3ball can your low IQ ass please respond to this post about Wilt

[coastalmarker99]

You said that Wilt was an utter liability for the 76ers in the 67 playoffs and was carried by his teammates.


Stopped reading at 22 points

Wilt was carried

30% FT's... A liability in many ways.. multiple teammates outscoring him





Yet the facts once again prove you wrong.




Here is where Wilt ranked in every stat for the 1967 playoffs.
Rebounds Per Game
1. Wilt Chamberlain * • PHI 29.1

Total Rebounds
1. Wilt Chamberlain* • PHI 437


Blocks Per Game

1 Wilt Chamberlain 9.4


Total Blocks

1 Wilt Chamberlain 144


Total Points

3 Wilt Chamberlain 326


Points Per Game

7th Wilt Chamberlain 21.7


Total Assists
1.Wilt Chamberlain* • PHI 135

Assists Per Game

2 Wilt Chamberlain 9.0


Free Throw Attempts
1.Wilt Chamberlain* • PHI 160


Minutes Played
1.Wilt Chamberlain* • PHI 718


Minutes Per Game
1.Wilt Chamberlain* • PHI 47.9


Player Efficiency Rating
1.Wilt Chamberlain* • PHI 25.3

Win Shares
1.Wilt Chamberlain* • PHI 3.8

Offensive Win Shares
1.Wilt Chamberlain* • PHI 1.8

Defensive Win Shares
1.Wilt Chamberlain* • PHI 2.0

Win Shares Per 48 Minutes
1.Wilt Chamberlain* • PHI




I will wait for your response 3ball to my post as I am deeply interested to see how you can spin this into Wilt being carried by his teammates.



On another note 3ball by using your logic then I could easily say Pippen carried Jordan on his back as he carried that selfish shot jacker in all areas of the game besides scoring most years in the playoffs.

[HoopsNY]

You should know better than to make a thread directed at 3ball. He'll just provide some spin to defend his ridiculous take on this topic.

[3ball]

Wilt was tied for 3rd in scoring on his team

All the other stuff he did (rebounds, etc) was done by cheap role players like Horace or Cartwright.

The expensive players are the scorers... So if you have a juggernaut offensive player like MJ, Bird, Curry, etc - you can surround them with cheap defenders and have a #1 defense..

Otoh, weaker playoff scorers like Wilt require expensive HOF scorers like Chet Walker and Hal Greer to carry him.. So he needs more help than Jordan.

[SouBeachTalents]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eJhr4-Fotm0/Vl_IcB7eCgI/AAAAAAAAHXY/cz6PdKePmiobKHUu-nZFFxja6N-ybyxoQCCo/s0/Wilt1967.jpg

Bill Cartwright level contribution there

[coastalmarker99]

Wilt was tied for 3rd in scoring on his team

All the other stuff he did (rebounds, etc) was done by cheap role players like Horace or Cartwright.

The expensive players are the scorers... So if you have a juggernaut offensive player like MJ, Bird, Curry, etc - you can surround them with cheap defenders and have a #1 defense..

Otoh, guys like Wilt that can't score require expensive HOF scorers like Chet Walker and Half Greer to carry him.. So he needs more help than Jordan.



3ball when Jordan was by himself in the 1980's guess what he was getting swept and getting his ass kicked by Bird.


Compare to that Wilt who when he was by himself on the Warriors he was single handly dragging his awful teams to 7 game series against the Celtics who had the goat defender in Russell plus 9 to 10 hall of fame players on their roster alongside him plus a goat coach in Red.

[coastalmarker99]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eJhr4-Fotm0/Vl_IcB7eCgI/AAAAAAAAHXY/cz6PdKePmiobKHUu-nZFFxja6N-ybyxoQCCo/s0/Wilt1967.jpg

Bill Cartwright level contribution there



3ball take is the most disrespectful take on Wilt I have ever seen and I have seen some really bad ones on this site and real GM plus Reddit.

