Is LeBron the Drake of the 2010s NBA?
On influence and excellence
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Image from Uninterrupted on YouTube
In determining who was the best NBA player of the 2010s, there’s not really a debate: it’s LeBron James.
LeBron racked up three NBA MVPs, three championships, three Finals MVP trophies and nine first team All-NBA honors (and a third team nod). For the decade (the 2009-10 season through the 2018-19 season), James finished 1st in total points, 10th in rebounds and 4th in assists. No one really comes close in matching the accolades: no one else has three MVPs or three Finals MVPs. No one else won their conference eight times in the decade. LeBron was the best NBA player of the 2010s, clearly.
But was he the most influential?
This is a discourse that happens in every art form: impact vs. excellence. Sometimes, the two distinct qualities get conflated, and influence replaces excellence in qualitative judgment. The debate surrounds another major cultural figure in the 2010s: Drake. Was Drake the best rapper, singer, rapper/singer, musical act, pop culture star of the 2010s? Probably not. Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize, after all. Beyoncé and Adele far outstrip Drake in Grammy wins. Drake has not been the LeBron of music this decade, not unequivocally at least.
Yet no artist had a greater impact on music in North America in the 2010s than Drake. His influence is enormous — his success and style has shaped a wide swath of the art form in his image. He wasn’t the first rapper to sing (or singer to rap). He isn’t the original emo hip hop star, or the first global culture vulture. But he did it bigger than anyone else, and left an enormous imprint on music and pop culture as a result. His sound is everywhere, even if it’s not his voice on the track. His influence is inescapable.
Consider the NBA now vs. the NBA a decade ago. The single biggest change is the explosion of the three-pointer. The three-pointer was once an important accoutrements. Now, in some ways, it is the sport. And who is responsible for that more than any other single player? Not LeBron. It’s Steph Curry.
Curry wasn’t the first high-volume shooter, or the first point guard to score really efficiently from all over the floor, or the first skinny outside-in scorer. Like Drake, Steph has antecedents. But Ray Allen and Reggie Miller and Steve Nash didn’t shape the way basketball is played at every competitive level the way Curry and the Warriors did this decade. Steph literally changed the sport. The ramifications will be felt for years, maybe forever.
LeBron was better this decade. Steph had a bigger impact. So Steph is the Drake of the 2010s NBA.
(Who does that make LeBron in this analogy? I have a take on this so spicy that it’s not safe to unleash this early in winter. We don’t want to shut down the ski resorts before New Year’s. Soon.)
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Scores
Wizards 102, Pistons 132
Knicks 94, Nets 82
Grizzlies 110, Thunder 97
Spurs 98, Mavericks 102
Timberwolves 105, Kings 104 (2OT)
Blazers 115, Jazz 121
Free Basketball Isn’t Free
At the risk of being a prisoner of the moment, the end of Minnesota vs. Sacramento was among the worst displays of modern basketball I have ever seen. From the final five minutes of regulation through both overtimes, the teams combined to shoot 14-of-50 from the floor and 3-21 from three. The end of the first overtime concluded with Jeff Teague throwing an inbounds pass off of Robert Covington’s leg …
… followed by Justin James throwing a three-quarters court inbound football pass that hit the rim.
Neither team deserved to win. And yet, here we are. Sanjesh Singh at Sactown Royalty captured the game well if for some reason you want to consume more content about this atrocity against the sport.
This Weekend’s Schedule
Let’s break down what’s worth watching this weekend. All times Eastern.
Friday: There’s an NBA TV triple-header starting with a weird 4 p.m. ET matinee — Cavs-Celtics at 4, Sixers-Magic at 7, Suns-Warriors at 10:30. But the most alluring game is a League Pass battle between the Pacers and Heat at 8.
Saturday: Almost every team plays on Saturday with 14 games, yet none of them are on national TV. There a few great match-ups, though: Raptors-Celtics at 7, Sixers-Heat at 8, Jazz-Clippers at 10:30.
Sunday: ESPN has an alluring Mavericks-Lakers battle at 9:30, but the rest of the slim schedule isn’t that great.
Very Brief Movie Reviews: Noelle
Excellent Christmas movie with a pretty good set-up on Santa lore. (I judge Santa lore against The Santa Clause, which has bar none the worst backstory on Santa succession rules I have ever seen. I’m not normally a huge fan of hereditary monarchy, but it beats The Santa Clause’s morbid system.) Billy Eichner is an American treasure. Honestly, this whole movie is a highlight of the Phoenix Suns’ 2019. A-
Links
Rick Carlisle snapped (in a good way) when asked about criticisms that Kristaps Porzingis doesn’t post up enough. This is being billed as a retort to the Inside the NBA crew, which is always complaining about big dudes being outside instead of in the paint. There’s an element that also seems to be Carlisle trying to convince someone closer to the situation, perhaps Kristaps himself or someone in Porzingis’s camp.
The Nets only made eight two-point field goals on Thursday! That’s pretty wild. Spencer Dinwiddie blamed egg nog.
Speaking of the Nets, it sounds like Caris LeVert is nearly back. Kyrie Irving is not. Is it worth red-shirting Kyrie alongside Kevin Durant this season?
Kevin Arnovitz on why Kevin Martin and other non-billionaire former NBA players are buying basketball teams elsewhere, like Australia. I love that there’s an ownership group down there that includes Zach Randolph, Josh Childress and Dante Exum.
The Pelicans are rebuilding Zion Williamson’s gait.
Rob Mahoney highlights the 10 players who have most improved this season.
It sounds like Anthony Davis decided to ask for a trade well before he did.
Mike Prada on the four questions that Clippers vs. Lakers left him asking.
Really enjoyed Haley O’Shaughnessy on five plays that explain Bam Adebayo’s impact.
Josh Levin on the LeBron/Patrick Beverley review at the end of Clippers-Lakers and the horrors of instant reply.
Thank you for subscribing to Good Morning It’s Basketball. It truly means a lot that you’re in from the beginning of this new venture. We’ll be back on Monday. Be excellent to each other.
welcome to substack, Ziller!