Ranking each season of LeBron from best to worst

[StateOfMind12]

I'm just going to stick with the seasons where he made the post-season so I'm not going to include his first two seasons in the league because he missed it.

Here is how I would rank each version of LeBron since he has made it to the post-season

2012 Lebron
2010 Lebron
2009 Lebron
2011 Lebron
2006 Lebron
2007 Lebron
2008 Lebron

I was undecided between '07 and '08 but I went with '07 due to superior post-season play.

2012 LeBron is the best one to me due to his improved post-game, improved defense, and his improved mental approach to the game and losing that front-running mentality. I also believe 2012 LeBron was bigger and stronger than '09 and '10 Lebron, hence why he was more versatile defensively.

Feel free to rank and list your best to worst versions of LeBron.

[PickernRoller]

I'm just going to stick with the seasons where he made the post-season so I'm not going to include his first two seasons in the league because he missed it.

Here is how I would rank each version of LeBron since he has made it to the post-season

2012 Lebron
2010 Lebron
2009 Lebron
2011 Lebron
2006 Lebron
2007 Lebron
2008 Lebron

I was undecided between '07 and '08 but I went with '07 due to superior post-season play.

2012 LeBron is the best one to me due to his improved post-game, improved defense, and his improved mental approach to the game and losing that front-running mentality. I also believe 2012 LeBron was bigger and stronger than '09 and '10 Lebron, hence why he was more versatile defensively.

Feel free to rank and list your best to worst versions of LeBron.
Goes to show you havent watched Bron when you have 11' ranked as high...

[BlackVVaves]

How long have you been watching Lebron OP?

[StateOfMind12]

How long have you been watching Lebron OP?
Since he came into the league, why do you ask? I'm assuming you believe something is completely wrong in my list so please tell me what it is.

[Indian guy]

09-10
08-09
Big Gap
11-12
07-08
05-06
10-11
06-07
04-05
03-04

[StateOfMind12]

09-10
08-09
Big Gap
11-12
07-08
05-06
10-11
06-07
04-05
03-04
Can I ask why you have '07-'08 higher than '05-'06 and '10-'11? I understand '07-'08 being higher than '06-'07 though.

[Indian guy]

Can I ask why you have '07-'08 higher than '05-'06 and '10-'11? I understand '07-'08 being higher than '06-'07 though.

He is statistically superior in BOTH regular season + playoffs in '08 compared to '07 and '11. '06 and '08 is nearly a wash, but I'll give the edge to '08 because of superior defense and more experience.

[keep-itreal]

All I know is he was an absolute monster in 2009 and 2010.

[ripthekik]

Prior to 2012, he was a stat machine. He'll score tons of points, grab tons of rebounds, and dish off a lot of assist..... only to choke every year in the playoffs :roll: :roll: :roll:

This year he had Wade and Bosh.. they might have been why he didn't choke, but at least he didn't, I'll give him credit for that.

So
2012
....




everything else
:yaohappy:

[I LUV KOBE]

All his season are worst..

[che guevara]

Including postseason

'09
'10
'12
'08
'06
'11 (could put it over '06 due to superior defense, but I feel like '06 Lebron tears up the Mavs)
'07
'05
'04

[Legends66NBA7]

Regular Season + Playoffs

2008-2009
2011-2012
2009-2010
2005-2006
2007-2008
2010-2011
2006-2007
2004-2005
2003-2004

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

I'll do a top 5 - regular + postseason:

1. 2011-12
2. 2008-09
3. 2009-10
4. 2007-08
5. 2005-06

[Freedom Kid7]

I feel that you guys are forgetting just how good he was in 2007. He singlehandedly crushed Detroit in a fantastic fashion. He may have gotten swept in the finals, but considering how awful that team was, I'd put it as one of his best seasons.

