Last week the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards battled it out in a tough seven game series. On both sides of the court the players looked gassed by the end of the series. It was a toughly fought series that culminated with the exhausted Celtics barely getting a win.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers had 9 days of rest. Rumor has it LeBron James was channeling Rocky Balboa and climbing mountains in Russia during that time, but those rumors could be unsubstantiated.
We don’t often get the opportunity to see something like Playoff LeBron in sports. A player that has the unique ability to hit this type of gear in the playoffs is truly a joy to watch.
We’ve seen players in the past turn it up in the playoffs occasionally. Michael Jordan certainly hit another level in the playoffs, we saw Shaq do it in the early 2000s and Kobe had an undeniable killer instinct. But this is different.
LeBron James has not only been historically dominant in the playoffs, but he has done so for a ridiculously long period of time. LeBron is in his fourteenth season. Players aren’t supposed to be dominating in their fourteenth season, let alone performing at one of the highest levels of their career.
LeBron is encroaching on the territory of going beyond comparison. He continues to play at an incredibly high level with such longevity that his GOAT status may soon be undeniable.
This year proved to be yet another notch in LeBron’s illustrious belt. After leading the league in minutes through the first half of the year, LeBron seemed to coast through the second half of the season.
Sports media went crazy, and a narrative began to emerge about whether LeBron may have met his match with father time. Would his reign of dominate in the Eastern Conference come to an end?
The first round of the playoffs put those doubts to rest pretty quickly. LeBron is having what is likely the best playoff run of his career. He has put up insane efficiency numbers while shooting a high volume of shots, something that is incredibly hard to do.
The question of who is the greatest basketball player of all time may never have a definitive answer. Guys like Jordan, LeBron, Kareem and Wilt have put together such amazing careers in different eras that it is hard to compare.
But LeBron is reaching a special territory. Because there is nobody like LeBron. And there probably never will be anyone like LeBron. All we can do now is sit back and watch the greatest player of this generation dominate like nothing we’ve ever seen before. All we can do is sit back and enjoy.
(Photo by: LA Times)
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