LeBron: Scoring title always mine -- if I want it

[Spectrum]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5030453

LeBron James is on pace to claim his second scoring title after topping the league in 2007-08, when he was a year removed from leading the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals.

Given the choice of either, though, James was emphatic in claiming he could win the scoring championship at will.

“

If I really wanted to be the scoring [champion] every single year -- every single year -- I could really do it. But it doesn't matter.
”
-- LeBron James


But it's the team titles that hold the key, he said.

"It's not important to me at all. I mean right now our team is in a position to try to clinch throughout the whole playoffs," James said of home-court advantage Thursday in San Antonio, where the Cavaliers play the Spurs on Friday night. "That's what position we're in right now. If we can do that, that will be more important than a scoring title. I mean, individual accolades take care of [themselves]."

James, who led the league in minutes played and field goals in two of his first five seasons, picked up his only scoring title in his fourth year. He again leads the NBA in scoring with 29.8 points per game, total points with 2,086 and field goals with 707.

And the Cavs hold a comfortable position in the Eastern Conference standings, seven games in front of second-place Orlando with 10 games left in the regular season.

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

King James ... he'll get a title or two before he retires in 10 + years.

 

[cincitystudios]

They betta get that shit this year


An he right, he could get the scoring title easily, but fuck that... Bring a 'Ship back to the State

 

[RoadRage]

Due to the amounts of blow outs, he often sits out big mins during the 4th quarter, there have been a few games where he scored 14pts with around 7 shots, during a 20 point blow away. These games he could have easily got 30 or more points if he so choose, this is the main reason why Durant would not come close to winning the MVP, this year.

 

[gene cisco]

People kill me with this Carmello or Kobe are better scorers than him. Lebron could blaze shit even more if that was his game, if you watch AAU film to high school it never was his game.

What I find crazy is the triple double for the season in the modern NBA. If he wins a title while doing that............ He has nice teammates but his big men blowing easy plays lose him about 3 assists a game.

 

[NewYorkBound]

That's rather ... arrogant of Lebron.

 

[Diamels]

Good to see his priorities are straight...

 

[Ming Fei Hong]

King James ... he'll get a title or two before he retires in 10 + years.

How does one become King without a single crown to one's name?

 

[NewYorkBound]

How does one become King without a single crown to one's name?

The rules are different for Lebron.

I noticed that after Kobe won his first without Shaq, championships were no longer the true mark of greatness. "Everyone" on BGOL started saying that Robert Horry has seven, as if a bench-warmers rings are in any way comparable to a major contributor to a teams offense.

The extent of every elite players greatness has been determined by their number of rings. Lebron will be no exception. I'm sure, the moment 'Bron starts to win rings, it'll be a valid means of determining a star degree of greatness. If Lebron doesn't win more than two, no one is going to tell me that his career wasn't something of a disappointment. Calling someone a team player, and they don't have rings is pointless. Apparently, the way you played the game, while impressive, was not enough.

I expect for Lebron to win rings - because he truly seems to desire them - but the bar can't be lowered for him.

 

[RoadRage]

That's rather ... arrogant of Lebron.

Well consider that Durant and Melo both play a up tempo offense where they shoot 10 secs after with in the 24 sec shot, vs the fact that James plays a set half court offense where they often shoot 23 secs deep yet James is still leading the league in scoring, goes to show that not only is his statement true, but its humble of him to sacrifice numbers for the good of the system.
Magic Johnson never won a scoring title, but could have if he played under a different system and if it was his desire to score more.

 

[Mt. Yukon]

People kill me with this Carmello or Kobe are better scorers than him. Lebron could blaze shit even more if that was his game, if you watch AAU film to high school it never was his game.

What I find crazy is the triple double for the season in the modern NBA. If he wins a title while doing that............ He has nice teammates but his big men blowing easy plays lose him about 3 assists a game.

This shit is damn near never ending. Bron is the better athlete by far, meaning, hes bigger, stronger, faster etc than either of them... That makes him an impossible matchup, but that doesnt make him a better scorer. Kobe and Melo score in more ways than just dribble and pull up, or dribble, put your head down and bullrush to the hoop. If Bron was two steps slower could he dominate the same way??? No... Bron is like a WR who runs a 4.2, but cant run routes well and has avg hands. If he wasnt the freak he is, would he still be great??? Melo will still be balling at an allstar level when hes 33, as will Druant, just like Kobe. But unless Bron starts to work on his fundamentals for life after the athleticism Bron is gonna erode like muthafucka. Keep the stats argument because thats not indicative of fundamentals.

 

[John_Gault]

How does one become King without a single crown to one's name?