[pauk]

1. 2011-12
2. 2009-10
3. 2008-09
4. 2007-08
5. 2010-11
6. 2006-07
7. 2005-06
8. 2004-05
9. 2003-04

[SilkkTheShocker]

05-06 is underrated. That's probably the best I have seen him when it came to driving to the rim. He was a friggin bull that season

[SilkkTheShocker]

09-10
08-09
Big Gap
11-12
07-08
05-06
10-11
06-07
04-05
03-04
Pretty much this. 2011 Lebron is pretty far down the list as it should be. But I can see the argument of why 2012 Lebron should be the best.

[che guevara]

I feel that you guys are forgetting just how good he was in 2007. He singlehandedly crushed Detroit in a fantastic fashion. He may have gotten swept in the finals, but considering how awful that team was, I'd put it as one of his best seasons.
No, it was clearly his worse season since entering his prime. His shooting was terrible, by far the worst of any prime season (under 70% on FTs, 31% on threes and 34% from 16-23 ft), his production dropped dramatically (minus 4 to 7 PER points compared to any prime season) and he hardly had any big games (in the regular season and postseason combined, he had only two 40+ point games and just one triple double). Aside from his game 5 vs. Detroit he had an underwhelming postseason, he only averaged 25-8-8 on 42% for that run and aside from game 5 had no monster performances. The '07 Cavs were a below average offensive team with Lebron struggling all year with his shot, they regressed hugely from '06 on that end, but still won the same 50 games because they played terrific defense (which was what propelled them into the Finals during the postseason, not their below average offense).

He didn't really crush Detroit singlehandedly, that was a defensive struggle of a series and he got decent support offensively from guys like Gibson, Pavlovic and Gooden. He's had plenty of better playoff series.


05-06 is underrated. That's probably the best I have seen him when it came to driving to the rim. He was a friggin bull that season
'08 was his best season driving to the hoop IMO, he was stronger and a better finisher that year. Stylistically, '06 Lebron was more slithery while '08 Lebron was more bullish.

[StateOfMind12]

2010-2011 LeBron is better than 2007-2008 LeBron to me. '08 LBJ may have been more athletic but '11 LeBron was better at pretty much everything else especially when it came to jump shots which ultimately got them to the Finals because his jumper was wet all season. LeBron struggled against Boston in the 2008 playoffs because of his lack of a jump shot.

I feel like '11 LeBron gives you a better chance of winning than '08 LeBron does.


I feel that you guys are forgetting just how good he was in 2007. He singlehandedly crushed Detroit in a fantastic fashion. He may have gotten swept in the finals, but considering how awful that team was, I'd put it as one of his best seasons.
He really didn't have that impressive of a season. He had that dominant Game 5 but that was really it. He had tons of support in the other games of the series and the entire season.

[Freedom Kid7]

No, it was clearly his worse season since entering his prime. His shooting was terrible, by far the worst of any prime season (under 70% on FTs, 31% on threes and 34% from 16-23 ft), his production dropped dramatically (minus 4 to 7 PER points compared to any prime season) and he hardly had any big games (in the regular season and postseason combined, he had only two 40+ point games and just one triple double). Aside from his game 5 vs. Detroit he had an underwhelming postseason, he only averaged 25-8-8 on 42% for that run and aside from game 5 had no monster performances. The '07 Cavs were a below average offensive team with Lebron struggling all year with his shot, they regressed hugely from '06 on that end, but still won the same 50 games because they played terrific defense (which was what propelled them into the Finals during the postseason, not their below average offense).

He didn't really crush Detroit singlehandedly, that was a defensive struggle of a series and he got decent support offensively from guys like Gibson, Pavlovic and Gooden. He's had plenty of better playoff series.
I guess I feel kind of biased towards that season because 2007 was when I really got into basketball and back then LBJ used to be my favorite player. Man, I was crushed when the Spurs beat the Cavs. I'm still going to respectfully disagree with you because his fg% dropped due to playing against solid defenses. The Pistons had good D. The Spurs had good D. Maybe I'm just wearing my nostalgia goggles a little too hard, but he crushed Detroit singlehandedly in game 5. I guess I didn't mention the fact he only singlehandedly crushed in one game (G5), because you are right it was mostly defensive (Didn't Gibson have the most points in G6?).

