Full Story - ESPN.com

*RANT*

So, apparantly LeBron James' basketball shoe goes on sale tomorrow. Does anyone think this deserves a front page headline on ESPN.com? I sure as hell don't. One of the finest cable channels in all the land is finally irritating me with all of their LeBron stories, highlights, anecdotes, etc. Honestly, what has the guy done? He's good, he has potential to be great, but RIGHT NOW, today, what seperates him from Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, on and on and on. Every night ESPN feels they have to show a highlight of him, even if he isn't playing! And the Cavs suck, they are nothing but bottom dwellers in their own division, and every game that ESPN has televised, James' seems to shy away in the 4th quarter, the time when good players become GREAT players.

I don't know, I just feel there is alot of more talented basketball players out there than just this one guy. And my problem isn't him. My problem isn't where he will be in 3-4 years. What I hate is we all live right now, today, and he's not even a top 10 player in the league, yet his stupid shoe gets more publicity than Kevin Garnett's 35-10-10 triple double performance last night over Dallas.

If only for the sake of making ESPN and every other bandwagon rider look stupid...GO CARMELO!

*DONE*

The reason why James is such a story is because he optimizes the American Dream. A young poor kid from the ghetto and now he's rich. That's what America is all about and that's why he gets so much air time. I don't like it either but until you yanks change your ideologies on who to envy James will always be a front pager.

i dont like it either. he got WAY too much attention when he was in high school, and right now is very overrated. he is a slightly above average player at best. he has yet to show me anything. the potential is there but hes got a long way to go.

What can you say, LeBron is going to be the next jordan. He has the skill.
That is if he can straighten up and mature a little. Hes in a professional sport and he needs to act like it. He needs to NOT become a rodman, or kobe (cockyness wise not rapist wise, well hell since im on it either) or even shaq. He needs to learn how to become a leader.

i don't know what yall are talking about. i can't get enough coverage of lebron. there is not one player in the nba i'd rather watch.

You want to know why LeBron shows up on the highlight reels? Well here's 6 reaons:
• Ranks 20th in NBA in Points Per Game (18.7)
• Ranks 4th in NBA in Minutes Per Game (40.2)
• Ranks 5th among rookies in Rebounds Per Game (6.0)
• Ranks 11th in NBA in Assists Per Game (6.0)
• Ranks T-1st among rookies in Points Per Game (18.7)
• Ranks 2nd among rookies in Assists Per Game (6.0)

And this kid is straight out of high school and just look at his numbers... Why does he have to be one of the top 20 players in the league to have a few highlights? He's just a great all around player to watch, he's young and his energy shows the entire game. Its hilarious how most said he would flop but look at where he's at now.

Edit: @soloredd -> Your boy KG was only averaging 10.4 points his first year, about the same for rebounds, and only about 30 minutes a game compared to LeBron. Yes, the truth does hurt.

Blah, blah, blah...

Spit all the statistics out you want; it doesn't change the fact that you A) didn't read my post or B) fail to comprehend the reason behind my post. I am not bashing LeBron. My problem isn't him, it's the fact that every single night I have to hear about him when he isn't even the top 5 best players in the league RIGHT NOW.

Shaq, Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson...you telling me that this very minute LeBron is better than them? Or Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce, Baron Davis..etc, etc, etc. Please. He won't even win Rookie of the Year; it's going to be either Carmelo Anthony or Dwayne Wade.

And speaking of the nice little numbers you put up: LeBron is playing 40 minutes a game. Know why? His team SUCKS. Hell, Allen Iverson plays less minutes than him, and every year previously, Iverson lead in minutes played per game. When Kevin Garnett came into the league he had Stephon Marbury & J.R. Rider (if I remember correctly). KG wasn't even the focus of his team at the time. Again, I'm not saying James is horrible, he has game, he has talent/potential and he probably will be a great player.

And he is NOT going to be the next Jordan as a basketball player. At this point in Michael's rookie year, he had already won an NCAA championship and a gold medal in the Olympics.

lebron has more talent straight out of high school than any of the players you just named, only maybe kareem had as much talent

Go LeBron!!!

LeBron doesn't have to be one of the top 5 players in the league right now to sell shoes. You can't think of it that way. He is too young.

It is all about potential. Think of Lebron James as a Stock. In 5 years, that stock is going to go through the roof. That is Lebron. he is the real-deal. In 5 years, he will be the best player in the game, and all he needs is a #2 man to give cleveland a championship. Michael had Scotty, Kobe had Shaq, give LeBron a #2 man, and you have your championship.

Maybe, but hes getting the hype right now. And its really hard to compare him to Mike and Kobe since they had time to mature before becomming superstars. Whos to say he wont end up like the others? Grant Hill or Harold Miner (Baby Jordan). You cant call anyone the real deal until they won it all, several times.

To me right now it's all about Carmello. He has won. He won the NCAA championship on an ok team. What has Lebron won? The high school championshiop. Whupee. Carmello has led the Nuggetts to more wins already then all last year. He's averaging 22 ppg. He's out played Lebron twice head to head. Where's the respect for the true potential of the league?

carmelo's team is better, it has nothing to do with them head to head

Compare stats. He did well and James flopped.

Of course you're going to score more points when you have better guys on your team feeding you the ball...Carmello is a natural shooter, why would they not give it to him. I kinda see LeBron developing into a 3-man or even sometimes a smaller strong forward.

Also, like you said, theres not much that LeBron has had the chance to win...Carmello actually went to college for one year and his team got the chance to win the championship. As opposed to LeBron would have enough talent to be recruited as a high school senior. It seems as though the # of highlights has lessened for LeBron but he is still a very high contributing factor to his team. I think he's going to turn out to be a great player in the years to come.

I agree with the great player thing but come on. Carmello has turned the Nuggetts around. The Cavs still suck. Maybe Lebron will be a star but at the moment Carmello has shown me that he can already win in the big times. All I want is a little respect for the one young guy in this debate who will take his team to the playoffs. That's all from me. Peace out.