And no matter HOW MANY TIMES I say that this 'KING' moniker is 'PREMATURE', I ALWAYS . . . ALWAYS get clumsy rebuttals that basically ends up SELF-SONNING the defenders.

Tum 'bout, "All he's missing is a TITLE tho'. . . You know he gon' get that!"

"He a beast"

"He a man-child" . . .


SMH at sports heads that WON'T(or can't) separate the 'marketing' from the GAME.

James is the FUTURE of the LEAGUE . . . until he gets that 'SHIP! Good call MFH.

JG

 

[RoadRage]

How does one become King without a single crown to one's name?

Well with what he had to work with until now, he gets a pass, remember his talent that he played with, was virturally the same as Kobe's in his prime, when the Lakers could not make the playoffs.
I think James gets a pass the way Jordan got a pass (well at least should have) before Pippen, when he was playing with the Jordanetts.

 

[NewYorkBound]

Well consider that Durant and Melo both play a up tempo offense where they shoot 10 secs after with in the 24 sec shot, vs the fact that James plays a set half court offense where they often shoot 23 secs deep yet James is still leading the league in scoring, goes to show that not only is his statement true, but its humble of him to sacrifice numbers for the good of the system.
Magic Johnson never won a scoring title, but could have if he played under a different system and if it was his desire to score more.

RoadRage, their is nothing humble about a guy who refers to himself as King (The license plate wasn't forced upon him). Lebron doesn't have to be an angel to be great.

Any athlete that has been catered to as much as, and for as long as Lebron James has, will hardly be humble. The only humble elite athlete's were Duncan and Barry Sanders. The latter because he was short, and the former because I'm sure he has some severe personality deficiency.

 

[RoadRage]

RoadRage, their is nothing humble about a guy who refers to himself as King (The license plate wasn't forced upon him). Lebron doesn't have to be an angel to be great.

Any athlete that has been catered to as much as, and for as long as Lebron James has, will hardly be humble. The only humble elite athlete's were Duncan and Barry Sanders. The latter because he was short, and the former because I'm sure he has some severe personality deficiency.

Hey its a nick name, a play on his name, Duncan and Sanders had different types of personalities, but as far as willing to sacrifice numbers to win, James is as humble as you get. Remember in the Olympic team he sacrificed net numbers and a chance to win a MVP by playing power forward. James was too busy crashing the boards, setting picks, clearing the lanes, basically doing most of the dirty work, so that both Wade and Kobe could be the primary focus on scoring and getting good looks for their shots.
That may have flown over your radar, but for a dominant scorer like James, that is a humbling pill to swallow and not say a word about it.

 

[curryshotta]

People get mad at Lebron for being nicknamed the King, yet slavishly yell Black Mamba, a moniker given to himself by Kobe and repeated ad nauseum by silly fans.

Look if you dont like LeBron fine but quite the silly arguments.

LeBron has improved every year he has been in the league and unless he gives people a reason to doubt him, he should continue to improve.

People say he is only athleticism. No the league is full of athletes, they dont do what he does.

 

[ClevelandDawg216]

first off, he's telling the truth. second, it's just another reason for sour puss niggas to be mad. i swear for niggas to say how much they hate lebron, they never miss a chance to run up in his threads.

 

[killa kadafi191]

it's not like he is lying.

He can get to the paint anytime he wants.

He can get to line as much as he likes.

I could go on but no need we all know what this man can do.

 

[massdagod]

Any top scorer can win the scoring title if they wanted to..

but uhm... Kobe Bryant said this last year...

(paraphrase)

"I can easily average 35+ ppg and lead the league is scoring. but thats not what im trying to accomplish... I desire RINGS" - Kobe


this aint like the 70's were the scoring title meant a lot to players..... where cats would try to win scoring titles at the end of the season and put up 60-70 points.
it means nothing to players now.

 

[Mask]

Hey its a nick name, a play on his name, Duncan and Sanders had different types of personalities, but as far as willing to sacrifice numbers to win, James is as humble as you get. Remember in the Olympic team he sacrificed net numbers and a chance to win a MVP by playing power forward. James was too busy crashing the boards, setting picks, clearing the lanes, basically doing most of the dirty work, so that both Wade and Kobe could be the primary focus on scoring and getting good looks for their shots.
That may have flown over your radar, but for a dominant scorer like James, that is a humbling pill to swallow and not say a word about it.

Road, that's real talk. It seems like folks just think Bron got to much handed to him, and didn't even produce yet(a ship). Well some of us feel that a ship dont define your career(myself). WhAt this cat have done in his short stay in the NBA is outstanding so far.

 

[Blaq]

I think James gets a pass the way Jordan got a pass (well at least should have) before Pippen, when he was playing with the Jordanetts.