[Hey Yo]

In 86' Jordan had Woolridge who avg. 21ppg and Oakley avg a double-double.

He definitely wasnt by himself.

[coastalmarker99]

3ball should be personally exiled from this site for calling Wilt's god-tier 1967 playoff run in which he averaged 22 points 29 rebounds and 9 assists plus 9.4 blocks on 58 percent shooting a Bill Cartwright level of contribution

[3ball]

3ball when Jordan was by himself in the 1980's guess what he was getting swept and getting his ass kicked by Bird.


Compare to that Wilt who when he was by himself on the Warriors he was single handly dragging his awful teams to 7 game series against the Celtics who had the goat defender in Russell plus 9 to 10 hall of fame players on their roster alongside him plus a goat coach in Red.


Jordan dragged a poor man's Paul George to 6 rings

That's a better carry-job than Wilt can do

And Jordan was nearly beating the champs in 89' and 90' with literally nothing.. Wilt's casts were far superior with numerous all-stars and HOF's

[coastalmarker99]

Jordan dragged a poor man's Paul George to 6 rings

That's a better carry-job than Wilt can do

And Jordan was nearly beating the champs in 89' and 90' with literally nothing.. Wilt's casts were far superior with numerous all-stars and HOF's

Wilt played with 9 Hall of Fame teammates

'60 - Paul Arizen, Tom Gola

'61 - Paul Arizen, Tom Gola '

62 - Paul Arizen, Tom Gola

63 - Tom Gola '


64 - Nate Thurmond '

65 - Nate Thurmond, Hal Greer, Chet Walker '

66 - Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, Chet Walker '

67 - Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, Chet Walker '

68 - Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, Chet Walker

69 - Jerry West, Elgin Baylor '

70 - Jerry West, Elgin Baylor '

71 - Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich '

72 - Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich '

73 - Jerry West, Gail Goodrich

Wilt's teammates that were All-Stars but NOT HOFers

'62 - Tom Mescherry '63 - Guy Rodgers '64 - Guy Rodgers '65 - Luke Jackson

Wilt had Hall Of Fame teammates on his team every single season of his career. In 12/14 seasons he had at least 2 HOF teammates and here are there Playoff FG%'s...

'60 Arizin .43.1 Gola .41.2
'61 Arizin .32.5 Gola .20.6 '

62 Arizin .37.5 Gola .27.1 '
63 Gola...played 21 games and was shipped out '

64 Thurmond .43.8 '
65 Greer .45.5 Walker .48.0 '

66 Greer .35.2 Cunningham .16.1 Walker .37.5

'67 Greer .42.9 Walker .46.7 Cunningham .37.6 '

68 Greer .43.2 Walker .41.0 Cunningham broke a wrist in the first round (played 3 games)

69 West .46.9 Baylor .38.5 '

70 West .46.9 Baylor .46.6
'
71 West and Baylor...both injured and do not play in the playoffs. Goodrich .42.5 '

72 Baylor retires after 9 nine games. West .37.6. Goodrich .44.5 '

73 West .44.9 Goodrich .44.8

'62 Meschery was NOT an all-star. He shoots .39.7 in playoffs. '63 Meschery (* All-Star. Played 64 games. 16 ppg .42.5 FG% during the season.) '63 Rodgers (shoots .38.7 in the regular season. '64 Rodgers .32.9 in post-season. '65 Jackson .33.8 in playoffs.

60 Playoffs Wilt shoots 50 percent from the field while his teammates collectively shoot .38.0 from the field. Lose game six of EDF's.

'61 Playoffs Wilt shoots 49 percent from the field while his teammates collectively shoot .33.2 from the field. Lose in 1st round.

'62 Playoffs Wilt shoots 46 percent from the field while his teammates collectively shoot .35.4 from the field. Lose in game seven of EDF's.

'64 Playoffs Wilt shoots 54 percent from the field while his teammates collectively shoot .38.3 from the field. Lose in game five of Finals.