[pauk]

10-11 (last season) is easy to forget how godlike he was, especially in the playoffs, just before he decided to change his mindset in the Finals and take some kindof backseat to Wade, he didnt need to drop as many numbers as this year as Wade/Bosh were helping out much more than they did this year, neither did he have that official alpha role as he had this year (as evident of the Finals that year)... but he was an assassin, he put on some of the best clutch performances of his career on both ends of the floor just closing teams out and shutting down the best players left and right.... people were talking about if he was on pace to have one of the best overall clutch/closing playoff runs due to his consistancy on that department on both ends of the floor.... Pippen went so far as even to call him "The best player in NBA history, better than Jordan" and so on.... he WAS playing that good... then the Finals happened... and damn that pissed me of, he didnt even play/shoot bad actually, he just played completely out of his role/usual self, took extremly few shots, passed to much, really looked like he took a backseat to Wade... just kept feeding him the ball over and over and they were doing good actually, so he didnt mind... but then came the 4th quarter where Wade was not able to deliver so well and so they needed Lebron but now he was out of rythm out of all the passiveness... horrible mindset/focus/decision making in that Finals while the Mavs were on fire...

[StateOfMind12]

I think that Lebron was better in 2010 than he was in 2009.

I know LeBron had a better post-season in 2009 but he also had easier competition and defenses in 2009 while in 2010 he went up against the Celtics and their stifling defense.

It just seemed like LeBron could do whatever he wanted to do in 2010 unless his jumper went cold which I believe did in the Celtics series and it was a horrible time for his jumper to go cold. I don't believe in the conspiracies that he quit or that Delonte slept with his mom. I felt like he just had a bad series and he had a bad series because he lost rhythm in his jumper. As LeBron said, he pretty much spoiled Cleveland fans and the entire NBA with his ridiculous consistency and I believe he got far more criticism than he should have in the 2010 ECSF against the Celtics.

I think the only thing he did better in 2009 compared to what he did in 2010 was play more consistent defense but the rest I felt like 2010 LeBron was better and much better in everything else. The less consistent defense is also why I have 2012 LeBron ahead of 2010 along with the added post game.

[PickernRoller]

10-11 (last season) is easy to forget how godlike he was, especially in the playoffs, just before he decided to change his mindset in the Finals and take some kindof backseat to Wade, he didnt need to drop as many numbers as this year as Wade/Bosh were helping out much more than they did this year, neither did he have that official alpha role as he had this year (as evident of the Finals that year)... but he was an assassin, he put on some of the best clutch performances of his career on both ends of the floor just closing teams out and shutting down the best players left and right.... people were talking about if he was on pace to have one of the best overall clutch/closing playoff runs due to his consistancy on that department on both ends of the floor.... Pippen went so far as even to call him "The best player in NBA history, better than Jordan" and so on.... he WAS playing that good... then the Finals happened... and damn that pissed me of, he didnt even play/shoot bad actually, he just played completely out of his role/usual self, took extremly few shots, passed to much, really looked like he took a backseat to Wade... just kept feeding him the ball over and over and they were doing good actually, so he didnt mind... but then came the 4th quarter where Wade was not able to deliver so well and so they needed Lebron but now he was out of rythm out of all the passiveness... horrible mindset/focus/decision making in that Finals while the Mavs were on fire...

All that to basically say he "choked"? Yes Pauk, you can use that word, gets the point across faster...

08-09
11-12
09-10
07-08
06-07
05-06
04-05
03-04

10-11 doesn't count - words can't describe what happened to that man, well, besides choking.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

1. 2011-12
2. 2009-10
3. 2008-09
4. 2007-08
5. 2010-11
6. 2006-07
7. 2005-06
8. 2004-05
9. 2003-04
This

[SilkkTheShocker]

All that to basically say he "choked"? Yes Pauk, you can use that word, gets the point across faster...