Good that you included that part because Jordan didn't get a pass. In fact, it was a while before he was really acknowledged as being a great player. Lebron has been given God status without having accomplished many noteworthy goals.

He's in year seven, so it would help if he were to win a championship this year. He's probably midway through his career and the clock is ticking. For the Lebron fans, what has he done so far to compare him to either MJ or Kobe?

 

[massdagod]

LOL

a ship is what I solely base success on.


I go to the park, I wanna play a pickup game, I dont want a person who used to winning on my squad....



same w/ the NBA... when Lebron win some rings, call me.... but Miss me w/ all this hype.



Lakers = 2010 Champs

 

[ClevelandDawg216]

Good that you included that part because Jordan didn't get a pass. In fact, it was a while before he was really acknowledged as being a great player. Lebron has been given God status without having accomplished many noteworthy goals.

He's in year seven, so it would help if he were to win a championship this year. He's probably midway through his career and the clock is ticking. For the Lebron fans, what has he done so far to compare him to either MJ or Kobe?

youngest player in nba history to score 15,000 points.

 

[RoadRage]

Any top scorer can win the scoring title if they wanted to..

but uhm... Kobe Bryant said this last year...

(paraphrase)

"I can easily average 35+ ppg and lead the league is scoring. but thats not what im trying to accomplish... I desire RINGS" - Kobe


this aint like the 70's were the scoring title meant a lot to players..... where cats would try to win scoring titles at the end of the season and put up 60-70 points.
it means nothing to players now.

Please, as many shots as Kobe put up last year.
Lets face the facts, LeBron shoots for a much higher % than Kobe and takes far less shots per game, yet James scored more points, hey its not rocket science, do the math. This is why I seriously doubt if he is in the same position that James is in to make that statement, he could have scored more, if he were to shoot more.

 

[gene cisco]

This shit is damn near never ending. Bron is the better athlete by far, meaning, hes bigger, stronger, faster etc than either of them... That makes him an impossible matchup, but that doesnt make him a better scorer. Kobe and Melo score in more ways than just dribble and pull up, or dribble, put your head down and bullrush to the hoop. If Bron was two steps slower could he dominate the same way??? No... Bron is like a WR who runs a 4.2, but cant run routes well and has avg hands. If he wasnt the freak he is, would he still be great??? Melo will still be balling at an allstar level when hes 33, as will Druant, just like Kobe. But unless Bron starts to work on his fundamentals for life after the athleticism Bron is gonna erode like muthafucka. Keep the stats argument because thats not indicative of fundamentals.

What's next? Next thing you know cats will say if Lebron wasn't 6'8" and he was 5'9" he wouldn't be in the league. It's not his fault he is a freak. If he slows down he will just become like Magic(Magic is lebron with less athletic ability). So yes he can still be an all-star at 33. People just forget how much of a freak he is. Court awareness will be there.

And why are these other cats bringing up rings. This thread is about a fucking scoring title. It could come across the AP that Lebron just saved a baby from a pit bull attack and BGOL posters would be like "So what, he ain't shit until he gets a ring!!!"

What's that? Lebron was just robbed at gunpoint. BGOL poster "At least we know he didn't get robbed for a championship ring!!!"

You guys.

 

[Blaq]

youngest player in nba history to score 15,000 points.

Don't take it personal, fam. Just like to hear others' perspective.

I knew that one would come up, and this happened fairly recently. Before this, what would you have listed since he was great in ya'll minds before he'd reached that accomplishment?

Lebron is a good player. No one can deny that, but point to other major accomplishments that would rank with the greatest that we've seen so far. How is it that he can be justified as "The King?"

Imo a lot of the players are given elevated status before they actually earn it.

 

[Mt. Yukon]

What's next? Next thing you know cats will say if Lebron wasn't 6'8" and he was 5'9" he wouldn't be in the league. It's not his fault he is a freak. If he slows down he will just become like Magic(Magic is lebron with less athletic ability). So yes he can still be an all-star at 33. People just forget how much of a freak he is. Court awareness will be there.

And why are these other cats bringing up rings. This thread is about a fucking scoring title. It could come across the AP that Lebron just saved a baby from a pit bull attack and BGOL posters would be like "So what, he ain't shit until he gets a ring!!!"

What's that? Lebron was just robbed at gunpoint. BGOL poster "At least we know he didn't get robbed for a championship ring!!!"

You guys.

Im not sayin Lebron isnt a great player, simply that I take into acount HOW you score as part of my opinon of how great of a scorer you are. Bron is the most gifted, but not the beat scorer in the league.

 

[sammyjax]

People get mad at Lebron for being nicknamed the King, yet slavishly yell Black Mamba, a moniker given to himself by Kobe and repeated ad nauseum by silly fans.

