Barkley: "Lebron will stay the best basketball player for the next 5-10 years"

[trabash]

Discuss

[Ruutu]

With no big injures ...its true

[k-vil]

Discuss
He is probably right but I guess we will see more often than not the debate between LBJ and KD

[Vienceslav]

Durant could go beast mode.
I don

[ImmortalNemesis]

Yes, I can definitely see LeBron still being the best player in basketball when he's ****ing almost 40. Especially considering he has good fundamentals and all.

[JtotheIzzo]

with all the nitpicking we do (myself included) about LeBron's poor decision making (both on the court and career wise) there is no denying he is the single greatest specimen to ever play the game (Wilt and Shaq included). Logic dictates he will do great things because the table is set, all he has to do is follow through.

[Punpun]

Hilarious as shit. Lebron is already in his ninth season. Soon to be his tenth. He will not stay the best for 5 years.

:oldlol:

[k-vil]

Hilarious as shit. Lebron is already in his ninth season. Soon to be his tenth. He will not stay the best for 5 years.

:oldlol:
Lebron is 28 adding 5 years would mean he is 33.
If Lebron continues to improve his post game, he can still be on top of his game and be the best player in the league

[Punpun]

Lebron is 28 adding 5 years would mean he is 33.
If Lebron continues to improve his post game, he can still be on top of his game and be the best player in the league

No. In 5 years, you will have players like Kevin Love, Durant etc. in their peak. Lebron will probably still be one of the best player in the league. That is, if his postgames get better. But there is no way he will be the best in the league in his 15th season.

It's as ridiculous as people claiming that with Kobe last year.

:oldlol: :roll: :oldlol: :roll: :oldlol:

[All Net]

he will be a while yet but won't be that long until Durant is with the way he keeps improving.

[k-vil]

No. In 5 years, you will have players like Kevin Love, Durant etc. in their peak. Lebron will probably still be one of the best player in the league. That is, if his postgames get better. But there is no way he will be the best in the league in his 15th season.

It's as ridiculous as people claiming that with Kobe last year.

:oldlol: :roll: :oldlol: :roll: :oldlol:
No disrespect but I don't see Kevin Love being the best player in the league. And i think we are witnessing the start of KD's peak now and considering the body type they have, KD is more likely to get injured (and i hope not) see Tmac.

[Johnni Gade]

38 is a bit old to be ruling the league.

[k-vil]

38 is a bit old to be ruling the league.
If you are saying 10 years from now, sure Lebron iwill not the best player anymore maybe he is not in the league also but to say in 5 years i dont see the reason why he wont be the best player like what we have witnessing now.

[arifgokcen]

Lebron is 28 adding 5 years would mean he is 33.
If Lebron continues to improve his post game, he can still be on top of his game and be the best player in the league

Lebron is 27 not 28.He will be the best player for the rest of his contract with heat.After he starts to lose his athletic ability significantly then durant becomes the best.Because in terms of talent lebron is so far above,i really think he can easily stay the best until he is 35-36.He has still the best court vision in the league.He is one of the strongest players in the game even though he is only 6'8 and SF.Tonight shows how efficient he can be in the post.He will probably be the most efficient post player for the rest of his career with the way he can use his size.Dont forget tonight in the post instead of using his athletic ability he used his size.Thats really something new to his game.

[arifgokcen]

No disrespect but I don't see Kevin Love being the best player in the league. And i think we are witnessing the start of KD's peak now and considering the body type they have, KD is more likely to get injured (and i hope not) see Tmac.
T-mac has always been injury prone.KD has never had a significant injury.He may not be as durable as james.However he is not injury prone.

However by some freak accident he suffers significant injury there is no one to compete with lebron for another 7-8 years

[Sakkreth]

In 5 years ? Yes
In 10 ? No

He will stop being best player somewhere in that range between 5-10yrs from now. That makes Chucks prediction technically correct, but that's an easy prediction.

[OmniStrife]

With no injuries and no crazy rookies in sight, yes for 5-7 years I'd say.

[pauk]

Well yea? :confusedshrug:

[ILLsmak]

Hilarious as shit. Lebron is already in his ninth season. Soon to be his tenth. He will not stay the best for 5 years.

:oldlol:

He might 5 but not 10.

-Smak

[Nash]

Next 5 years, yeah..

But after that he will become more of a facilitator with his very high basketball IQ.