08-09
11-12
09-10
07-08
06-07
05-06
04-05
03-04

10-11 doesn't count - words can't describe what happened to that man, well, besides choking.
07 isn't better than 06 IMO.

[ShaqAttack3234]

1.2008-2009
2.2009-2010
3.2011-2012
4.2010-2011
5.2007-2008
6.2005-2006
7.2006-2007
8.2004-2005

Top 4 are obvious to me, the order is just debatable.

2012 Lebron has some advantages all around over the others such as rebounding, shot selection, defense, post game and moving without the ball plus the championship, and I understand why some will move it over 2010 because Lebron choking away the last 3 games vs Boston.

But Lebron was just a better player to me in 2010. He was at his best as a player in both '08-'09 and '09-'10, the tiebreaker is his superior playoff run in '09 and the more historically significant regular season in '09 from a team success standpoint.

'08 and '06 are very close. Not 100% sure why I went with '08 because he was a poor shooter compared to a respectable one in '06. But he did seem more dominant for some reason. He was much better defensively in '08, probably 10 pounds bigger, and maybe a little better as a playmaker and rebounder. But his jump shot was a pretty significant weakness.

'05 and '07 is extremely close to. Again, his jump shot was just awful in '07, while it was still bad in '05, but getting better. However, he went from a bad defender in '05 to an average one in '07, also looked bigger and stronger in '07. But it's extremely close.

'07 really was a disappointment at the time, I clearly thought he regressed and not only did his jump shot bother me all season, but he wasn't having the same type of big names. it's unusual, but quite a few perimeter players actually had statistical seasons similar to his.

The one thing that really impressed me about his '07 playoff run was his playmaking. But his opponents in the East were terrible except Detroit. First a Wizards team without their 2 best players Arenas and Caron Butler. Then a Nets team whose big men were Mikki moore, jason Collins and Josh Boone. And that Net series was still close even with Vince Carter(who the Nets relied on heavily for scoring) shooting 35% and averaging 20/8/7 with 27 3P% compared to his season numbers of 25/6/5 on 45 fG%/36 3P%.

So Lebron got lucky thatCarter struggled so much, and the series was still a 6 game series with game 1 really decided by Pavlovic's late chasedown block on Kidd, Carter turning the ball over on a last second shot vs Eric Snow in game 4, and game 6 was a 1 point game entering the 4th, but Donyell Marshall came out of nowhere and hit 6 threes in that game.

And Cleveland and Detroit had similar regular seasons. Detroit's defense had already fallen off significantly in '06 when Flip Saunders took over, and Ben wallace had been unhappy about this. Flip was always a very good offensive coach and improved Detroit's offense, but their trademark defense was not as dominant. And their defense dropped further when Big Ben left prior to the '06-'07 season.

Detroit went 53-29 in the season and outscored opponents by 4.2 ppg which was sixth best in the league, while Cleveland went 50-32 and outscored opponents by 3.8 ppg, which was seventh best in the league. And they did this in the same division.

The Cavs were a poor offensive team, but they were now a better defensive team than detroit.

People forget that the '07 Cavs were top 4 defensively and a great rebounding team that outrebounded opponents by 3.7 rpg. Plus they did have a good frontcourt, good role players who stepped up(whether it was Marshall, gibson or Pavlovic) and as much criticism as Larry hughes got, he was playing injured, and the Cavs record was better with him than without him in both the '06 and '07 seasons.

[red1]

1.2008-2009
2.2009-2010
3.2011-2012
4.2010-2011
5.2007-2008

bingo

[Indian guy]

and the more historically significant regular season in '09 from a team success standpoint.

Let's not forget that LeBron sat out the last 4 games of the season after Cleveland clinched the #1 seed. They lost all 4. We are looking at another 65-win season otherwise.

