King James, at only 30 years old, has climbed his way into the seventh highest spot on this list. Remarkable, whether you agree with the ranking or not, it’s quite the statement. James is as dominant as they come, he has made virtually every team he has ever played on a contender. How many players can say that?
The biggest knock against LeBron James; is that he and the teams he carried on his back, kicking and screaming the whole way up I might add, didn’t always win. No one in history wins with the 2007 or 2015 Cavaliers, let’s just get that out of the way. He has played 12 NBA seasons, he has gone to the Finals 6 times during that span. This man is fighting for the title every other year.
James should have five MVP’s, some would argue he should have six MVP’s. Derrick Rose is fortunate voters were LeBron exhausted, not fatigued, but exhausted.
In the 12 seasons James has been in the league, he has finished in the top 10 for MVP voting each and every season. Aside from the four MVP’s already in James’s possession, he finished in the top three on four other occasions.
While James’s prime ball may have started its slow and steady roll down the hill, he still has some exceptional years ahead of him. He already sits 25h all time in points, 26th all time in assists, and 36th all time in steals.
*Justin Rowan (@Cavsanada has a statement prepared to defend his vote.=, or so he claims. . .)
The Resume:
First Overall Pick 2003 – Cleveland Cavaliers
11x All-Star
11x All-NBA
6x All-NBA Defense
Rookie of the Year
2x All-Star MVP
4x MVP
2x Finals MVP
2x Champion
How did the guys rank him?
The Flag Bearer: Justin Rowan (1).
The Barn Burner: Brian Geltzeiler and Lang Greene (10).
How did the other guys rank James: Matt Drappel (2), Josh Eberley (3), Robert Littal (4), James Holas (4), Adi Joseph (6), Marc Griffin (7), Will Reeve (7), Jacob Noble (8), Justin Termine (8), Shane Young (9), and Justin Salkin (9).
Average vote: 6.3
#6 Friday, October 2nd.
Don’t like it? Think we got it wrong? Maybe, just maybe we got it right? Let us know using the #HCHot50 hash-tag. Or give the contributors hell, contact info below. Any tweets with #HCHot50 may be featured on the site going forward, tweet us your feedback!
Contributors:
Josh Eberley – hoopscritic.com / Host of the @PullUpPodcastHC, @JoshEberley
Jacob Noble – hoopscritic.com / Host of the @PullUpPodcastHC, @JacobNoble_HC
James Holas – hoopscritic.com / BballBreakdown, @SnottieDrippen
Adi Joseph – sportingnews.com, @AdiJoseph
Matt Drappel – sportsnet.ca, @MattyD416
Justin Rowan – fearthesword.com / hoopslounge.com, @Cavsanada
Robert Littal – blacksportsonline.com, @BSO
Shane Young – hoopshabit.com, @YoungNBA
Justin Termine – Sirius XM NBA / cinesport.com host, @TermineRadio
Marc Griffin – hoopslounge.com / sportsnet.ca, @montrealmarc
Lang Greene – basketballinsiders.com, @LangGreene
Justin Salkin – hoopscritic.com / brooklynsbeat.com, @brooklynsbeat
Will Reeve – awfsports.com / Host of the All Weather Fan Podcast, contributor for hoopscritic.com @WillReeveJr
and of course,
Brian Geltzeiler – hoopscritic.com / Sirius XM NBA / the-cauldron.com / 120sports.com, @hoopscritic
Links to previous #HCHot50 pages:
HCHot50 Intro / Missed the Cut
#50 Pete Maravich
#49 Dave Cowens
#48 Wes Unseld
#47 Dolph Schayes
#46 Paul Pierce
#45 Kevin Durant
#44 Dominique Wilkins
#43 Chris Paul
#42 Bill Walton
#41 Gary Payton
#40 Elvin Hayes
#39 Clyde Drexler
#38 Allen Iverson
#37 Steve Nash
#36 Willis Reed
#35 George Mikan
#34 Patrick Ewing
#33 Kevin McHale
#32 Jason Kidd
#31 George Gervin
#30 Walt Frazier
#29 Dwyane Wade
#28 Rick Barry
#27 Bob Cousy
#26 Scottie Pippen
#25 John Stockton
#24 David Robinson
#23 Dirk Nowtizki
#22 John Havlicek
#21 Isiah Thomas
#20 Bob Pettit
#19 Kevin Garnett
#18 Charles Barkley
#17 Karl Malone
#16 Moses Malone
#15 Elgin Baylor
#14 Julius Erving
#13 Jerry West
#12 Hakeem Olajuwon
#11 Oscar Robertson
#10 Shaquille O’Neal
#9 Kobe Bryant
#8 Tim Duncan