[Kews1]

Barkley = ****ing troll.
:lebronamazed:

[k-vil]

Lebron is 27 not 28.He will be the best player for the rest of his contract with heat.After he starts to lose his athletic ability significantly then durant becomes the best.Because in terms of talent lebron is so far above,i really think he can easily stay the best until he is 35-36.He has still the best court vision in the league.He is one of the strongest players in the game even though he is only 6'8 and SF.Tonight shows how efficient he can be in the post.He will probably be the most efficient post player for the rest of his career with the way he can use his size.Dont forget tonight in the post instead of using his athletic ability he used his size.Thats really something new to his game.
Ok Lebron will be 28 in December and that is why I agree by saying that 5 years from now he will be the best player maybe until 7.


T-mac has always been injury prone.KD has never had a significant injury.He may not be as durable as james.However he is not injury prone.

However by some freak accident he suffers significant injury there is no one to compete with lebron for another 7-8 years

I am not saying he is injury prone, but with his body type I don't think he can stay on top of his game when he is in his 30ish and something I am considering here. Sure KD will still be one of the best and imo Lebron will still be the best in 5 -7 yrs.

[Kews1]

saying in 10 years is just obvious bullshit. Lebron will be the best for awhile longer and will pick up 1 or 2 more MVP's but i highly doubt he will be even top 5 in 10 years.

[White Mamba]

Lebron is 28 adding 5 years would mean he is 33.
If Lebron continues to improve his post game, he can still be on top of his game and be the best player in the league

he said 5-10 years not 3-5:roll:

comon barkley is runing his mouth again, until the next lebron finals episode, season 3 soon to be in store:roll:

this time they will call it "lebron-spurs take 2":oldlol:

take 1 was a sweep:roll: :roll:

the best basketball player who can't win shit with DWADE on his side:roll:

[Sarcastic]

Why does anyone take what that fat fcking troll says as serious?

[k-vil]

he said 5-10 years not 3-5:roll:

comon barkley is runing his mouth again, until the next lebron finals episode, season 3 soon to be in store:roll:

this time they will call it "lebron-spurs take 2":oldlol:

take 1 was a sweep:roll: :roll:

the best basketball player who can't win shit with DWADE on his side:roll:
Did I mention 3-5 years?

That's why I am saying 5 years from now he will still be the best and i even consider him to be the best 7 years from now. Plus ive also said that he will not be in 10 years.

Learn how to read kiddo!

[JtotheIzzo]

No. In 5 years, you will have players like Kevin Love, Durant etc. in their peak. Lebron will probably still be one of the best player in the league. That is, if his postgames get better. But there is no way he will be the best in the league in his 15th season.

It's as ridiculous as people claiming that with Kobe last year.

:oldlol: :roll: :oldlol: :roll: :oldlol:

not sure what is funnier, the five laughies, Kevin Love or your stupidity?

probably Kevin Love.:lol :oldlol: :roll:

[Joshumitsu]

Shabazz will challenge him in another 5 years.

[TheFan]

I doubt a 38 Years old Lebron James will be the best player in the league... He, like Kobe, debuted early and like Kobe, he will see an early decline.

Lebron at 33 will probably be the consensus best player, but the real best player will be other.

[Asukal]

When Lebron starts to lose his athleticism at age 30 and up, he will no longer be the best player in the league. :rockon:

[amfirst]

When Durant beats LeBron. Everybody will be jumping on Durants nuts. People are bipolar especially Charles.

[midatlantic09]

Shabazz will challenge him in another 5 years.

No.

[arifgokcen]

When Lebron starts to lose his athleticism at age 30 and up, he will no longer be the best player in the league. :rockon:
At 30.You are dreaming my friend

[Punpun]

At 30.You are dreaming my friend

Wade has already terribly declined. And Lebron has more minutes in his body than Wade.

[arifgokcen]

The problem with your theory is lebron has played 9 years in this league and he is still the most athletic player in the league and dont forget in terms of talent level no one even comes close.

He will decline of course,but not in 2 years.Even after declining he will still put up more than 27ppg get around 8rpg and 5-6apg.Because his body will only get bigger and stronger.He is already the strongest player at his position and probably one of the strongest players in the league.Right now,he has already the most efficient post game,even though he is still developing.

So unless durant magically becomes a better defensive player and playmaker in 2-3 years,lebron will be the best player in the league.His reign should last about a decade as a best player.24-34

[Punpun]

Be free to think whatever foolish thing you want. Know only that, Kobe was the best player up to the 2009-2010 season. And Lebron was 24 then then. For it to be a decade worth of being the best in the league, he'd have to be the best until he is 35.

That's Asinine. :oldlol:

[arifgokcen]

Be free to think whatever foolish thing you want. Know only that, Kobe was the best player up to the 2009-2010 season. And Lebron was 24 then then. For it to be a decade worth of being the best in the league, he'd have to be the best until he is 35.

