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It’s been 10 years, but Lebron James is finally talking like someone who wants to go down as the greatest that’s ever played. We’ve all known that he has the talent to a be a legend from the moment he stepped on a court back in 2003, but at Monday’s Miami Heat press conference, James finally sounded like a guy who’s striving to be number one.
“I want to be the greatest of all time. As my talent continued to grow, as I continued to know about the game, appreciate the game, continued to get better, I felt like I had the drive, first of all, the passion, the commitment to the game to place myself as the greatest of all time, the best of all time, however you want to categorize it.”
He added that he doesn’t view his quest to be the best as him against another player, but that he only does it for his own inspiration.
His confidence is clearly at an all-time high, as it should be. If winning back-to-back titles doesn’t give you a little shot in the arm, something is wrong with you. But many thought this would be the case. Once he got that first taste of gold, look out. So far that’s been true.
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While most level-headed basketball fans can see that it’s way too early to compare James to Michael Jordan, the chatter is still going to be there. Everybody knows MJ is the best of all time, so Lebron will be endlessly compared to him, simply because he is that good.
I’m just glad to hear James finally embracing the quest to be the best. But as I’ve maintained from the beginning of his career, let’s start the MJ-Lebron debate when the King has a few more rings. I’m not saying he has to win six to be in the conversation, but let’s see if he can pull off a three-peat first. You know, that thing Jordan did twice.
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