebron at the four/Bosh at the five, even played around with Battier at the four), and their own spacing of the floor by incorporating three point specialists Ray Allen, Mike Miller, and Shane Battier into their offense. The Heat realized the best way to maximize Lebron's ability (something that the Cavaliers would do for the next four years) was to space the floor for Lebron by putting four shooters around him and allow him to operate. And Lebron truly was maximized in this style, as he quickly adjusted to playing with spacing and shooting and had his best FG% season during the 2013-2014 season (56.7%) thanks to all the open space he had to operate. But despite Lebron's greatness, they were playing second fiddle to the Spurs. The Spurs and Popovich were the innovators of this new look style of basketball; their Finals performance is what truly initiated the Golden era of basketball. From the get go Lebron and the Heat were forced to play catch up.

2015-2018 Warriors

Yes the Cavaliers were able to steal one of these Finals from the Warriors, an absolute testament to just how great Lebron is. But once again, The Cavaliers were playing catch up in each of these finals. The Warriors took what the Spurs achieved and supplemented it with steroids, cocaine, and any other illicit drug one can think of. The Warriors had the perfect blend of players to utilize this system of passing and spacing, but were able to one up it by adding more pace and much more three point marksmanship. Lebron and the Cavaliers tried playing a similar style of basketball, and once again, Lebron was able to transform and elevate his game to play to this style. After rejoining the Cavaliers, Lebron averaged 4.54 three pointers per game (he averaged 3.96 threes per game prior to rejoining the Cavaliers), and even shot above 36% from distance his last two seasons. The Cavaliers as a team became one of the most frequent three point shooting teams in the league (top five every season since Lebron rejoined), a credit to the spacing the Cavaliers implemented in their offense and Lebron's ability to find open shooters in this spacing. Unfortunately, Lebron did not having the personnel equipped to play this style as effectively as teams like the Warriors; specifically defensively, as the Cavaliers tried to replicate the Warriors defensive versatility by switching most screens, but unlike the Warriors with players such as Draymond Green and now Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson do not have the lateral quickness to stay in front of perimeter players. Despite being the best player in the world, Lebron had no chance at beating the Warriors at their own game; he needed to be different, he needed to establish the style of play years before ever playing against this team.

The Paradox

Since 2015 most teams have tried adapting to this new style of play to match the play of the Warriors, to no avail. Some players have been successful in this style outside of the Warriors (i.e. James Harden), but none of these players transformed their game to the degree that Lebron did, and none of these players have yet to surpass Lebron as the best player on the planet Earth. That in itself is the greatness that we see from Lebron; the ability to transform his play to match the evolving style of the game while never losing his reign as the best basketball player in the world. But the paradox lies in the transformation; Lebron's greatness allowed him to adapt his game and still dominate, but his transformation was to match the style of play of the teams that beat him in the Finals. Jordan forced his style of play onto the NBA and reaped the benefits, Lebron adapted to other team's and player's style of player and accumulated failures. Therefore, what makes Lebron great is also what attributed to his Final's losses.

I know I just threw a lot out there, and am now just getting to the title of the article, so let me recap:

1. The best players and teams have dictated the style of play in the NBA

2. Jordan left the NBA stagnant for year due to "Jordan Worship"

3. When Lebron came into the league, it was still stagnant from the Jordan era

4. Lebron has played in two definitive eras of the game, and a transitional era in between, yet none of these eras were defined by Lebron's style of play

5. Lebron has been able to adapt his game throughout these eras to remain the best player in the league

Let's focus on the first, fourth, and fifth point to conclude. No other player has dominated the way Lebron has; not Jordan, not Bird, not Magic, not Wilt. It's this ability to dominate through all this change in the game that makes Lebron legendary. But Lebron is an adapter, not a game changer. To dictate the style of play throughout NBA history, one must be an innovator and have a unique skill set. Wilt used his size and athletic ability to dominate, Magic and Bird used their basketball IQ and competitive spirit to change the game, Jordan used his mentality and will to win to leave his mark, and in the last five years, Popovich and the Spurs used spacing and a team first mantra to transition the game while Steph Curry and the Warriors used shooting and pace to revolutionize the game. Lebron took elements of some of the NBA's greatest to become even better than those before him. But in doing this, Lebron is a product of past innovations. Lebron from the beginning was an adapter, and due to his innate athletic ability and God-given feel for the game was able to become great by doing this. But Lebron did not change the zeitgeist of the NBA during his career, other players and teams have done that during his time in the league. Because of this, he has had to fight an uphill battle in a majority of his Final's matchups. And thus, Lebron has become a paradox; his greatness comes from his ability to adapt, but at the same time, his ability to adapt has inhibited him from dictating the style of play and has subjugated him to the underdog, resulting in his biggest failures.