North Station Sports

At 24 years of age, LeBron has already been selected All-NBA (1st or 2nd team) and NBA All-Star every season since entering the league, he is a two time NBA All-Star game MVP and NBA rookie of the year. 

Now add to his achievements the 2009 NBA Most Valuable Player Award.

No one should deny that Lebron James will define this generation of NBA players but why does the NBA and sports media have to continually declare LeBron’s every move as historic? 

In my opinion, this denigrates all the legends that came before LeBron.

Lets take Michael Jordan for example. Jordan entered the league in the 1984-1985 season. Jordan won his first league MVP award in 1988 at the age of 25. By that time he was already an Olympic Gold Medalist, NBA Rookie of the Year, All NBA 1st team each year, Defensive Player of the Year (1988), selected All NBA Defensive First Team, selected NBA All-Star each season and the NBA All-Star game MVP (1988).

In 1988 Michael Jordan won the NBA League MVP, All-Star Game MVP and The NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards. Now THAT is historic domination at the tender age of 25! The only thing that would be lacking from Jordan’s resume was an NBA title. 

As we all know, Jordan would win Championships – SIX titles to be exact!

Was Michael Jordan’s five regular season MVPs less historic then LeBron winning today? How about Kareem Abdul-Jabar’s six league trophies? 

Bird won the award three consecutive times, Magic won it twice consecutively. 

Combined, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan won the MVP award every season from 1984 thru 1992. Between them they won 14 NBA Titles.

Lets not forget the leagues original Historic rivals, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain…

Russell won the award 5 times (three consecutively), Chamberain was a 4 time league MVP (three consecutively). They won 13 titles between them.

Those six legends that so dearly define NBA History account for 26 league MVPs of the 53 trophies that were awarded since 1956. Abdul-Jabar, Chamberlain, Bird, Johnson, Jordan and Russell have won 50% of the leagues awarded MVP trophies and none of them have suited up since 2001. These are the true members of the leagues “Historic Club”.

LeBron, congrats on a well deserved Most Valuable Player Award but it looks like you have some catching up to do before entering this elite and “historic class”… 

Please put away your “imaginary camera” tonight and play some “Magical” basketball, Amaze us with your “Wilt-like” strength and “Bird-like” fundamentals, Make the SPECTACULAR plays like “Air-Jordan” and lead your team to a championship while taking home the only MVP award that really counts… “The Bill Russell Most Valuable Player Award”. Most importantly, Remind us of why we love this game. That’s what they did so well. That’s whythey are a part of our lives and that’s why they are a part of American Sports History