That's Asinine. :oldlol:
Kobe was the best player until 2008.When lebron defense caught up to his offense,lebron was better at every single thing. Scoring,defending,rebounding,distributing even in clutch lebron has been a better player.Anyway thats not even the point of discussion.

Kobe winning rings doesnt change that fact because he hasnt been the best player since 2008.Especially in 2008-2009 during orlando-cavs series everyone was saying torch has been passed to lebron while he was averaging 38-8-8.Lebron has been the best player since his first MVP.

[Punpun]

Nah. I don't see it. Kobe was still better. Proof, he carried the Lakers to three finals appearance and 2 Rings.

[arifgokcen]

Be free to think whatever foolish thing you want. Know only that, Kobe was the best player up to the 2009-2010 season. And Lebron was 24 then then. For it to be a decade worth of being the best in the league, he'd have to be the best until he is 35.

That's Asinine. :oldlol:

One last thing 35-24+1=12 this is not a decade.This is twelve years not ten.

Lebron was 24 in 2008-2009.

BTW How old are you?
because
Your math really sucks.

[Punpun]

One last thing 35-24+1=12 this is not a decade.This is twelve years not ten.

Lebron was 24 in 2008-2009.

BTW How old are you?
because
Your math really sucks.

HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAH OH MY GOD.

Are you serious ? :oldlol::roll::oldlol::roll::oldlol:

Lebron became the best in 2010. He was 25. Add 10 years to it and it's 35. Not 34.

Are you s

[arifgokcen]

Nah. I don't see it. Kobe was still better. Proof, he carried the Lakers to three finals appearance and 2 Rings.

Yeah you know thats not correct.Tell me one thing kobe used to do better than lebron.

This is a team sport not one man game.If that were true,kobe-shaq duo would have 5 rings.MJ would have 10 rings.Lebron would have a ring by now.

BTW really how old are you?

Because i dont think you really understand the meaning of proof.

and one last thing you should really play basketball to understand the concept of team.Because if you dont have a team,you are not gonna get a championships.This is why kobe lost even though he averaged 35-5-5.

The best example during the good part of 2000s detroit has ruled the east even though their best player wasnt even top 10 and handed lakers a gentlemans sweep even though they didnt have a single top 10 player.Thats the difference between player and team.

[arifgokcen]

[QUOTE=Punpun]HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAH OH MY GOD.

Are you serious ? :oldlol::roll::oldlol::roll::oldlol:

Lebron became the best in 2010. He was 25. Add 10 years to it and it's 35. Not 34.

Are you s

[Punpun]

Oh my, you can't into basic math, can you ? :oldlol:

[Asukal]

At 30.You are dreaming my friend

It's not impossible, Lebron relies too much on his athleticism. When it declines, KD and other young stars will catch up to him. Still, he could remain the best player in the league if he could adjust to the loss of athletic ability. :confusedshrug:

[Teanett]

i wont be surprised if durant will be the best player two year from now.
i think he will win the mvp next year. in fact, i believe that he already is the more effective player.
sure, lebron can always play the "versatility" card, but that's overblown because he never played with a decent point guard or an inside presence like durant does.
durant has defended kobe as well as i've ever seen anybody d up kobe and he's got a killer instinct that lebron obviously lacks.

[It's A VC3!!!]

Charles Barkley is a huge LeBron fan. Combine that with his slight insanity, and you hear dumb quotes like this. But people are taking his statement out of context too. The next 5 years are a guarantee, The years after that are only possible if he modifies his game to adjust to faster and more athletic players. I'm skeptical, but Charles obviously isn't.:lol

[D-Wade316]

Be free to think whatever foolish thing you want. Know only that, Kobe was the best player up to the 2009-2010 season. And Lebron was 24 then then. For it to be a decade worth of being the best in the league, he'd have to be the best until he is 35.

That's Asinine. :oldlol:
lol

[chips93]

[QUOTE=It's A VC3!!!]Charles Barkley is a huge LeBron fan. Combine that with his slight insanity, and you hear dumb quotes like this. But people are taking his statement out of context too. The next 5 years are a guarantee[QUOTE]

Guarantee?

kd will likely pass lebron in the next 5 years

[It's A VC3!!!]

[QUOTE=It's A VC3!!!]Charles Barkley is a huge LeBron fan. Combine that with his slight insanity, and you hear dumb quotes like this. But people are taking his statement out of context too. The next 5 years are a guarantee[QUOTE]

Guarantee?

kd will likely pass lebron in the next 5 years


That's very likely too.

My opinion is that LeBron will have to increase his offensive production due to Wade's decline from here on in.

