Photo Credit: AP/ USA Today
Fans love to speculate on who the best NBA player in history is. While some fans point at Kobe Bryant or Kareem Abdul Jabar, a vast number of fans have settled on either Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Of course, each side highlights their own milestones and varying factors in favor of their argument. A few weeks back, NBA Hall of Famer, Scottie Pippen, went on First Take and had a conversation with Stephen A. Smith about the matter. During the course of the discussion, Pippen pointed at notable distinction that separates Jordan from James: killer instinct.
What exactly is Pippen talking about?
Pippen, who played alongside Jordan, is touching on a mental drive that fans have grown to love. It’s a desire not just to win, but to completely dominate the game. In fact, as Pippen and Smith put it, it’s the want to demoralize your opponent. It doesn’t relent. It doesn’t give up. It’s the compulsive need to demolish whoever you are playing against that night. According to Pippen, its either you’re born with it or you’re not. To him, at least, James was not.
LeBron is one of the Greatest.
Now, in all fairness, this is merely Pippen’s opinion. There are relevant milestones that LeBron James has reached that put him head and shoulders above whole generations of players who came before him. He is still a top five of All-time player. He has four MVPs, three championships, a mountain of accolades, and at least three years before he retires. He is currently the best active player in the game, in spite of the fact that he is 34 years old. He is able to impact the stretch of a game in the way very few have.
The problem is that LeBron’s Lakers are on the precipice of missing the playoffs. His late game defense is under constant attack. Angry fans, and even certain media figures, are saying that the Lakers should even consider trading the “King.” Fans are concerned that when put between a rock and a hard place, James does not have the mentality to lead his team to greatness. He is lacking something, and that something is a killer instinct.
Can he be the Greatest without a killer instinct?
No one is arguing that Brian Scalabrine is giving James a run for his money in terms of greatness. King James is being compared to Michael Jordan, his Airness, and it’s not enough to be great. LeBron James is great, but so was Jordan. In fact, Jordan is considered to be the Greatest to ever do it. That is the threshold that LeBron has to overcome, and its hard see to be him doing that without that killer instinct. This is particularly true in light of the Lakers’ lack of success.
Jordan never lost in the finals. Bryant only lost twice. Abdul-Jabar lost four times. LeBron James has lost six times. However, you frame it, that’s a significant number of losses that arguably would not have happened if James possessed the instinct that Pippen is alluding to. There is a very prevalent argument here that James gives his opponents too much leeway in ways that Jordan and Bryant never would.
Now, this isn’t a debate about ability. Fans have seen LeBron dominate the game time and time again. He is in the top 10 for All-time assists, All-time scoring, and All-time Triple Doubles. He has the ability to do whatever he wants on the basketball court. This is a question of mindset, and according the Scottie Pippen, Lebron James just doesn’t have it.
In Conclusion
History is still being written and there is plenty of time for LeBron James to emerge as the best player ever. He is barely showing any signs of slowing down. Right now, with accepting to play limited minutes, James focus will probably be on next season. However, as this season and subsequent seasons unfold, he will have the chance to prove Pippen wrong. Time will only tell if he is successful.
The Soapbox 