King James belongs in the NBA's all-time starting five


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SALT LAKE CITY — Move over Larry Bird, the Boston Celtics legend no longer is in one man’s all-time starting basketball lineup.

By virtue of his scintillating performance in the NBA Finals, LeBron James now belongs in the select group of the five greatest players ever to play the game. The only question left is ranking among the top five.

Recognizing bias due to age and introduction to professional basketball, James joins my fantasy lineup of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan. Obviously, the list is debatable, particular for the generation that witnessed Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and others.

As great as Bird was in leading Boston to three NBA championships, he’s got to go in favor of James. The other four are no-brainers.

As any basketball fan would agree, Jordan’s accomplishments need no explanation. Most experts hail Jordan as the game’s all-time best player, a distinction that could last another generation.

With his size and ability, Johnson is the best ever to play point guard. The only statistic that concerned him was winning, which is why he won five NBA championships to go along with titles in high school and college.

Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, and Duncan both were dominating big men, combining for 11 championships between them. After these last two weeks and the other two titles he won with the Miami Heat, James belongs among the game’s best.

In leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA championship, James had a series for the ages. Over the seven games, he averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks. With Cleveland trailing in the series 3-1, James scored 41 points in Games 5 and Game 6 and then followed with a triple-double in the final game, which was on the Golden State Warriors’ home floor.

“Best player on the planet,” said Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving.

Without question.

Even though Golden State guard Stephen Curry is the two-time reigning Most Valuable Player, the NBA still belongs to James – just like it has for several years. No player comes close to matching his overall talent.

At 31 years old, James now is playing for his place in NBA history. In time, given his track record, James could replace Jordan as the game’s all-time best player.

Jordan was a financial goldmine for the NBA, moving into his prime at a time when the league needed marque replacements for Johnson and Bird. His flair for the dramatic, which led to the Chicago Bulls winning six NBA championships, catapulted Jordan to legendary status around the world.

But King James appears poised to take over Jordan’s throne.

At 6-foot-8 and listed at 250 pounds, James has the size the enables him to do more things that the 6-6 Jordan couldn’t do. For all of James’ impressive exploits on offense during the finals, the lasting impression will be his incredible blocked shot on Andre Iguodala with the Game 7 tied late in the fourth quarter.

No one can argue that James also has won in Cleveland with less talent than Jordan enjoyed with the Bulls. Irving might develop into a hall-of-fame player over the last next decade, but it is doubtful he will ever match the all-around talent of Jordan’s running mate, Scottie Pippen.

In the only full season Jordan missed during his first retirement, the Bulls won 55 games in 1993-94. There is no way this season’s version of the Cavaliers would have won 50 games without James.

It also seems silly now to criticize James for putting together an all-star team during the four years he teamed up with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade for the Heat. In the two seasons since James went home to Cleveland, the Heat have failed to win 50 games either time in a mediocre Eastern Conference.

The truth is, any team that has James is an automatic contender. One or two repeats of this year’s finals will elevate James to the all-time greatest player.

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