Posted on 04/05/2025 1:34:23 PM PDT by nickcarraway
McGrady doesn’t view LeBron in the same category as Kobe or Kyrie.
He didn’t rely on orchestrated plays or structured offensive sets. His game was built for the playground, for the rawest form of basketball. A man against another, with nothing between them but space and opportunity. It was an art form, and McGrady mastered it.
A different kind of player
For over a decade, T-Mac was among the paragon of one-on-one scorers. A two-time scoring champion, a seven-time All-Star, a Hall of Famer with a signature game that blended finesse and force. He thrived in isolation, where creativity dictated survival and where hesitation was the quickest way to defeat.
“It’s hard to decipher that, man,” McGrady, one of a handful of players to average 32 points per game in a single season, said when asked to name the best one-on-one player in NBA history. “If you look at LeBron [James], I think LeBron has been amazing for 22 freaking years. He’s been the best basketball player for God knows how long.”
McGrady wasn’t dismissing LeBron James’ greatness. Few would. The mythic James, aiming for an unprecedented 21st consecutive season of 25 points per game, has ruled the NBA for over two decades, molding himself into an all-time force and the league’s greatest scorer. But the retired high-flyer wasn’t talking about five-on-five basketball. He wasn’t talking about leadership, vision or the ability to elevate a team. This was about one thing: isolation dominance. And in that world, he sees only a few names at the top.
“If you put him in one-on-one, I think he’ll get crushed,” the two-time scoring champ said. “I think he’ll get crushed amongst guys who are actually in the NBA, and I’m sure LeBron will tell you that.”
James, after all, is the most prolific scorer the league has ever seen, with more points than Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant. He’s the only player ever to eclipse 50,000 career points in the regular season and playoffs. But for many, it’s the method of scoring that defines a true one-on-one savant.
“His game is naturally built for five-on-five,” the 6'8'' forward opined. “He’s not a one-on-one basketball player. Kobe is a one-on-one basketball player, Kyrie is a one-on-one basketball player, James Harden. These guys are one-on-one basketball players. LeBron can’t do anything with that.”
The art of isolation
It’s a distinction rooted in style, not skill. The four-time champion has the numbers, the accolades, the longevity. But one-on-one basketball is about the ability to get a bucket against anyone, anywhere, with nothing but instinct and skill to rely on.
Bryant made a living off contested fadeaways, impossibly tough jumpers and footwork that turned defenders into statues.
Kyrie Irving, even at 33 years old, is a wizard with the ball, capable of breaking down any opponent in front of him.
James Harden, a revolutionary perimeter player who for years exhausted the rulebook, can put a defender in a blender with nothing but a step back and a change of pace.
James dominates in transition, exploits mismatches, picks defenses apart with vision few have ever possessed. He controls the tempo of a game like a conductor leading an orchestra, making the right play at the right time. His passes epitomize precision. He’s a freight train in the open court, an unselfish superstar who thrives in making his teammates better.
One-on-one vs five-on-five greatness
Some players are meant to control an entire game, while others are built to dominate in isolation. The rarest players can do both.
"The King," the league’s oldest active player, can score, but scoring — even he’ll tell you — isn’t his first instinct. He is wired to create, to read the floor, to make the right basketball play — something he’s chronically been criticized for. It still hasn’t deterred him.
That’s what has made him one of the most unselfish superstars the game has ever encountered. Bron can attack when needed, but he thrives on options, on manipulating defenses.
In a five-on-five game, that’s invaluable. That’s why James has four rings, why he’s been the face of the NBA for two decades, why he has outlasted nearly every one of his peers.
I don’t care about basketball or LeBron, but being a member of a team is different than being a lone wolf.
LeBron must be a good team player, passing the ball to somebody else when they have a better shot.
Lone wolf is a good one-on-one player keeping the ball to himself.
Apples and oranges.
He is the GOAT of flopping.
I don’t know much about basketball, but I am guessing “flopping” means being a drama queen to make it look like somebody fouled you.
Sports media, when the Lakers win: Theyfocus on all the Lebron highlights even when other teammates had a better game.
Also them: They focus on how badly the other teammates did when they lose a game, even when Lebron played horribly or worse than the other starting 4.
Yes. It’s not just in basketball. My understanding is it’s bad in soccer too. It’s much less in football.
MJ had to face a 60 plus win team first round of the playoffs early in his career, had a dynasty to get by (the Larry Bird Lakers) then get by another dynasty right after them (the Bad Boys Pistons) on the way to a three peat.
Lebron never had to face that.
Plus Jordan, in totality, throughout all of his career, played with less total All Star players than Lebron has, in totality, throughout his career, and had two three-peats, 6 championships in 8 years.
“I don’t know much about basketball, but I am guessing “flopping” means being a drama queen to make it look like somebody fouled you.”
This flopping nonsense is the single reason why soccer will never take root here...in North America.
My dad was getting very sick, but while he could still do it I took him to a Lakers game. LeBron made 1 basket in the entire first half. In the opening of the 3rd quarter he hit a 3 pointer. My dad, who was losing it, had the sense to tell me that he scored more points in that one shot than the entire first half. Then we shared an ice cream sandwich God bless my father and I will love LeBron for that memory of him.
LeBron is a swish
There are photoswhere three players from one soccer team are rolling on the ground, clutching a limb or joint, and one opposing player shrugging in front of a referee.
All high -faluting coaching aside … about the weak side and pick and roll and boxing out and then fast break and transition…. I think this is what basketball boils down to.
Im no fan of James - mainly for his kowtowing to the CCP and his faux racism stances - but he is undeniably one of the greatest ever and would excel in any format in any era.
Admire Tracy McGrady too - he is one of the few - Kevin Garnett being another - who made the jump from high school directly to the NBA and excelled.
Luca Doncic is going to be in LA long after LeBron is gone (at least Laker fans hope so).
Um…. Larry Bird Celtics. But yes, IMHO, Michael Jordan is the undisputed greatest of all time. What truly set him apart was his will to win…. Along with unmatched talent and drive. Such people are truly remarkable.
They brought him in to try and win a championship next season as he is being given time to gel with Lebron and Reaves (who is getting another year to get even better).
And the Bad Boy Pistons literally mugged MJ every game - and he still beat them (although I have always had a soft spot for Laimbeer… a force inside but he also had a sweet long shot….).
You have to realize, at one point in NBA history, it was a dueling rivalry between the Magic/Kareem Lakers and the Bird/McHale Celtics as to whom would win the championship.
Then, for 2 years the Thomas/Rodman/Laimbeer Pistons were on top.
Jordan had to get past the Celtics, then the Pistons, to get to glory.
For my daughter’s birthday twelve years ago, she wanted to go to a Eizarxs game as the Cavs / LeBron were in town. He had a terrible game and the Wizards won (a rare occurrence these days!) and the sports news next day was that LeBron was finished. Yet here we are….
Man I loved Laimbeer. That man could somehow tell where every referee was at any given time, and know if they were looking his way, and all the while when he was guarding others.
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