'65 Playoffs. Wilt shoots 53 percent from the field while his Teammates collectively shoot .41.3 from the field. Lose in game seven of EDF's.

'66 Playoffs Wilt shoots 50 percent from the field while his Teammates collectively shoot .35.2 from the field. Lose in game five of EDF's.

'67 Playoffs Wilt shoots 58 percent from the field while his Teammates collectively shoot .42.8 from the field. Wins Title

'68 Playoffs Wilt shoots 53 percent from the field while his Teammates collectively shoot .41.6 from the field. Lose in game seven of EDF's.

'69 Playoffs Wilt shoots 54 percent while his Teammates collectively shoot .42.1 from the field. Lose game seven of Finals.

'70 Playoffs Wilt shoots 55 percent while his Teammates collectively shoot .46.9 from the field. Lose game seven of Finals.

'71 Playoffs Wilt shoots 45 percent from the field while his Teammates collectively shoot .446 from the field. Lose game five of WCF's.

'72 Playoffs Wilt shoots 56 percent from the field while his Teammates collectively shoot .414 from the field. Wins Title.

'73 Playoffs Wilt shoots 55 percent the field while his Teammates collectively shoot .446 from the field. Lose game five of Finals.

Look...year-after-year Chamberlain's teammates under-performed. Hell, even in their title year of 71-72...his teammates collectively shot .41.4, in a post-season NBA that shot 44.6. And yet, because of Wilt's efficiency, rebounding, and stifling defence, that team went 12-3 and won the title. Just amazing.

[3ball]

Wilt played with 9 Hall of Fame teammates

'60 - Paul Arizen, Tom Gola

'61 - Paul Arizen, Tom Gola '

62 - Paul Arizen, Tom Gola

63 - Tom Gola '


64 - Nate Thurmond '

65 - Nate Thurmond, Hal Greer, Chet Walker '

66 - Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, Chet Walker '

67 - Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, Chet Walker '

68 - Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, Chet Walker

69 - Jerry West, Elgin Baylor '

70 - Jerry West, Elgin Baylor '

71 - Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich '

72 - Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich '

73 - Jerry West, Gail Goodrich

Wilt's teammates that were All-Stars but NOT HOFers

'62 - Tom Mescherry '63 - Guy Rodgers '64 - Guy Rodgers '65 - Luke Jackson

Wilt had Hall Of Fame teammates on his team every single season of his career. In 12/14 seasons he had at least 2 HOF teammates and here are there Playoff FG%'s...

'60 Arizin .43.1 Gola .41.2
'61 Arizin .32.5 Gola .20.6 '

62 Arizin .37.5 Gola .27.1 '
63 Gola...played 21 games and was shipped out '

64 Thurmond .43.8 '
65 Greer .45.5 Walker .48.0 '
66 Greer .35.2 Cunningham .16.1 Walker .37.5
'67 Greer .42.9 Walker .46.7 Cunningham .37.6 '
68 Greer .43.2 Walker .41.0 Cunningham broke a wrist in the first round (played 3 games)
69 West .46.9 Baylor .38.5 '
70 West .46.9 Baylor .46.6
'71 West and Baylor...both injured and do not play in the playoffs. Goodrich .42.5 '

72 Baylor retires after 9 nine games. West .37.6. Goodrich .44.5 '

73 West .44.9 Goodrich .44.8

'62 Meschery was NOT an all-star. Shoots .39.7 in playoffs. '63 Meschery (* All-Star. Played 64 games. 16 ppg .42.5 FG% during the season.) '63 Rodgers (shoots .38.7 in the regular season. '64 Rodgers .32.9 in post-season. '65 Jackson .33.8 in playoffs.

60 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .38.0 from the field. Lose game six of EDF's.

'61 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .33.2 from the field. Lose in 1st round.

'62 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .35.4 from the field. Lose in game seven of EDF's.

'64 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .38.3 from the field. Lose in game five of Finals.

