It is a huge discussion on who the greatest basketball player ever is, and the answer is simple. It is the kid out of Akron Ohio, 4x NBA Champion, Cavaliers Legend, Lebron Raymone James. I’m going to walk you through his first stint with the Cavaliers.
Not only is Lebron James the greatest person to ever pick up a basketball, but he has a great backstory. Lebron was raised by a single mother in Akron, Ohio. It is still a mystery as to who his father is, but besides these setbacks, Lebron was the best high school player in the country in 2002. He was even deemed as the chosen one in Sports Illustrated Magazine. He was then drafted into the NBA in 2003 when he was just 18 years old to his hometown team the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Lebron had a great rookie year with Cleveland. He had an average of 20.9 Points, 5.5 Rebounds, and 5.9 Assists per game. This gave him Rookie of The Year honors above guys like Carmelo Anthony and future teammates Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. The Cavs finished with a record of 35-47 despite having one all-star teammate Zydrunas Illgauskas. Having no good teammates and still having decent wins will be a common theme throughout Lebron’s career. Lebron also made first-team all-rookie. The Cavs sadly did not make the playoffs this year.
This did not discourage a young Lebron though. In year 2 of Lebron’s career, he averaged 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists. This gave Lebron his first all-star selection. The Cavs went 42-40 and barely missed out on the playoffs. Lebron then led the Cavs to a 50-32 record and averaged 31.4 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.6 assists. This amazing performance gave Lebron his second All-Star selection and his first all-NBA selection. Sadly in the semi-finals, Lebron and the Cavs lost against the Pistons lost the series 4-3.
Lebron led the Cavs to another 50-32 record, which gave him 5th in MVP Voting, NBA All-Star, All NBA Second Team, while he was averaging 27.3 Points, 6.7 Rebounds, and 6 assists. Lebron brought the Cavs to the finals against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. He ran through the competition in the playoffs despite having no all-star-caliber teammate beside him. Michael Jordan never won a playoff series without his running mate Scottie Pippen. The Spurs had other important pieces to their 5 championship dynasties besides Duncan. They had Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and Robert Horry. As you can expect for one superstar going up against 4 other superstars, Lebron got swept in the finals. This is still great progress for a young superstar.
Lebron James won his first MVP award in the next year which was 2008-2009. His averages were 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.2 assists. He had this great stat line with consistency and led his team in all of these major categories. He played 81 games out of 82. He got his fifth All-Star and took the Cavs back to the playoffs getting a record of 66-16. They would lose to the conference finals against the Orlando Magic 4-2. This was Lebron’s first MVP award, and has cemented himself as an NBA and Cleveland great at this point.
Lebron won his second MVP title in back-to-back years having averages of 29.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 77.3 assists throughout 76 games in 2009-2010. He was also selected to be an all-star. Lebron then sadly lost to the Celtics 4 games to 2 in the semifinals.
Lebron then leaves to join the Miami Heat to play with 2006 Finals MVP Dwayne Wade and All-Star Chris Bosh. The city of Cleveland hated him for leaving despite what he had done for the franchise. The Big 3 won 2 championships. One over the Oklahoma City Thunder with 2 future MVPs Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. The other championship in 2013 over the Spurs with Duncan, Parker, and new upcoming star future 2x NBA Champion 2x Finals MVP Kawahi Leonard. Lebron then loses 2 finals to Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks and The Spurs Dynasty.
This is how Lebron’s first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers went and don’t worry, in his second stint he beat the greatest team of all time by record and greatest Dynasty The Golden State Warriors. They were led by the greatest 3-point shooter ever Stephen Curry, the third greatest 3-point shooter of all time Klay Thomspon, and one of the greatest rebounders of all time Draymond Green.
