Cities that have won all 4 major Championships

[BlueHen86]

Kobe only has 5 rings because he has played on talent loaded rosters with the Lakers. If Lebron had similar opportunities early in his career, he would already have titles. Kobe's first 3 titles with LA, he was indisputably the second best player on his own team to Shaq, who was dominating the league at the time. Give Lebron time with this loaded Heat team and they will win titles, just as Kobe did.

Give me time on a loaded team and I may win some titles, that doesn't make me better than Jordan or Kobe, and neither is LeBron.

[DJH]

Kobe only has 5 rings because he has played on talent loaded rosters with the Lakers. If Lebron had similar opportunities early in his career, he would already have titles. Kobe's first 3 titles with LA, he was indisputably the second best player on his own team to Shaq, who was dominating the league at the time. Give Lebron time with this loaded Heat team and they will win titles, just as Kobe did.

Give me time on a loaded team and I may win some titles, that doesn't make me better than Jordan or Kobe, and neither is LeBron.

First of all, nobody is better than Jordan, and nobody ever will be (probably). And Kobe won his titles on loaded teams as well. Why do you give him so much credit?

[DJH]

No, he didn't.

So, then please state who is going tomake the hall of fame from the last Lakers championship besides Kobe.

Paul Gasol will be in the Hall of Fame. You could argue for Lamar Odom if he keeps putting up numbers for the next 5-6 years, and Bynum has put up good numbers the first few seasons of his career.

[DJH]

Lebron really didn't have the label of "bad 4th quarter guy" until the NBA finals this year. (although you could argue that it started with the game 6 loss to Boston last season while he was with the Cavs) Nobody knows what exactly happened with him in the finals this year, but other than that he has been a good 4th quarter player. Just the series before, he absolutely dominated the 4th quarter and closed out the Bulls in nearly every game.

I said this earlier in the thread, but it is a fair comparison, just look at what Lebron did with those no talent Cavs teams (several top finishes in the east, and a trip to the finals) with what Kobe did those 3 years when he didn't have a loaded team (no playoffs, and 2 first round exits).

Lebron is the more complete basketball player, and can absolutely carry a team, and can turn a bad team into a good one, just by his presence on the floor. You cannot say the same thing about Kobe. Kobe has scoring ability right up there with anyone in NBA history, but it has been proven that he needs great players around him to win. He needs guys like Odom, Gasol, Shaq, etc to win.

Give me Lebron with combinations of Shaq, Odom, Gasol, and not to mention the greatest NBA coach ever Phil Jackson, and he would produce the same results as Kobe Bryant.

Nope - Lebron has never been a 4th quarter finisher. He's not a prolific scorer (you've even said so) and he's not the guy who takes the ball and demands the ball when the game is on the line. Perfect example - '08 Olympics. He's teamed up with Kobe and he simply watches Kobe take over and make all the clutch plays to beat Spain, especially when the game got close.

Lebron needs other people to win games and win titles for him. Unfortunately, Wade had a bad Finals this year. Hopefully Wade can step it up and win one for Lebron next year. It's probably heavy lifting carrying Lebron on his back, but we'll see if Wade can do it.

Guess Wade isn't a closer either. If you watched the finals, he was awful in the clutch. He flat out dribbled the ball off his foot at the end of one game.

You better put that stigma on him as well.

[BlueHen86]

Give me time on a loaded team and I may win some titles, that doesn't make me better than Jordan or Kobe, and neither is LeBron.

First of all, nobody is better than Jordan, and nobody ever will be (probably). And Kobe won his titles on loaded teams as well. Why do you give him so much credit?

Kobe gets credit for leading his team to two titles. I also don't think the Lakers were loaded for the last two titles. They had some solid talent, all championship teams do, but Kobe was the undisputed leader of those teams and he made his teammates better.

LeBron is gutless frontrunner. He is great when things are going well, but when the going gets tough he takes his talents elsewhere. Next time the going gets tough, he should take his talents to the bench, maybe Wade and Bosh can get the job done without him.

[BlueHen86]

Nope - Lebron has never been a 4th quarter finisher. He's not a prolific scorer (you've even said so) and he's not the guy who takes the ball and demands the ball when the game is on the line. Perfect example - '08 Olympics. He's teamed up with Kobe and he simply watches Kobe take over and make all the clutch plays to beat Spain, especially when the game got close.