'65 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .41.3 from the field. Lose in game seven of EDF's.

'66 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .35.2 from the field. Lose in game five of EDF's.

'67 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .42.8 from the field. Wins Title

'68 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .41.6 from the field. Lose in game seven of EDF's.

'69 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .42.1 from the field. Lose game seven of Finals.

'70 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .46.9 from the field. Lose game seven of Finals.

'71 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .446 from the field. Lose game five of WCF's.

'72 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .414 from the field. Wins Title.

'73 Playoffs. Teammates collectively shoot .446 from the field. Lose game five of Finals.

Look...year-after-year Chamberlain's teammates under-performed. Hell, even in their title year of 71-72...his teammates collectively shot .41.4, in a post-season NBA that shot 44.6. And yet, because of Wilt's efficiency, rebounding, and stifling defence, that team went 12-3 and won the title. Just amazing.


Wilt and Lebron are similar - their style doesn't elevate teammates - I'd post the stats to prove it but you just did

Otoh, Jordan elevated single digit rookies to 3-peats and people only praise their play (even overrate their play) - that's how much Jordan learned to elevate teammates

The reason that Jordan elevated teammates is because he's the only guy that was ever criticized for it and basically FORCED to learn how... In the 80's, no one felt sorry for Jordan having weaker casts then Boston or LA - everyone said "your cast is worse because you don't elevate teammates".. the term "elevate teammates" ORIGINATED from this criticism of MJ... So he was forced to learn how to let Pippen, BJ and others maximize their role, while Wilt/Lebron reduce teammate roles to spot-up shooter.

[coastalmarker99]

Jordan dragged a poor man's Paul George to 6 rings

That's a better carry-job than Wilt can do

And Jordan was nearly beating the champs in 89' and 90' with literally nothing.. Wilt's casts were far superior with numerous all-stars and HOF's

No other player in history has come close to achieving what Chamberlain did in 1962 with what he had to work with. He defied all the odds. Take Wilt off that team and the Warriors would be dead last in the league in fg% at .40.2 and his teammates would collectively shoot an even worse .35.2 in the playoffs.

And although Wilt finished second only to Russell in playoff defensive win shares, the Warriors were still the absolute worst defensive team in the league. On top of that, 7 of the top 10 playoff defensive win shareholders that year were all Celtics players. The Warriors had no business being in the East Finals and were not even favoured to win a single game against Boston. Yet Wilt managed to push that sorry cast of characters to a Game 7 two-point loss.

Wilt did everything necessary to win that game 7 otherwise it wouldn't have been that close. In fact, the papers praised Wilt for playing "outstanding defence" while sharing scoring with his teammates. He was literally all over the place and blocked a total of 14 shots in that game 7. But after Guy Rodgers fouled out and the Warriors began to trail he immediately went to work and tied the game by himself. And in the end, all it came down to was Boston barely squeaking by on technicalities.

Bottom line is that what Wilt did in the 1962 playoffs was incredible, and no other player could've come close to what he accomplished with the amount of success he had given the cards he was dealt.

[coastalmarker99]

You speak about playstyles 3ball yet I notice you refuse to talk about the stacked superteams that Wilt and Lebron had to face for most of their careers.



Jordan was very lucky to feast on an expansion era that featured no other teams to challenge his stacked Bulls teams I mean his biggest threat in the east most years in the 1990s was Ewing whose sidekick was John starks and yet somehow he was somehow taking the Bulls the distance in the playoffs.

[3ball]

You speak about playstyles 3ball yet I notice you refuse to talk about the stacked superteams that Wilt and Lebron had to face for most of their careers.



Jordan was very lucky to feast on an expansion era that featured no other teams to challenge his stacked Bulls teams I mean his biggest threat in the east most years in the 1990s was Ewing whose sidekick was John starks and yet somehow he was somehow taking the Bulls the distance in the playoffs.