As for Durant, the only part of his game that can change is his scoring. It' difficult for him to rack a ton of assists because so many people have the ball in their hands for OKC, and Durant is being asked to score rather then districute the ball.

[jrong]

Wade has already terribly declined. And Lebron has more minutes in his body than Wade.

Terribly declined, huh? I guess you think his game last night was evidence of that. Guy shoots 8/13, on 6/6 FTs with 7 assists and scores 22 pts. Also shut down both Allen and Rondo when he guarded them.

Here's a little lesson in efficiency for dummies. Wade also had 4 TOs. So all told he used 27 possessions (16 scoring-- 13 shots plus 3 trips to the line plus 7 assists plus 4 TOs). And he was successful on 18 of them (8 shots made plus 3 successful trips to the line plus seven assists). In other words, 2/3 of the time he tried to make a play on offense, something good happened (i.e. points were produced).

Kobe chucked what, 24 shots this this year to get 28 points? Wade averaged 17 shots, and he's a 50% range shooter throughout his career, regardless of the fluctuation in his FGAs. Do the math.

Newsflash: The Heat STILL have the best two players in the world, with the caveat being the second one has to be healthy for this to be true.

Now trolls are gonna flood the comments with their troll logic. But, this is why when the Wade Preservation Project goes online, we're singlehandedly gonna make sure Wade gets his deserved place in history (and, hopefully, make a shitload of money in the process). Because you can't **** with our numbers. Our numbers are documented and archived facts. We're apparently just the only ones who ever bothered to look them up.

[KB2009Champ]

Not sure why this thread is that long.

If KD doesn't up his defensive game (I'm not saying Lebron is the best defender in the league but his D is definitely superior to KD's) then Barkley's statement is easily true.

There is more to this game than just offense.

And I say this as a Laker fan.

[ihoopallday]

If LeBron develops a consistent jump shot, he'll be ok in his final seasons. He won't be the best player in 10 years though. I give that to KD.

[Indian guy]

:oldlol: :facepalm

No chance. He hasn't even been the best the last 2 seasons.

[Bigsmoke]

he still start declining after 32 or so if he doesnt get into any serious injuries.

[RaininTwos]

I see Lebron switching to the 4 later on his career and developing a great post game. I dont think he will be the best 10 years from now, but barring injuries, I think he will still be top 10. I dont think Durant will be the best either to be honest.

[TheMan]

5 years I can see, 10 is a stretch, they'll be young guys hitting their prime by then.

Thing that worries me is that Bron will have a ton of mileage by then, considering he entered the league at 18...look at Kobe, he's only in his early 30s but has clearly lost a step because of all the postseason games and coming straight from HS. All that wear and tear eventually catches up.

[PTB Fan]

5 years is a possibility, but 10 is just way too many.

[Bigsmoke]

I see Lebron switching to the 4 later on his career and developing a great post game. I dont think he will be the best 10 years from now, but barring injuries, I think he will still be top 10. I dont think Durant will be the best either to be honest.


or same guy that we never heard of yet.

Its like saying Yao Ming will be the best center in the future before Dwight was even drafted

[RaininTwos]

or same guy that we never heard of yet.

Its like saying Yao Ming will be the best center in the future before Dwight was even drafted

exactly. i think there will be someone else in 10 years.

[D-Wade316]

5? Absolutely.

10? Dunno.

[Lebron23]

LeBron will play the 4 position someday.

[NumberSix]

5 years? Sure. !0 years? Doubt it.

[DuMa]

if he learns how to post smaller defenders up when his athleticism diminishes or when they need an bucket at the most, i can see 10 years of dominance from LBJ. but right now 5-6 at the most.

[chazzy]

Lebron may not be in the league in 10 years.. really people?

[R.I.P.]

Yes, I can definitely see LeBron still being the best player in basketball when he's ****ing almost 40. Especially considering he has good fundamentals and all.
:roll: :applause:

[RaininTwos]

Lebron may not be in the league in 10 years.. really people?
You can say that for almost anyone though.

Durant might not be in the league in 10 years. and so on. I was just saying barring major injuries, he could move to the 4 and still be a force.

[StateOfMind12]

I would give LeBron 3 years max as remaining as the best player in the league. I think Durant will take over as the best by either next season or two seasons from now and three seasons if Durant suffers injuries or something.

[Kingwillball]

I say foer the NEXT 5 to 7 years if he stays Healthy and Continues post Game development cause his Drive game and fast break game probably tails off in another 3 years or so..

[Kingwillball]

I would give LeBron 3 years max as remaining as the best player in the league. I think Durant will take over as the best by either next season or two seasons from now and three seasons if Durant suffers injuries or something.


