NBA GMs polled: LeBron James still better than Kevin Durant

[WindmiLL]

''And it's not even close''. Funny, this phrase is pretty accurate here. Didn't expect that.

[KG215]

Durant has actually improved by leaps and bounds as a rebounder, but he is still a terrible defensive player for his immense skills level.

Durant is far from a "terrible" defender.

[ArbitraryWater]

Durant is far from a "terrible" defender.

Looked like one in the playoffs to me.

[KG215]

Looked like one in the playoffs to me.

Yeah, I mean we know after LeBron got more than wore down some of his years in Cleveland after havingto carry a huge load, he still brought it on the defensive end throughout the playoffs. But with Durant we should ignore that and the regular season numbers and eye test that say, at worst, he's a solid perimeter defender.

Like most high volume, have to almost too much for your team, perimeter player he has stretches of games or seasons where he doesn't give full effort defensively. And no, I'm not saying when he tries he's as good defensively as LeBron; but when he does try, which is more often (these days) than not, Durant is a pretty damn good perimeter defender. Not great or elite, but better than average or even above average.

[3ball]

pretty easy for GM's to say that right NOW - they haven't seen him play since the Spurs were slowing him down in last seasons playoffs (and unlike lebron, durant doesn't subjugate teammates to get his stats).

but if durant has added an inside game this offseason, he will actually be significantly better than lebron... not just a little bit.

[SCdac]

RC is the man
[color=white]for voting for Timmy[/color]

[bizil]

Even though MJ is the GOAT, I've always felt Bron, Bird, and Magic were kind of in their own league for perimeter players. Their size and versatility sets them apart from guys like MJ and Kobe becasue they can dominate from the PF position. And also create size mismatches with smaller perimeter players. But Bron is taking it to another level because of his defense and freak athletic ability. As great as Durant is (the best scorer in the world),his game simply isn't complete enough to pass Lebron by. The last perimeter player over Bron was Kobe. So u gotta be an EPIC ALL AROUND PLAYER and ALPHA DOG in one to even have a chance!

[mehyaM24]

Even though MJ is the GOAT, I've always felt Bron, Bird, and Magic were kind of in their own league for perimeter players. Their size and versatility sets them apart from guys like MJ and Kobe becasue they can dominate from the PF position. And also create size mismatches with smaller perimeter players. But Bron is taking it to another level because of his defense and freak athletic ability. As great as Durant is (the best scorer in the world),his game simply isn't complete enough to pass Lebron by. The last perimeter player over Bron was Kobe. So u gotta be an EPIC ALL AROUND PLAYER and ALPHA DOG in one to even have a chance!

co-sign. brillaint post...

bird,bron and magic from day one knew how to win. bird and magic winning and making the finals,lebron carrying bad rosters to the finals. when playing them, its different than volume scorers like mj and kobe (dime a dozen).

you MUST play them like a chess match. a thinking mans game. they can beat you in more ways than just simply iso scoring, hence the reason they came into the league and dominated from an individual and team standpoint from jump street

[3ball]

Their size and versatility sets them apart from guys like MJ and Kobe becasue they can dominate from the PF position. And also create size mismatches with smaller perimeter players.

lol.... no non-big in history has dominated and scored as many points from the post as Jordan.




"His strength is like a big man. He's the strongest guard, I'm talking about body-wise, to ever play"

said Magic Johnson... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM8sFgoSg2Q&t=1m10s




No non-big ever dominated the post, or scored more points from the post than Jordan.

No non-big overpowered more defenders in the paint than Jordan - so any talk about his height disadvantage to Magic, Larry or Lebron makes no difference because he overpowered interior defenders FAR more than these guys did - Magic would tell you as much.
.

[bizil]

lol.... no non-big in history has dominated and scored as many points from the post as Jordan.




"His strength is like a big man. He's the strongest guard, I'm talking about body-wise, to ever play"

said Magic Johnson... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM8sFgoSg2Q&t=1m10s




No non-big ever dominated the post, or scored more points from the post than Jordan.

No non-big overpowered more defenders in the paint than Jordan - so any talk about his height disadvantage to Magic, Larry or Lebron makes no difference because he overpowered interior defenders FAR more than these guys did - Magic would tell you as much.
.

But MJ dominated from the post AGAINST PERIMETER PLAYERS!!! PG's, SG's and SF's! Bron, Bird, and Magic ARE THE SIZE OF PF'S! Could MJ average 11 rebounds like Bird from the PF spot? NO! Could MJ play center like Magic did in the 80 Finals? NO!! Could MJ defend all five positions like Bron? HELL NO! MJ dominated perimeter players in the post!! He wasn't playing the ACTUAL BIG MAN POSITIONS DOING THAT! What the HELL ARE U TALKING ABOUT!

[3ball]

But MJ dominated from the post AGAINST PERIMETER PLAYERS!!! PG's, SG's and SF's! Bron, Bird, and Magic ARE THE SIZE OF PF'S! Could MJ average 11 rebounds like Bird from the PF spot? NO! Could MJ play center like Magic did in the 80 Finals? NO!! Could MJ defend all five positions like Bron? HELL NO! MJ dominated perimeter players in the post!! He wasn't playing the ACTUAL BIG MAN POSITIONS DOING THAT! What the HELL ARE U TALKING ABOUT!

Im sorry dude, I'm not trying to be mean, but what a ignorant thing to say - of course jordan could average 11 rebounds per game, IF he played PF the whole game, but he never did, so why even bring it up?

Has anyone not named Wilt Chamberlain ever gotten 69 points and 18 rebounds in a single game?... only Michael Jordan.