[RJChPD]

2010/2009
2012
2011
2008
2007
2006
2004

2010/2009 -The two seasons that are widely considered his peak around here are a virtual deadlock to me. His regular season in '10 was superior to '09. They had a lot of injuries to starters (Mo, and Shaq) that season but never missed a beat because of his completeness as a basketball player. This was also on full display during the 2012 run; more on this later.

These two years IMO combine to represent the pinnacle of offensive creativity against set defenses in the half court by a perimeter player. During this period the cavs were at their best offensively and their defense was largely responsible for losing in the CF to Orlando. The combined regular season and playoffs for 09 is why I consider these two versions to be a tie.

2012 - While the championship, MVP, etc speak for themselves, I will dare say this is the beginning of the most lethal version of Lebron. He has lost some of that bounce that had enable him to move like a bigger Wade, but I think it sometimes gets overstated. The reason I say this is because he has compensated by looking for easy baskets with off the ball cuts, etc something he didn't do in the past. He has also demonstrated the ability and willingness get deep position against smaller players while taking bigger ones off the dribble. If this continues then he would prove to be too big for SF while being to quick for PFs.

[StateOfMind12]

Including postseason

'09
'10
'12
'08
'06
'11 (could put it over '06 due to superior defense, but I feel like '06 Lebron tears up the Mavs)
'07
'05
'04
Do you think either '06 or '08 Lebron could get to the finals though like '11 LeBron could? '11 LeBron got his team to the Finals with his killer and wet jump shot that season while LeBron was a pretty inconsistent shooter those two seasons.

I'm not sure if Lebron was good enough defensively either to contain Rose in the ECF in '06 or '08 like he was capable of doing in '11.

I feel like a lot of people are selling '11 LeBron short.

[blood yes]

All his season are worst..

Someone please ban this kid for life, he wants kobe's dick to choke him to death:lol

[Tinseltime17]

2010 LeBron looked so effortless. It seemed like he didn't even have to try and he could still tear up and dominate any team on any given night.

I think a lot of LeBron's spirit died after Game 4 of the Celtics series though when Rondo had the amazing game. He probably lost all hope on his team and decided that he was going to leave in the off-season.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Let's not forget that LeBron sat out the last 4 games of the season after Cleveland clinched the #1 seed. They lost all 4. We are looking at another 65-win season otherwise.

Yeah, but he also set out the last game of the regular season along with Mo Williams and Z, so Cleveland were without their top 3 players and lost to the Sixers on the day last by 1 in OT at home.

If not, they most likely end the season 67-15 and 40-1 at home(which would have tied the '86 Celtics for best home record).

And they also outscored opponents by 8.9 ppg, which was best in the league, compared to '10 when they outscored opponents by 6.5 ppg.

Remember Lebron sitting out all of those 4th quarters in '09 due to blowouts? Those lowered his minutes a bit, and probably more than per minute projections suggest because he'd have the ball in his hands a higher percent of the time in the 4th quarter and down the stretch compared to the rest of the game.

Otherwise, we're probably looking at a 30/8/8 season.

But yeah, his team accomplishments are remarkable in '10 as well. If he doesn't sit out the last 4-5, he probably does win 64-65 games since they lost by 1 to Chicago, lost by 3 to Indiana(without Mo or Jamison either), lost by 6 to Orlando and lost by 16 to Atlanta(without Mo and with Jamison only playing 17 minuytes.

As I said, i don't see a real difference between '09 and '10 regular season or his ability and level of play.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Yeah, but he also set out the last game of the regular season along with Mo Williams and Z, so Cleveland were without their top 3 players and lost to the Sixers on the day last by 1 in OT at home.

If not, they most likely end the season 67-15 and 40-1 at home(which would have tied the '86 Celtics for best home record).

And they also outscored opponents by 8.9 ppg, which was best in the league, compared to '10 when they outscored opponents by 6.5 ppg.