I agree that Wilt faced the super-team of all super-teams - Bill Russell's Celtics

It was an 8-team league with all the good players on 1 team (Celtics), just to beat Wilt.. Wilt faced actual super-teams (unlike the 16' Warriors who weren't a super-team - only lebron had a super-team until KD joined Warriors)..

That's why I have Wilt as top 3 all-time along with MJ and Bird.

People forget that Jordan faced the toughest KIND OF TEAM - long-term, organic juggernauts and chemistry - lebron has a lottery record against organic teams (Mavs, Spurs, Warriors), while Jordan is 6-0.

[coastalmarker99]

I agree that Wilt faced the super-team of all super-teams - Bill Russell's Celtics

It was an 8-team league with all the good players on 1 team (Celtics), just to beat Wilt. Wilt faced actual super-teams (unlike the 16' Warriors who weren't a super-team - the only Lebron had a super-team until KD joined Warriors).

That's why I have Wilt as top 3 all-time along with MJ and Bird.

People forget that Jordan faced the toughest KIND OF TEAM - long-term, organic juggernauts and chemistry - LeBron has a lottery record against organic teams (Mavs, Spurs, Warriors), while Jordan is 6-0.


People are rather dumb for blaming Wilt for losing to the Celtics every year due to his playstyle when it really was Wilt by himself vs 10 hall of Famers plus a goat coach and to his credit Wilt actually made those series go the full distance and he was 9 points away from having a 5 3 record against Russell in the playoffs.






Think about Jordan playing with basically only Pippen under Doug Collins or Stan Albeck in the 1990s against a team featuring 7 to 10 hall of Famers coached by Phill Jackson and he would have struggled to win rings as well no matter how well he played on both ends.

[coastalmarker99]

I also don't understand 3ball why you are so hard on LeBron losing to the Warriors in 2017 and 2018 as there are very few teams in NBA history that could even go toe to toe with that golden state buzzsaw in a 7 game series.


Personally even Jordan's Bulls would have lost to that 2017 Warrior team as that team is the goat team.



Durant would have lit up Pippen like a Christmas tree over the course of a 7 game series


And Curry would flat out abuse Ron and Kerr over the course of a 7 game series on the perimeter

[dankok8]

I also don't understand 3ball why you are so hard on LeBron losing to the Warriors in 2017 and 2018 as there are very few teams that could even go toe to toe with that golden state buzzsaw.

For me the problem isn't that he lost those series but that he got outplayed by KD so often.

[3ball]

For me the problem isn't that he lost those series but that he got outplayed by KD so often.


Lebron didn't have an inferior cast in 2017 - he should've won that year but quite honestly, he has no idea how to play - his AAU brand of ball-dominance and your-turn-my-turn with Kyrie would've lost to numerous Western foes that year, not just the Warriors

[coastalmarker99]

For me the problem isn't that he lost those series but that he got outplayed by KD so often.


Not really they basically fought each other to a standstill in those two finals series it was not like Wilt vs Russell in which Wilt just utterly destroyed him on both ends of the court most of the time.




And anyway we both know that if they switched teams that the Warriors still win those titles in those two years much like the Celtics would have still won countless titles throughout the 1960s if they had Wilt instead of Russell.

[3ball]

Not really they basically fought each other to a standstill in those two finals series it was not like Wilt vs Russell in which Wilt just utterly destroyed him on both ends of the court most of the time.


Lebron/Kyrie were the preseason favorites in 15' and 16' - why didn't they win 70 like Curry???... They simply never had a weaker cast than the Warriors, but Lebron-ball is a garbage brand of ball that underachieves with good teammates.

Ultimately, Lebron's AAU brand and your-turn-my-turn with Kyrie would've lost to numerous Western foes that year, not just the Warriors.. ditto 2014 or 2018

[coastalmarker99]

Lebron/Kyrie were the preseason favorites in 15' and 16' - why didn't they win 70 like Curry???... They simply never had a weaker cast than the Warriors, but Lebron-ball is a garbage brand of ball that underachieves with good teammates.

