LeBron James, the kid from Akron, has had one of the most historic careers in the history of the National Basketball Association. Many people even consider him the greatest of all time for his respected sport.
During his career, James has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers for two different stints, the Miami Heat, and, currently, the Los Angeles Lakers. Over this course, he has won four championships: one with Cleveland, two with Miami, and one with Los Angeles.
But between all of his “eras” with different teams, which one is the greatest?
Brian Mualim, a writer for Bruin Sports, said it best: “To examine the anomaly which is LeBron’s career-long prime, we will be breaking down his career into his tenure across the four different teams he’s been on (he was on Cleveland on two separate occasions).”
Mualim also said, “In summary, our analysis has unveiled that LeBron James’ prime, as defined by scoring efficiency, steals, and blocks, aligns most prominently with Era 1, spanning his initial tenure in Cleveland from 2003 to 2010.”
Sean McCaffrey, a sports writer from The Edsman also thinks that his best era was his first time as a Cavalier, specifically in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons.
He wrote, “LeBron would single-handedly carry the Cavs past the Detroit Pistons, as he would score 29 of the last 30 points in this crucial game 5 for the Cavs” and “In a game against the highly favored Detroit Pistons, LeBron would go on a scoring tear that would shake the entirety of the basketball world.”
James’ first time in Cleveland was stellar, but in my opinion there was more production all around in Miami.
TheScore agrees with my opinion, saying, “While James has admitted he regrets the way he handled ‘The Decision,’ there’s no denying that his move to the Heat fundamentally shook the NBA” and “James may not have achieved the infamously lofty championship goals he laid out during his Miami introduction.
This is still where he accomplished the most success in his career, both individually and team wise.”
They explained his accomplishments as well, when they said, “He claimed two titles in four trips to The Finals – winning Finals MVP on both occasions – and also won two regular-season MVP awards.”
It is clearly visible why so many people consider LeBron James to be the greatest of all time, due to all the different teams and eras he was dominant in. However, above all his run in Miami should be remembered for decades to come.