Remember Lebron sitting out all of those 4th quarters in '09 due to blowouts? Those lowered his minutes a bit, and probably more than per minute projections suggest because he'd have the ball in his hands a higher percent of the time in the 4th quarter and down the stretch compared to the rest of the game.

Otherwise, we're probably looking at a 30/8/8 season.

But yeah, his team accomplishments are remarkable in '10 as well. If he doesn't sit out the last 4-5, he probably does win 64-65 games since they lost by 1 to Chicago, lost by 3 to Indiana(without Mo or Jamison either), lost by 6 to Orlando and lost by 16 to Atlanta(without Mo and with Jamison only playing 17 minuytes.

As I said, i don't see a real difference between '09 and '10 regular season or his ability and level of play.

Do you still uploads game onto Youtube? lol I haven't been able to find your channel.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Do you think either '06 or '08 Lebron could get to the finals though like '11 LeBron could? '11 LeBron got his team to the Finals with his killer and wet jump shot that season while LeBron was a pretty inconsistent shooter those two seasons.

I'm not sure if Lebron was good enough defensively either to contain Rose in the ECF in '06 or '08 like he was capable of doing in '11.

I feel like a lot of people are selling '11 LeBron short.

11 Lebron was beast the 1st 3 rounds and the best shooting version of Lebron he have seen yet. But the added weight made him less agile. 06 and 08 Lebron would have had a much easier time getting through the Mavs zone imo. It kind of goes both ways. Would 06 and 08 Lebron have been able to get though the East in 2011? Probably not. But I think if you replaced 11 Lebron with 06 or 08 Lebron, they win the Finals.

[SilkkTheShocker]

2010 LeBron looked so effortless. It seemed like he didn't even have to try and he could still tear up and dominate any team on any given night.

I think a lot of LeBron's spirit died after Game 4 of the Celtics series though when Rondo had the amazing game. He probably lost all hope on his team and decided that he was going to leave in the off-season.


I think Lebron's spirit took a serious hit after the 09 ECF. But yea, that game 4 didn't help either. Mo Williams got torched that whole damn series.

[StateOfMind12]

I posted this in another thread. I thought I should copy and paste and add it here as well.


I would go with '12 LeBron but it's not a big deal if someone believes '09 Lebron or '10 Lebron was better but I personally believe Lebron was better than ever last season.

I think Lebron plays more like a forward these days whereas in Cleveland he pretty much played like an oversized guard with unparallel athleticism.

This was why everybody questioned how long LeBron could play at a high level due to his reliant on athleticism and how much his play was going to be impacted with age.

I think with the way Miami Lebron plays, he will be fine with age because he doesn't depend on his athleticism as much anymore. He uses everything to his advantage these days, his versatility to defend 1-4 positions and play 1-4 positions, his strength and size in the post-up game, etc.

His jump shot for the most part is essentially the same as it was in '09 and '10 except that in 2012 he is much better in the mid-range specifically the high to low post area.

His passing is pretty much the same although he isn't used as much of a playmaker in Miami anymore due to the fact that he plays in the post more often but he does pass out of the post very well these days.

His defense has improved magnificently. While Lebron was an elite and a great defender in his last two seasons in Cleveland he was never really worthy or close to the DPOY award like he is currently and the way he was in 2012. I also don't think that LBJ in Cleveland was capable of guarding 1-4 positions either. I think he might have been able to guard 1-3 but I just think Lebron could guard the 4s and 5s in Miami now probably due to being a smarter defender and being a bit stronger and bulkier.

His rebounding has improved as well. He boxes out more for rebounds, he goes after the rebounds more, and he also scores more off of tip-ins and put-backs. I like the fact that he increased his activity/hustle level and used it as an advantage.

I think the only thing '09 and '10 LeBron did better than '12 LeBron is isolation. He was just a little more quicker and explosive back then and could create his own shot a little better but he can still create his own shot just fine. I don't think it's enough to put over '12 LeBron's improvement in defense, post-game, rebounding, etc. though.


http://i.imgur.com/CJnkN.jpg

I think a lot of the fact that he doesn't attack and slash to the basket as much as he use to has to do with the fact that he less space to work with Wade out there. I always see LeBron playing like vintage '09 and '10 LeBron offensively and putting up '09 and '10 LeBron numbers when Wade is on the bench out or not playing at all.