Ultimately, Lebron's AAU brand and your-turn-my-turn with Kyrie would've lost to numerous Western foes that year, not just the Warriors.. ditto 2014 or 2018



The only team that could have taken the 2017 Cavs out in a best of 7 that year was the Durant Warriors and if the Cavs had gotten lucky to met any other Western teams that year in the finals besides the Warriors then the Cavs go back to back.

[coastalmarker99]

The Cavs were blown away by near-record amount in the 2017 Finals - every other opponent that the Warriors played did better, especially the Houston Rockets, who would've destroyed the Cavs

I would never trust Harden to play well under pressure as the main superstar in the finals against a player of Lebron's level


The Cavs would have taken them out in 6 games.

[3ball]

The only team that could have taken the 2017 Cavs out in a best of 7 that year was the Durant Warriors and if the Cavs had gotten lucky to met any other Western teams that year in the finals besides the Warriors then the Cavs go back to back.


Lebron/Kyrie were the preseason favorites in 15' and 16' - so why didn't they win 70 like Curry???...

So they never had a weaker cast than the Warriors and should've won in 2017... but Lebron-ball is a garbage brand of ball that underachieves with good teammates.

Ultimately, Lebron's AAU brand would've lost to numerous Western foes in various years, such as 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, or 2018

[coastalmarker99]

Lebron/Kyrie were the preseason favorites in 15' and 16' - so why didn't they win 70 like Curry???...

So they never had a weaker cast than the Warriors and should've won in 2017... but Lebron-ball is a garbage brand of ball that underachieves with good teammates.

Ultimately, Lebron's AAU brand would've lost to numerous Western foes in various years, such as 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, or 2018


Hell no to 2015 or 2018 as I am never backing Harden to win as the lone superstar in a finals series vs a prime Lebron especially when you consider that Cp would have missed the entire finals in 2018 due to injury and Dwight would have been also playing hurt in the 2015 finals.



Plus that Heat team in 2011 would have taken out a young Okc team as they did in the 2012 finals if they had beaten Dallas that year In the WCF

[dankok8]

Not really they basically fought each other to a standstill in those two finals series it was not like Wilt vs Russell in which Wilt just utterly destroyed him on both ends of the court most of the time.




And anyway we both know that if they switched teams that the Warriors still win those titles in those two years much like the Celtics would have still won countless titles throughout the 1960s if they had Wilt instead of Russell.

Even if we take the best case scenario that they played each other to a standstill, that's a bad look for the so called GOAT. The greatest player ever can see his team lose but he can't not be the best player.

[SouBeachTalents]

Even if we take the best case scenario that they played each other to a standstill, that's a bad look for the so called GOAT. The greatest player ever can see his team lose but he can't not be the best player.
I seriously doubt a 32-33 year old Jordan is putting up better production than LeBron was in those series. Peak Durant in that specific scenario of playing with that spacing and the Cavs focusing their defensive attention on Curry could go toe to toe statistically with anybody. He's a GOAT scorer playing under the easiest circumstances imaginable

[Lebron23]

For me the problem isn't that he lost those series but that he got outplayed by KD so often.

LeBron at 32 and 33 is better than Jordan from 1996-98. His team would have lost to the Warriors in 2017 and 2018

[AirBonner]

Yikes op dragging 3ball face first thru the mud

[coastalmarker99]

I seriously doubt a 32-33 year old Jordan is putting up better production than LeBron was in those series. Peak Durant in that specific scenario of playing with that spacing and the Cavs focusing their defensive attention on Curry could go toe to toe statistically with anybody. He's a GOAT scorer playing under the easiest circumstances imaginable

In Game 3, of the 2017 finals which ended up being a five-point loss for the Cavs Lebron was a plus-seven in 46 minutes. As Vice Sports’s Michael Pina astutely pointed out after the game, that means in the two minutes LeBron sat down, the Cavaliers were a minus-12. In 120 seconds—in the time it takes for you to microwave a Hot Pocket—Cleveland’s supporting cast completely undid LeBron’s heroic efforts.




