LeBron James Forum

With his chase over now, Lebron has put up impressive numbers over the last 20 NBA seasons. He's top 10 in regular season points, games, minutes, FTs made, 2-point FG, 3-point FG, assists, and steals.

His playoff performance includes residing near the top of several categories (due to the postseason structure and the fact that his teams have reached the Finals 10 times).

He's signed through 2025, and will most likely be done by then (at age 40) if not sooner.

We're so conscious of him as a performing athlete, though he is a polarizing figure. Do you respect him for what he has brought to the game? How much more awareness has he created for the league, and do you feel he will be a true ambassador in his post-playing days?

I am not a fan of his. Sure he has won a lot and broke records but eventually his records will be broken too. Its easier to score now , just like football (Matt Ryan is top 10 in passing yards over Elway). The game has changed dramatically. I love basketball but not as much as i used to. 

I also grew up watching Jordan, who carried himself differently. Very Differently 

LeBron started out as a media creation and they have kept him

at the top of the heap for 20+ years.....

He was actually going to retire about 5 years ago....

But probably like Brady and Tiger, just couldn't live without

being in the limelight....

To answer the subject line question...ZERO.

The amount of disgust I have for him is hard to measure.  I have zero respect for him.  He is a great basketball player, but a horrible human being.  He has the ability to be a role model for a lot of young people, but he has chosen to show he is unable to do that.  So arrogant and so hateful.  I honestly don't think there is an athlete I abhor more than him.  So, basically I am not a fan of his.

I respect him as a player as one if not the greatest. As a person, I don't know enough about him one way or another. I didn't like the whole Miami Heat stretch of time where he made things all about him, but I figured that was part of the business of promotion. 

Ditto

I was just thinking about this in the car coming back from lunch. What I was thinking about was why do people feel the need to rank some of the greatest players? I assume to have something to talk about. I very much respect LeBron's accomplishments and he is one of the greatest to play the game. My opinion of him doesn't change because of what he has or hasn't done off the court. He is a basketball player and I could care less about what his opinions are off the basketball court. No different for me with an actor/actress. I'm not influenced by their opinions because they are famous.

I did not read all the comments before replying to your post, but I will say that he has brought something to each of the teams he has played for. With that said, I think people will like him or dislike him for different reasons.  When a player is on a team who does well, they sometimes become disliked by others simply because that player/player's team has had success against their own team.  An example of this would be Tom Brady...people either like him or dislike him because of his success. Currently, I am now seeing this with Mahomes where people just simply dislike him because of his success.  In addition, a player's attitude and persona will also impact people's like or dislike of a player.  Lebron on the other hand I feel is a great player, but sometimes comes off as dramatical/intitled and that's the part that I don't care for.  I try to ignore this in players and focus more on their ability to be successful. 

I think he's played too long, but he is damn good at what he does. I'm from the era of Bird and Kareem so my heart will always be in the 80s. Off the court, I've seen him spend time with his kids and wife and do things for his hometown of Akron OH.