Lebron needs other people to win games and win titles for him. Unfortunately, Wade had a bad Finals this year. Hopefully Wade can step it up and win one for Lebron next year. It's probably heavy lifting carrying Lebron on his back, but we'll see if Wade can do it.

Guess Wade isn't a closer either. If you watched the finals, he was awful in the clutch. He flat out dribbled the ball off his foot at the end of one game.

You better put that stigma on him as well.

Except that he has won a title, he's proven that he can do it.

[DJH]

First of all, nobody is better than Jordan, and nobody ever will be (probably). And Kobe won his titles on loaded teams as well. Why do you give him so much credit?

Kobe gets credit for leading his team to two titles. I also don't think the Lakers were loaded for the last two titles. They had some solid talent, all championship teams do, but Kobe was the undisputed leader of those teams and he made his teammates better.

LeBron is gutless frontrunner. He is great when things are going well, but when the going gets tough he takes his talents elsewhere. Next time the going gets tough, he should take his talents to the bench, maybe Wade and Bosh can get the job done without him.

Lebron is a frontrunner. The whole Miami Heat team are frontrunners, and that's why they got beat by a veteran Dallas team.

Kobe is the better closer, and Lebron is the better basketball player.

[BlueHen86]

Kobe gets credit for leading his team to two titles. I also don't think the Lakers were loaded for the last two titles. They had some solid talent, all championship teams do, but Kobe was the undisputed leader of those teams and he made his teammates better.

LeBron is gutless frontrunner. He is great when things are going well, but when the going gets tough he takes his talents elsewhere. Next time the going gets tough, he should take his talents to the bench, maybe Wade and Bosh can get the job done without him.

Lebron is a frontrunner. The whole Miami Heat team are frontrunners, and that's why they got beat by a veteran Dallas team.

Kobe is the better closer, and Lebron is the better basketball player.

Wade was not a frontrunner when he won a title in 2006, in fact when the going got tough (down 2 games to none and trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter of game 3) Wade led his team back.

You give LeBron way too much credit. He is way overhyped and you have bought into the hype. Get back to me when he actually wins something.

[DJH]

Lebron is a frontrunner. The whole Miami Heat team are frontrunners, and that's why they got beat by a veteran Dallas team.

Kobe is the better closer, and Lebron is the better basketball player.

Wade was not a frontrunner when he won a title in 2006, in fact when the going got tough (down 2 games to none and trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter of game 3) Wade led his team back.

You give LeBron way too much credit. He is way overhyped and you have bought into the hype. Get back to me when he actually wins something.

He is overhyped. And some of that is his own fault because of his own narcissism. And in the last year, he has become very unlikable. That does not change the fact that hey may in fact be the best basketball player in the world right now. The championships will come. The guy is only, what, 25-26?

Look, Lebron took those crappy Cleveland teams to the top of the Eastern conference, and upon his departure, they immediately became the WORST team in the NBA. They went from 1st to worst because of Lebron leaving, in one year.

Wade is a frontrunner. Where was Wade in 2008 when HIS team won 15 games in the entire season? FIFTEEN! He quit.

[GannonFan]

Wade was not a frontrunner when he won a title in 2006, in fact when the going got tough (down 2 games to none and trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter of game 3) Wade led his team back.

You give LeBron way too much credit. He is way overhyped and you have bought into the hype. Get back to me when he actually wins something.

He is overhyped. And some of that is his own fault because of his own narcissism. And in the last year, he has become very unlikable. That does not change the fact that hey may in fact be the best basketball player in the world right now. The championships will come. The guy is only, what, 25-26?

Look, Lebron took those crappy Cleveland teams to the top of the Eastern conference, and upon his departure, they immediately became the WORST team in the NBA. They went from 1st to worst because of Lebron leaving, in one year.

Wade is a frontrunner. Where was Wade in 2008 when HIS team won 15 games in the entire season? FIFTEEN! He quit.

Uh, didn't Wade miss something like 30 games in the '07-'08 season because he came into the season following a knee surgery and two separate surgeries on his shoulders, and then had his season cut short to have experimental treatment on the knee that he had the surgery on?