Also, only someone that never saw MJ or only saw him as a Wizard could say that Jordan only dominated perimeter players on the post - Jordan dominated everyone from the post, including big men.... Opposing coaches tried to stick big men on him all the time - he would beat them on the post, or take them outside and beat them with superior quickness.

Also, just overall, Jordan physically overpowered centers and power forwards to a FAR greater extent than bird, lebron or magic ever has... this is actually quite common knowledge - this is obvious just looking at how often he posterized defenders... a guy like Diaw would get DESTROYED

Each chest-to-chest poster IS Jordan physically overpowering the defender - so just based on that, we know that he went up stronger and physically overpowered paint defenders more than magic, lebron or bird ever did.


GIF's OF 105 CHEST-TO-CHEST POSTERS BY MICHAEL JORDAN (for best viewing, enlarge browser to 175%)

Top 15 MJ Dunks Over Multiple Contesting Defenders
Random Posters 1
Random Posters 2
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Random Posters 4
Random Posters 5
Random Posters 6 (for 6)
Old-Man Chest-to-Chest Posters
Partial Collection of MJ Dunks Over All-Time Great Centers
Various Two-Handed Posters Over Defenders (two-foot takeoffs)

[bizil]

Im sorry dude, I'm not trying to be mean, but what a ignorant thing to say - of course jordan could average 11 rebounds per game, IF he played PF the whole game, but he never did, so why even bring it up?

Has anyone not named Wilt Chamberlain ever gotten 69 points and 18 rebounds in a single game?... only Michael Jordan.

Also, only someone that never saw MJ or only saw him as a Wizard could say that Jordan only dominated perimeter players on the post - Jordan dominated everyone from the post, including big men.... Opposing coaches tried to stick big men on him all the time - he would beat them on the post, or take them outside and beat them with superior quickness.

Also, just overall, Jordan physically overpowered centers and power forwards to a FAR greater extent than bird, lebron or magic ever has... this is actually quite common knowledge - this is obvious just looking at how often he posterized defenders... a guy like Diaw would get DESTROYED

Each chest-to-chest poster IS Jordan physically overpowering the defender - so just based on that, we know that he went up stronger and physically overpowered paint defenders more than magic, lebron or bird ever did.


GIF's OF 105 CHEST-TO-CHEST POSTERS BY MICHAEL JORDAN (for best viewing, enlarge browser to 175%)

Top 15 MJ Dunks Over Multiple Contesting Defenders
Random Posters 1
Random Posters 2
Random Posters 3
Random Posters 4
Random Posters 5
Random Posters 6 (for 6)
Old-Man Chest-to-Chest Posters
Partial Collection of MJ Dunks Over All-Time Great Centers
Various Two-Handed Posters Over Defenders (two-foot takeoffs)

WOW! A bunch of nonsense to the fullest!! The bottom line is Bird, Magic, and Lebron are more versatile than MJ due to the size AND positions they actually played on the court. Sure MJ can dunk on big men! Hell KJ used to dunk on big men ALL THE TIME at 6'1! It's not about dunking on people. It's about rebounding and defending your position. There is a reason why MJ is a natural SG who also played PG and SF. It's because size wise those are the best fits. He's not physically equipped to play PF and C BOTTOM LINE!

The fact he dunk on bigs was because he was a freakish athlete! If he had to play PF and C game after game, those bigs would wear him down, post him up AND DUNK ON HIM way more than the other way around. It would be ridiculous for a coach to even do that! They have positions in sports FOR A REASON! It's due to the responsibilities that coaches are looking for AND the best fits size wise! Bottom line is I GO WITH WHAT I SEE! **** this hypothetical bull shit u are talking about. Bird, Magic, and Bron ARE THE GUYS in NBA history who were the bridge between the perimeter and big man positions. THAT CAN'T BE DEBATED!! MJ is the GOAT no doubt! But MJ was a SG who could also play PG and SF great as well.

[mehyaM24]

WOW! A bunch of nonsense to the fullest!! The bottom line is Bird, Magic, and Lebron are more versatile than MJ due to the size AND positions they actually played on the court. Sure MJ can dunk on big men! Hell KJ used to dunk on big men ALL THE TIME at 6'1! It's not about dunking on people. It's about rebounding and defending your position. There is a reason why MJ is a natural SG who also played PG and SF. It's because size wise those are the best fits. He's not physically equipped to play PF and C BOTTOM LINE!

The fact he dunk on bigs was because he was a freakish athlete! If he had to play PF and C game after game, those bigs would wear him down, post him up AND DUNK ON HIM way more than the other way around. It would be ridiculous for a coach to even do that! They have positions in sports FOR A REASON! It's due to the responsibilities that coaches are looking for AND the best fits size wise! Bottom line is I GO WITH WHAT I SEE! **** this hypothetical bull shit u are talking about. Bird, Magic, and Bron ARE THE GUYS in NBA history who were the bridge between the perimeter and big man positions. THAT CAN'T BE DEBATED!! MJ is the GOAT no doubt! But MJ was a SG who could also play PG and SF great as well.

good stuff. jordan has better accolades , and is more celebrated and accomplished than those guys, but i judge players by their skill level, so according to that yes, I do feel lebron is more skilled and therefor - better. the big o happens to agree with me.

[LBJ 23]

bizil why are you even wasting your time with 3ball? Even poido, who's one of the biggest Jordan fans on here, called that guy nuts. That's saying a lot.

[bizil]

bizil why are you even wasting your time with 3ball? Even poido, who's one of the biggest Jordan fans on here, called that guy nuts. That's saying a lot.

I hear you man!