Durant May NEVER be better than Lebron cause He doesn't have all the attributes Lebron has.. Lebron is the Equivalent of a 5 tool player in baseball while Durant is More like a 3 Tool player. Durant may be better than Lebron in one or two areas but not in every phase of the game. Lebron is a top 5 scorer, Passer, Defender while also possessing the ability to be a top 5 rebounder if he focused on it as we are witnessing in Playoffs. Durant is a top 5 shooter/Scorer and thats it..

[step_back]

LeBron won't be as dominant in 10 years time as he is now. However I don't think he will have a huge drop of. He is far too smart a player and versatile to not be relevant. He will be simular to Steve Nash in terms of what they give you. Still leading a team and putting up great numbers.

[StateOfMind12]

Durant May NEVER be better than Lebron cause He doesn't have all the attributes Lebron has.. Lebron is the Equivalent of a 5 tool player in baseball while Durant is More like a 3 Tool player. Durant may be better than Lebron in one or two areas but not in every phase of the game. Lebron is a top 5 scorer, Passer, Defender while also possessing the ability to be a top 5 rebounder if he focused on it as we are witnessing in Playoffs. Durant is a top 5 shooter/Scorer and thats it..
Being a more and better all-around player doesn't necessarily make you better than another player.

Like I said, I still see Durant surpassing LeBron in the next 3 seasons. Durant needs to improve on a few areas which are his handles, his passing, his strength and that is about it. His strength will open up his ability to post up more, his mentality to post up more, and it will also help him become a better rebounder.

Durant will probably never be the playmaker or passer that LeBron is but that doesn't mean he'll never be a better individual player than LeBron.

[ShaqAttack3234]

:oldlol: Lebron isn't going to be the best in 5 years, much less 10. It is phenomenal that he's been the best in the league for 4 consecutive seasons. Some would argue Kobe or Wade in '09, but I disagree, Wade's regular season was comprable with his improved jumper and defense having easily the best year of his career, and Kobe won the title, but Lebron was the best between regular season and playoffs.

He was just as good in 2010 outside of the playoffs, and had less competition with Wade clearly not at the level he was in '09, and Kobe not being 100% and also declining physically. Though some would still say Kobe.

2011 was wide open between the top 1-4 with Howard, Nowitzki and Wade, I still stick with Lebron, but it's debatable.

But he's clearly the best right now, Durant is the closest, but with Kobe and Wade not consistently looking like the player he was and Howard distracted and failing to match his '11 season, it's pretty clear.

Durant did improve quite a bit, and despite not having Lebron's all around game, as Lebron continues to lose athleticism(and he has already lost some), Durant will probably pass him within the next few years. Dwight also has the potential to pass him. He could top his 2011 season, especially since despite the problems, he showed a big improvement passing out of double teams this year, if he combines that with his 2011 post game, and perhaps starts shooting that bank shot again, and becomes even more comfortable with his arsenal, he'll be the best player in the league.

Chris Paul was top 3 this year behind Lebron and KD, and appeared to get more comfortable with the Clippers and return closer to his '08 and '09 form as the season went on. He could very well pass Lebron in the next few years.

Plus there will be young players entering the league.


:oldlol: :facepalm

No chance. He hasn't even been the best the last 2 seasons.

2011 was debatable between Lebron, Dwight, Dirk and Wade. I definitely got Lebron over Wade last year for shooting and defense, but 1-4 can be put in any order.

This year? No contest. I understand that he benefits a lot from easy transition baskets, part of that is Miami's ability to force turnovers, and Lebron is a big part of that, but he also leaks out for quite a few easy ones. But he's improved his post game, played the best defense of his career this past season, imo, and I love that he's cut down on the 3s so much.

Plus, he did it in the regular season with Wade missing a ton of time, and Lebron was 13-1 without Wade, granted Bosh gave him excellent second option production without Wade at 24/8 on 58%. They beat Indiana without Bosh with Lebron playing dominant ball outside of games 2 and 3, though Indiana also beat themselves with Paul George's boneheaded plays, and Hibbert shouldn't have been able to be shut down by Anthony, their inexperience showed, and they're deep, but not a great team just yet. Plus despite Wade's decline, he played like the old Wade when Miami took control of the series, but still, he did it without a 3rd option.

But if he wins a title with Wade declining and Bosh out for a good chunk of the postseason, his ring will be far more impressive than I thought it would've been, because even last year, he clearly didn't have to do as much as other stars on their run to the finals, despite how well he played.

[FultzNationRISE]

Amazing that he was RIGHT