You see, it's tough for a guy to repeatedly have to put a team on his shoulders and win. And that's the thing that has to worry Lebron - if Wade's better days are behind him, then Lebron doesn't have the star on his team that he needs to carry Lebron to a title - it's clear Lebron isn't the type of player who can carry his team. If Wade is fading like he did in the Finals this year, Lebron clearly isn't capable of stepping his game up and filling the void. Maybe Lebron can be a bit player for the Lakers and see if Kobe can get a ring for Lebron.

[BlueHen86]

Wade was not a frontrunner when he won a title in 2006, in fact when the going got tough (down 2 games to none and trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter of game 3) Wade led his team back.

You give LeBron way too much credit. He is way overhyped and you have bought into the hype. Get back to me when he actually wins something.

He is overhyped. And some of that is his own fault because of his own narcissism. And in the last year, he has become very unlikable. That does not change the fact that hey may in fact be the best basketball player in the world right now. The championships will come. The guy is only, what, 25-26?

Look, Lebron took those crappy Cleveland teams to the top of the Eastern conference, and upon his departure, they immediately became the WORST team in the NBA. They went from 1st to worst because of Lebron leaving, in one year.

Wade is a frontrunner. Where was Wade in 2008 when HIS team won 15 games in the entire season? FIFTEEN! He quit.

No, he is not, and it isn't close and wouldn't even be debatable if it weren't for all the hype. He has won nothing. He has never put a team on his back and carried it when it really mattered.

Handling pressure is a major component of what makes a player great, and LeBron has not shown that he can do that yet.

He may become the greatest player in the world in the next few years, but he is not there yet.

[DJH]

He is overhyped. And some of that is his own fault because of his own narcissism. And in the last year, he has become very unlikable. That does not change the fact that hey may in fact be the best basketball player in the world right now. The championships will come. The guy is only, what, 25-26?

Look, Lebron took those crappy Cleveland teams to the top of the Eastern conference, and upon his departure, they immediately became the WORST team in the NBA. They went from 1st to worst because of Lebron leaving, in one year.

Wade is a frontrunner. Where was Wade in 2008 when HIS team won 15 games in the entire season? FIFTEEN! He quit.

No, he is not, and it isn't close and wouldn't even be debatable if it weren't for all the hype. He has won nothing. He has never put a team on his back and carried it when it really mattered.

That is a pretty big blanket statement, and not entirely true. The only time in his career when he has truly come up small on a big stage is last year in the playoffs against Boston in the closeout game, and this year in the Finals. He carried the Heat in the conf finals this year, and dominated the 4th quarter in every game. Wade was a non factor in most of those games. Also, lets not forget about the Eastern conf finals a few years ago when Lebron virtually single handedly defeated the Detroit Pistons, sending the Cavs to the NBA finals. He scored something like 36 of his teams last 37 points to close them out.

In most, if not every, playoff series loss that Lebron's teams have suffered, they lost to superior teams with superior depth and overall talent.

Handling pressure is a major component of what makes a player great, and LeBron has not shown that he can do that yet.

Yes, it is to an extent. But that, in most cases, comes with age and experience. Simply look at what Dirk did this year in the finals with what he did in '06.

[Gil Dobie]

So, then please state who is going tomake the hall of fame from the last Lakers championship besides Kobe.

Paul Gasol will be in the Hall of Fame. You could argue for Lamar Odom if he keeps putting up numbers for the next 5-6 years, and Bynum has put up good numbers the first few seasons of his career.

You are entitled to your opinion, but I don't think any of them will make the hall as players.

[Gil Dobie]

Yes, it is to an extent. But that, in most cases, comes with age and experience. Simply look at what Dirk did this year in the finals with what he did in '06.

Or what Magic Johnson did at age 20, but Lebron isn't Magic. Lebron is a power player, a very good power player. Just lacks some of the skills the great players have, being able to play without the ball. Maybe something he'll pickup in a year or two.

[DJH]

ha, ok. Magic played with the all time leading scorer in the history of the NBA from day 1. Not exactly the same as coming in with the Cleveland Cavs.

[Gil Dobie]

ha, ok. Magic played with the all time leading scorer in the history of the NBA from day 1. Not exactly the same as coming in with the Cleveland Cavs.

Kareem was out in game 6, Magic had 42 points and 15 rebounds as a rookie. I was comparing a rookie Magic to a 2011 Lebron with the Heat, in the NBA finals and his ability to handle presure.