EDITORIAL
BY KRISTOPHER SEALS
Hello Readers,
Hey, it’s me: The other guy. Let’s get to it…
I’m a basketball fan, and as someone with a platform, there is something I want to clear up right now. Ladies and gentlemen, LeBron James is NOT the greatest player of all time. Here are some reasons.
- The moment he took his talents to South Beach to ride Dwyane Wade to championship glory, he forfeited any right to it.
- Even if you do not think that is a big deal, then try this on for size. The first title he won with Miami was in a 66-game season cut short due to beef between the players and owners. He won the second title because Ray Allen saved him in Game 6. The third title came due to Draymond Green getting suspended. Finally, the fourth title came in the pandemic bubble, where guys wanted to be home rather than out and about with a virus spreading everywhere. Not one of those championships came without an asterisk.
- And then there are the losses. I don’t hold the first one in Cleveland against him, as the Spurs were a far better team. The loss to Dallas is not too bad, as Dirk Nowitzki proved why he was Hall of Fame worthy. However, the other losses are awful. First, the loss to the Spurs after the Heat beat them saw third-year player Kawhi Leonard named MVP, and then the next year, Andre Igoudala won the honor when LeBron went back to Cleveland. What do they have in common? They both won MVP after locking up LeBron. I’m sorry, but the “greatest player of all time” has no business getting locked up by a pre-Klaw Kawhi and a Sixth Man.
- Now for the biggest indictment. First, the Cavaliers lost back to back series to the Warriors after beating them in 2016. In 2017, Kevin Durant (more on that disappointment in a moment) won MVP – at LeBron’s expense. Now comes the #1 reason why LeBron CANNOT be the greatest ever: In 2018, Durant did it again. This means that he beat LeBron TWICE. If LeBron was truly the GOAT, then somebody else would have beaten Cleveland, as he would have handled Durant, and not have gotten done dirty by him TWICE in a row.
- Let’s contrast with the real GOAT: Michael Jordan. When he lost to the Pistons, he wasn’t scheming to take his talents to Detroit. He LITERALLY got his weight up and swept them! Also, NO ONE won an MVP off of Jordan for either locking him up or cooking him in the Finals. In fact, MJ never lost an NBA Finals, whereas LeBron has lost five times.
- Yes, he has the most points in history, but he was able to skip college and start his career sooner. In terms of dominance by numbers, all praise goes to Wilt Chamberlain, who was so dominant they had to change the rules. Otherwise, he’d probably have 45,000 points.
- In Jordan’s era, players were tougher and far more competitive. NBA stood for “No Babies Allowed.” You were actually allowed to play defense, hand check, and be hardcore (Just look at any footage of 1980s basketball). In LeBron’s era, players are soft. Not just soft, but S-A-W-F-T. If you look at someone in a threatening manner, it’s a Flagrant-2. And that’s if they actually play, and aren’t in street clothes due to “load management.” (I don’t mean every player, as guys like Anthony Edwards, Russell Westbrook, Harrison Barnes, etc. come to play with everything they have.)
- In conclusion, LeBron can be #2, but never #1, because he simply doesn’t deserve it. Quality over Quantity.
In a related matter, here’s some good news. It would appear that the era of NBA superstars riding other superstars to win championships is over. The Minnesota Timberwolves swept the Phoenix Suns out of the playoffs in the First Round. That means that the super trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal flamed out. Durant, who once again left a team to hook up with another star, like he did with the Warriors and Nets, was an afterthought. Most of all, he deserves it.
KD is the worst. After choking away a 3-1 lead against the Warriors in 2016, Durant took the saying, “If you can’t beat them, join them” to the highest extreme, signing with Golden State that offseason. He won two titles thanks to LeBron proving he’s not the GOAT. Then, he left for another superteam in the Nets. Despite booting a good coach in Kenny Atkinson, and having the likes of Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and trading for Ben Simmons, it failed exponentially. After that, he forced his way to Phoenix to ride Devin Booker, and eventually got Bradley Beal in a trade. In the blink of an eye, the Suns were eclipsed by the Wolves.
Moral of the story: Don’t ride other stars to the promised land. It’s not a good look.
Now that my NBA tangent is done, let’s deal with other matters. The first Trump trial has Biden fans happy about David Pecker’s testimony on the “catch and kill” technique. They think that it has torpedoed Trump entirely. Here’s the problem. The prosecution is trying to pass off the National Enquirer, which is associated with things like UFOs and Bigfoot, as a “legitimate” media publication. Also, Michael Cohen has not testified yet. If Cohen is found faulty, then it destroys everything, as any action will be linked solely to him and not Trump.
To no one’s surprise, Trump was found guilty of violating the gag order. He was fined $1,000 for each of the nine violations, and threatened with jail if he violated it further. While I’m not a fan of the guy, it seems strange that he cannot say anything, but Cohen is talking about Trump everywhere he can. If Trump loses, the matter will likely get appealed. Again, that’s if he loses. All he needs is just one juror to hold to a “not guilty” vote on all 34 counts.
Keep in mind, Bragg’s predecessor Cy Vance did not bother trying the case when it was a misdemeanor and still within the statute of limitations. If this case does stick, then I had better see some Democrats get charged, because you can pretty much guarantee that they have done “catch and kill” too. Otherwise, the legal system is a joke.
Then, there’s the other state case. Fani Willis doesn’t know how to sit down and shut up, and is ruining her chances to get a conviction. Also, like with Alvin Bragg’s case in New York, it seems the case is rooted in, pardon the pun, “Trumped Up” charges. The Georgia case is charging him in a RICO conspiracy. RICO is reserved for people like mobsters, and as much as you may not like him, Trump is not a mobster, just a sore loser like that guy you beat on a basketball court who says, “run it back.” With all the money and power at his disposal, if Trump REALLY got down like that, then people like Stormy Daniels and E. Jean Carroll would have had their cases settled “out of court.”
Finally, the conservatives on the Supreme Court basically feel that while they don’t particularly support absolute immunity for a President, they feel that these cases really came up because Trump is running for POTUS again. So, it will likely get kicked down to lower courts to force the trials to take place after the true and most legitimate trial takes place – the 2024 Presidential Election, where the American voters will be the jury – as it should be.
This whole situation is ironic. Biden was able to win in 2020 because the pandemic allowed him to isolate himself from the campaign trial and not beat himself. Now, Trump, who is normally incapable of not beating himself, is forced to isolate in court. These cases could backfire exponentially on the Democrats, and if Trump wins, they have only themselves to blame for blatant election interference via lawfare along with bad policies.
Have a nice week everyone.