With Durant off the court in the 2017 Finals, the Warriors still have a net rating of 9.3. For reference, Golden State finished the regular season with a 12.3 net rating, and the Spurs ranked second at 7.9. Curry may have a better case than Durant, as the Warriors have a negative point differential when Steph sits. But even then, the negative effect is nowhere near as drastic as LeBron’s splits. All three players—Durant, Curry and James— had great series, but it’s clear which of the trio was carrying the biggest burden throughout the series.






As we saw in Game 3 for the Cavs even a precious few seconds of rest for LeBron could be the difference between victory or gut-wrenching defeat for them. If LeBron playing 48 minutes as opposed to 46 minutes is the biggest difference between a win or loss, it’s hard to argue that any player on the court in the 2017 finals was more valuable than him.

[coastalmarker99]

The 2017 NBA Finals played out as many expected. The Golden State Warriors annihilated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, which was by and large an uncompetitive series.

To no one’s surprise, Kevin Durant was crowned as the Finals MVP and became the 16th player to be awarded a Finals and regular-season MVP throughout their career.

Durant absolutely deserved the Finals MVP. He led the Warriors in scoring and consistently hit contested shots when the rest of the Warriors went through dry spells scoring the basketball. But was Durant the best overall player in the Finals?


As blasphemous of a question as that may seem, Durant’s primary assignment throughout this series was to do what he does best, put the ball in the hole. Durant played well defensively throughout the series, but players like Draymond Green and Klay Thompson certainly helped him on that side of the floor.

LeBron James, on the other hand, was tasked with a much more robust assignment; do everything. LeBron not only led the Cavaliers in scoring, but he also became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double in the Finals.

Below is the side-by-side comparison of LeBron and Durant’s Finals statistical lines.


2017 NBA Finals Averages
Kevin Durant: 35.2 points, 6.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds
LeBron James: 33.6 points, 12.0 assists, 10.0 rebounds

In addition to LeBron’s ridiculous totals throughout the 2017 finals he assisted on 42.5 percent the Cavaliers made baskets and had a higher Player Impact Rating (PIE) than Durant.

Without LeBron on the floor, the Cavaliers crumbled under the offensive onslaught of the Warriors. In a series where the Cavaliers were outscored by 34 points, it is remarkable that LeBron recorded a plus/ minus of +20.

Ultimately, LeBron was asked to do more for the Cavaliers than Durant was for the Warriors. Durant had a better supporting cast around him that has a complementary skill set to his strengths.

We were all witness to maybe LeBron’s greatest statistical Finals performance in his career and it will likely be overshadowed by Durant acquiring his first NBA title and the Warriors dominance.

During the regular season in 2017 the triple-doubles of Russell Westbrook and James Harden seemed to dominate national headlines, putting both at the forefront of the regular season MVP conversation. However, many of those stellar performances were inflated by playing against below-average teams and catching teams on back-to-backs or not at full strength.

LeBron averaged a triple-double on the brightest stage, against maybe the best team in NBA history. Unfortunately for him, most NBA fans will remember the 2017 NBA Finals as the 5th Finals in which he suffered defeat.



I for one, won’t be one of those people. As In my humble opinion, LeBron was still the best player on the floor in the 2017 NBA Finals. It just so happens that the Cavaliers ran into a much better team.

[Sportal]

This was actually a really good read until the LeBron bs like every-single-****ing thread in here.

[Axe]

3ball should be personally exiled from this site for calling Wilt's god-tier 1967 playoff run in which he averaged 22 points 29 rebounds and 9 assists plus 9.4 blocks on 58 percent shooting a Bill Cartwright level of contribution
https://i.makeagif.com/media/2-17-2016/NPVP76.gif