It is why I think the Heat should trade Wade but that deal would never be done.

Like I said, Lebron may be slightly less athletic but he is pretty much better at every aspect now than he was in 2009 and 2010. There is no question Lebron was more important to those Cavs team than he was to those Heat teams but this has a lot do with the fact that he had no help in Cleveland whereas he does have help in Miami. It has nothing to do with Lebron being better or worse.

I would rank LeBron's like this

2011-12 Lebron
2009-10 Lebron
2008-09 Lebron

I think that Miami LeBron is like a hybrid between Pippen and Karl Malone whereas Cleveland LeBron was like a hybrid between Pippen and Dwyane Wade. Pippen has always been Lebron's main prototype.

[Nevaeh]

Prior to 2012, he was a stat machine. He'll score tons of points, grab tons of rebounds, and dish off a lot of assist..... only to choke every year in the playoffs :roll: :roll: :roll:

This year he had Wade and Bosh.. they might have been why he didn't choke, but at least he didn't, I'll give him credit for that.

So
2012
....




everything else
:yaohappy:

Agreed. Plus I liked the fact that 12 LBJ didn't lean so heavily on the 3-point shot, basically bailing his opponents out defensively. His understanding of the game this past season was really "Lebron Perfected" IMO.

(Sorry I had missed this Thread earlier State Of Mind, based off the "LBJ at 27" Thread).

[The Real JW]

2008-2009
2011-2012
2009-2010

This.

'09 > '12 > '10 when it come to individual performance. I think 2009 was far and away LeBron's best.

[StateOfMind12]

I would rank it like this among regular season and post-season

Regular Season
1. 2009-2010
2. 2008-2009
3. 2011-2012

Post-Season
1. 2011-2012
2. 2008-2009
3. 2009-2010

I think his best regular season was clearly 2009-2010. His credibility of that season gets taken away though because of his last 2 games against Boston in that post-season which I believe is unfair because he was dominant all season. I thought LeBron was just a better player in 2010 than he was in 2009. Lebron had the luxury of playing against Orlando in the 2009 playoffs whereas he had to play against Boston in the 2010 playoffs and there is a difference between those two teams specifically those two defenses.

Only reason why both 2009 and 2010 are ahead of 2012 for regular season is due to their record though.

[Lebron23]

09-10
08-09
11-12
07-08
05-06
10-11
06-07
04-05
03-04

[Money 23]

From Accomplishments Perspective:

1) 2012
2) 2009
3) 2007
4) 2011
5) 2008
6) 2010
7) 2006
8) 2005
9) 2004

From Game / Ability Perspective:

1) 2010
2) 2009
3) 2012
4) 2008
5) 2011
6) 2006
7) 2007
8) 2005
9) 2004

[DatAsh]

From Accomplishments Perspective:

1) 2012
2) 2009
3) 2007
4) 2011
5) 2008
6) 2010
7) 2006
8) 2005
9) 2004

From Game / Ability Perspective:

1) 2010
2) 2009
3) 2012
4) 2008
5) 2011
6) 2006
7) 2007
8) 2005
9) 2004

I just don't see the case for 10' or 09' Lebron over current Lebron. He had better stats, but that's because he played an entirely different role, a role much more conducive to accruing stats.

09' and 10' Lebron had a visibly quicker first step, but current Lebron has a much better post game, is a much better off the ball player, is a better shooter, and is a much better defender.

Statistics measure a player's ability to perform his role more-so than they do his ability.

[Money 23]

09' and 10' Lebron had a visibly quicker first step, but current Lebron has a much better post game, is a much better off the ball player, is a better shooter, and is a much better defender.
He's also a better defender since joining Miami due to the same context you hold against him for '09 and '10 having better stats offensively. He had tremendous amounts of help in Miami offensively, that allows him to spend more energy on defense.