Look if you dont like LeBron fine but quite the silly arguments.

LeBron has improved every year he has been in the league and unless he gives people a reason to doubt him, he should continue to improve.

People say he is only athleticism. No the league is full of athletes, they dont do what he does.

the inference is different. king infers rule over all else, the highest, etc... black mamba's just a fucking snake. entirely different connotation. so this point is actually a 'silly argument'. i'm a fan of both, so i don't give a fuck, just had 2 point that out

first off, he's telling the truth. second, it's just another reason for sour puss niggas to be mad. i swear for niggas to say how much they hate lebron, they never miss a chance to run up in his threads.

c'mon man...it's a forum, not a 'don't comment unless you agree with the OP' board. you sound like divine.

 

[RoadRage]

Don't take it personal, fam. Just like to here others' perspective.

I knew that one would come up, and this happened fairly recently. Before this, what would you have listed since he was great in ya'll minds before he'd reached that accomplishment?

Lebron is a good player. No one can deny that, but point to other major accomplishments that would rank with the greatest that we've seen so far. How is it that he can be justified as "The King?"

Imo a lot of the players are giving elevated status before they actually earn it.

Well he became the best player during the time were Kobe was king. How many people can say they did that?

 

[RoadRage]

Im not sayin Lebron isnt a great player, simply that I take into acount HOW you score as part of my opinon of how great of a scorer you are. Bron is the most gifted, but not the beat scorer in the league.

Make no mistake, he is the hardest player to stop from scoring, due to the many ways he can score on you. He was able to score 40 plus vs the Celtics and almost beat them, the year the Celtics beat the Lakers. And most of those points where with the whole Celtic team collapsing on him. Kobe always had weapons to keep the Celtics from clasping on him like.

 

[ClevelandDawg216]

c'mon man...it's a forum, not a 'don't comment unless you agree with the OP' board. you sound like divine.

who?

i just find it funny it's the same niggas saying the same shit, regardless of the topic. what james actually said should be respected by any lover of basketball, because he basically said, it's all about team first, and he doesn't worry about individual awards for himself. how this fuck this turned into a discussion on how he hasn't done shit, or earned a got-damn "nickname" is beyond me.

 

[Blaq]

Well he became the best player during the time were Kobe was king. How many people can say they did that?

That's a matter of opinion. I happen to think that Kobe is the best player in the league.

 

[RoadRage]

That's a matter of opinion. I happen to think that Kobe is the best player in the league.

What have Kobe done to prove he is the best player this year or last? Sure he won a championship, however he also played on a better team, thats like me and my boys beating Usain Bolt and a bunch of midgets in a relay race, does that make me faster than Bolt?
Or does that say how sucky his teammates must be?

 

[heiesuke]

He aint lying, he's too unselfish, a real fucking baller is what he is. Makes his team better, they wanna play with and for him cuz look at how he plays. That dude could go down as one of the best ever.

 

[ClevelandDawg216]

Don't take it personal, fam. Just like to hear others' perspective.

I knew that one would come up, and this happened fairly recently. Before this, what would you have listed since he was great in ya'll minds before he'd reached that accomplishment?

Lebron is a good player. No one can deny that, but point to other major accomplishments that would rank with the greatest that we've seen so far. How is it that he can be justified as "The King?"

Imo a lot of the players are given elevated status before they actually earn it.

Following are more comparisons of James and Bryant had achieved by the age of 25 years and 22 days.

REGULAR SEASON

James Bryant

Games 514 496

Minutes 20,763 16,826

Min. avg. 40.4 33.9

FG % .474 .456

FT % .741 .831

3-Pt. % .332 .332

Points 14,236 10,658

Pts. avg. 27.7 21.5

Rebounds 3,607 2,458

Reb. avg. 7.0 5.0

Assists 3,482 2,060

Ast. avg. 6.8 4.2

Steals 894 714

St. avg. 1.7 1.4

Blocked shots 445 320

Blk. avg. 0.9 0.6

Turnovers 1,692 1,339

TO Avg. 3.3 2.7

PLAYOFFS

James Bryant

Games 60 97

Minutes 2,629 3,583

Min. avg. 43.8 36.9

FG % .452 .445

FT % .744 .786

3-Pt. % .301 .349

Points 1,761 2,155

Pts. avg. 29.4 22.2

Rebounds 496 473

Reb. avg. 8.3 4.9

Assists 436 407

Ast. avg. 7.3 4.2

Steals 98 119

St. avg. 1.6 1.2

Blocked shots 48 82

Blk. avg. 0.8 0.8

Turnovers 223 258

TO avg. 3.7 2.7