Putting greatness in perspective in the year 17

LeBron James just proved he’s the best player in the world in Year 17. Let’s put that in perspective.

LeBron James just won his fourth NBA Championship and fourth Finals MVP with three different teams (most recently with the Los Angeles Lakers). Despite losing this season’s MVP to Giannis Antetokounmpo, he continues to prove that he is the best when it matters most.

But being the best basketball player in the world in his 17th year? We say it all the time, but I don’t think we really appreciate what it means to be the best. so far in one’s career.

So to put things in perspective, let’s compare LeBron James to other players in his 17 years.

And if you predict this will be an unfair comparison: well, it is. LeBron James is, himself, unfair.

Among the 60 players in LeBron James’ draft class, only three still play in the NBA.

These are LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kyle Korver. Among the three, only LeBron remains an All-Star, much less the first MVP runner-up of the season.

Melo is a former superstar and scoring champion, but at age 17, and after being out of the NBA for a while, he established himself in the league as a role player for the Portland Trail Blazers. Korver is an All-Star once, but in year 17, he is a third stringer averaging just over six points per game.

The 57 remaining players from the 2003 NBA Draft are no longer in the league.

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, former superstars and teammates of LeBron’s Big 3 on the Miami Heat, have now retired from the game. The other former All-Stars in his draft class, David West, Chris Kaman, Josh Howard and Mo Williams have also hung up on him. The second pick, Darko Milicic, is probably somewhere in Eastern Europe balancing life as a boxer and a farmer.

Four of the 57 continue to play professionally abroad; these are Carlos Delfino, Maciej Lampe, Syzmon Szewczyk and Andreas Glyniadakis.

The remaining 54 have completely retired from professional basketball. Many have landed coaching or front office positions, most notably Luke Walton, who is now the head coach of his third NBA team. Some have joined the media, like Dwyane Wade on TNT and Kendrick Perkins on ESPN.

And LeBron James? With nearly everyone in his draft class retired, trying to build a new life outside of basketball, and a couple settling into role-playing players, LeBron remains the King of the NBA. Without a doubt, he’s by far the king of his draft class.

But how does he compare to the rest of the NBA legends in year 17?

Of the “50 Greatest Players in NBA History,” only nine were still playing in the NBA in Year 17.

These nine were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Robert Parish, Scottie Pippen, and John Stockton. Of the nine, only three were All-Stars in year 17: Kareem, Shaq and Karl Malone.

Of these three, only Kareem was remotely a candidate for MVP, finishing fifth in the 1985-1986 MVP vote. Shaq and Malone didn’t even get a single vote for MVP in their 17 years in 2009 and 2002, respectively.

But LeBron James? He finished second in the MVP career in his seventeenth year. And before we dismiss this second place as one more loss for LBJ, read this article in which I argue that silver medals are medals too.

Or don’t ask me. Ask Scottie Pippen, who has played with and against some of the best basketball players in history. He recently said on The Jump:

LeBron James has been in this league for 17 years and he still plays the best basketball that I have seen in any 17, 15, 14, 13 year old vet who has played in this game.

Of course, these “50 Greatest Players in NBA History” were chosen in 1996, and many great basketball players have emerged since then. So, let’s see how LeBron compares to them in year 17.

(Note: if you want to see my spreadsheet that collects data from the top 50 players, click here.)

LeBron James’ 17th year is still better than the next NBA greats

Since there is no official list of the next best NBA players after the “Top 50”, we have to choose this list manually. Who, among those whose careers mostly fell after 1996, were the NBA greats? The NBA superstars who have won championships after 1996 are Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce (possibly). Other MVP caliber players in this era who did not win a ring are Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson and Steve Nash.

(Obviously, we can’t pick players drafted after 2003, like Chris Paul, as they haven’t played 17 years in the league yet.)

Of these players, only T-Mac and AI were out of the league; the rest were still playing in the NBA. Only Kobe and Dirk were All-Stars in their seventeenth year (but Duncan and KG would be selected as All-Stars in their eighteenth year after missing out in their seventeenth year).

Where LeBron James deviates from this list is how he led his team to a championship in year 17.

In Kobe’s 17th year, his Lakers finished seventh in the West and were swept by the Spurs in the first round. In Dirk’s 17th year, his Mavs finished seventh in the West and lost in the first round also to the Houston Rockets.

As for Duncan and KG, they would be on teams competing for the championship in their 17 years, with the Spurs securing top spot in the West and the Celtics finishing fourth in the East. However, they are no longer the centerpiece of his team at that point in their careers, as evidenced by their inability to reach the All-Star and All-NBA teams that year.

But LeBron James? He is an NBA Champion, Finals MVP, Most Voted All-Star, NBA MVP Runner-up, and NBA First Team in his 17th year.

Read it again. Slowly.

OK. And now that? How do we make sense of this?

Three conclusions

One. Taking care of your body.

NBA players in the modern era generally have longer careers than those who played in the 1970s. As the science of sport improved over the years, so did NBA players’ understanding of health, nutrition and training. New technologies are now available to help analyze the athlete’s body and help him recover fully. That’s why only nine of the “Top 50 Players” played for at least 17 years.

LeBron James took care of his body, to the extreme.

LeBron James has been widely reported to spend at least $ 1.5 million per year caring for his body, which includes a personal cryotherapy chamber, hyperbaric chamber, compression equipment, and a team of trainers, chefs, and masseurs. Without a doubt, his investments are paying off, as he is in the best shape a 35-year-old could be.

Two. Get out of high school.

It can be argued that since LeBron James left high school straight to the pros, it’s easier for him to dominate in year 17. That’s a fair argument.

Skipping college means starting your NBA journey at a younger age, and therefore being a 17-year veteran younger than others who had to spend at least a year in college.

For example, LeBron entered the league at 18, and Dwyane Wade entered at 21. So if D-Wade didn’t retire last year, it would be a 38-year-old at 17, rather than LeBron, who today he is only 35 years old.

Obviously, this is why legends who came out of high school, like Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, stay in the league longer and can still play well in their 17 years. But like I said before, unlike these guys, LeBron isn’t just “playing well” in his 17th year; continues to dominate as the best player in the league in year 17.

Three. LeBron James is still King, but he won’t be for long.

Does this mean that LeBron was lucky under the circumstances? He benefited from modern science and technology to be in top shape and started young.

We should still give him credit. A lot of that.

The decision to invest in your body is an excellent example of smart work. Most NBA players take care of their bodies too, but the way LeBron James did it is unprecedented. He took it very seriously, his body was as important to him as his game. When it comes to longevity and dominance, LeBron set the standard for the next generation of stars.

Starting young is an advantage, but it also takes greatness at such a young age to be able to jump from high school to the NBA. If someone could start young, when the NBA still allowed it, they would. But not everyone can.

While LeBron started his NBA journey early, he also plays more games and minutes per season than most other players. Not only does he make the playoffs consistently, but he also runs deep in the playoffs consistently. In his 17-year career, he has been to the Finals 10 times and the Conference Finals 12 times. Also, LeBron is rarely injured, which is why he tends to play most of the season. All in all, despite getting out of high school, he has a lot of mileage on those legs.

It takes proper discipline, smart work (not just hard work), and a body with incredible durability to achieve this kind of mastery.

But while it seems like LeBron may rule forever, Father Time will eventually catch the King. So let’s not take it for granted, because we often do. Let us appreciate its greatness while it is still here.