LeBron still mostly plays on the perimeter. He has a slightly better post game, it's still nothing to be insanely proud of ... and he's a marginally better off the ball player. If you're playing PG on the perimeter, I will take the more athletic, quicker, explosive 2009 and 2010 model of LeBron.

For much of 2012, LeBron scored seemingly the majority of his points in transition. 2009 and 2010 LeBron could score better in the half court. He's regained some of his quickness, but 2012 and even more so 2011 LeBron were really slow off the dribble.

I'm not saying 2009 and 2010 LeBron are better in terms of ability due to stats, I'm talking from the eye test. I feel his physical abilities in those seasons allow him to play better at his more natural game of play making point guard.

Given he has Wade and Bosh on his team, two elite ISO players ... I still don't feel he plays off the ball as much, or good enough as he should. He still dominates possessions with the ball in his hands. Which in turns minimizes Wade's effectiveness, since they are similar players. If that's the case, then give me 2009 and 2010 LeBron. 2013 LeBron has more of the traits of 2009 and 2010 LeBron than 2012 and 2011 did. He looks quicker off the first step this year than he has in sometime. He's looked good ever since that game 6 in Boston.

[DatAsh]

He's also a better defender since joining Miami due to the same context you hold against him for '09 and '10 having better stats offensively. He had tremendous amounts of help in Miami offensively, that allows him to spend more energy on defense.

That's true.


LeBron still mostly plays on the perimeter. He has a slightly better post game, it's still nothing to be insanely proud of ... and he's a marginally better off the ball player. If you're playing PG on the perimeter, I will take the more athletic, quicker, explosive 2009 and 2010 model of LeBron.

He's not just a slightly better post player and off ball player, he's much better at both aspects. Hell, he's probably 3-4x the off ball player he was in Cleveland. It's almost like he didn't even know how to play off the ball when he first arrived in Miami; he kinda just stood off in the corner.

He's also a better shooter now than he ever was before.


For much of 2012, LeBron scored seemingly the majority of his points in transition.

That's simply not true. In fact, the 09' and 10' Cavs actually averaged more transition points per game than the 12' or 13' Heat, for which Lebron was probably even a bigger contributor, seeing as how he didn't have to share the transition points with Wade.


2009 and 2010 LeBron could score better in the half court.
In the role he was playing, yes. 09' or 10' Lebron wouldn't be as good of scorer on the current Miami Heat though as he doesn't have the off ball ability at all, and he can't play the post the way they rely on current Lebron to.


He's regained some of his quickness, but 2012 and even more so 2011 LeBron were really slow off the dribble.
He seemed a lot slower in 2011 than he did 2012.


I'm not saying 2009 and 2010 LeBron are better in terms of ability due to stats, I'm talking from the eye test. I feel his physical abilities in those seasons allow him to play better at his more natural game of play making point guard.
The eye test can be equally as deceiving - if not more-so - if context isn't taken into account. People always neglect role when it comes to judging player statistics and the implications they have on player ability; it's a big reason why people think Wade's dropped off a lot more than he actually has.


Given he has Wade and Bosh on his team, two elite ISO players ... I still don't feel he plays off the ball as much, or good enough as he should. He still dominates possessions with the ball in his hands.

I agree, but he doesn't just stand there and do nothing off the ball or dominate 90% of the shot clock like he did in Cleveland.


Which in turns minimizes Wade's effectiveness, since they are similar players. If that's the case, then give me 2009 and 2010 LeBron.

Agreed, but again, Cavs Lebron would minimize Wade even more.


2013 LeBron has more of the traits of 2009 and 2010 LeBron than 2012 and 2011 did. He looks quicker off the first step this year than he has in sometime. He's looked good ever since that game 6 in Boston.
I can somewhat see that. I think this is his best year so far.