NBA: 5 thoughts from ESPN’s top 74 all-time greats list

1. LeBron James is a generational talent, but we can’t ignore his NBA Finals shortcomings

Rank: 2 

LeBron James is the greatest basketball player in the 21st century. That alone solidifies his standing as one of the top five greatest players of all-time. His talent as a driver of the basketball and a passer of the rock is undeniable. Yet, his physical dominance and unselfish ability as a wing player allowed him to receive playoff success at an early age (Never lost a first-round playoff series) and achieve higher rates of success with team’s surrounded with pretty mediocre talent.

However, to have James be the second-best player ever behind Michael Jordan is still an extreme stretch.

From an accolade perspective, James has it all. He’s averaged 27, seven, and seven throughout his 17-year career. In his two 30-point per game seasons, he shot over 50 percent from the field while shelling out seven and nearly eight assists per game. For a pass-first small forward, he has an innate ability to get buckets in bunches due to his raw athleticism, bruising physical body, and a deft touch around the rim.

Form a longevity perspective, he’s outdone adversaries such as Kobe, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh. Individuals within his peer group he’s outlasted in terms of not just playing but performing at a high level. His greatness is personified, but there’s still the fact that James hasn’t been able to consistently elevate his team to NBA Finals’ success no matter his individual talent. That alone keeps him out of the top three.

James is 3-6 in his nine NBA Finals experiences and his two pitfalls versus the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs probably robbed him from truly contending for Goat Status. The Mavericks’ series was a memorable flop in which his inability to navigate through a zone defense prevented the Heat from probably having a three-peat. The team’s rematch with the Spurs in the 2014 Finals could be revered as a case of a team going against an adversary on a revenge mission, but the Heat was probably an LBJ Game 1 non-cramp game from going up 2-0 in that series.

Then who knows? That second Spurs series was more winnable than what people realize. It’s hard to put an individual with a sub-.500 Finals record ahead of Kareem, Magic, and even Bill Russell. LBJ’s greatness and longevity as a talent ensure that he belongs on Basketball’s Mount Rushmore. He just should probably be the last face to the right that we pay to see as we pay homage to the monument.