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Whose legacy has the most to gain with a title this year, Lebron or Duncan?
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For Lebron if he wins a title this would be his third title overall tying him with Bird. This would also put him in exclusive company as he would have three-peated something Shaq and Jordan did as alpha's.
For Duncan this would be his fifth title which is the most for a big since Kareem. This would also give him a title in three separate decades showing how far his dominance has stretched. Kareem won Finals MVP in 1971 and again in 1985 which is the record for longest gap. If Duncan wins Finals MVP he would have that beat by a year going from 1999-2014.
I think ultimately Lebron has the most to gain. If the Spurs win the title and let's say Parker is MVP that wouldn't mean as much as Lebron joining only Shaq/MJ as the only guys to ever 3-peat as Finals MVP.
Also historically speaking this is to date the rubber match in the finals between these two greats as they are 1-1 in the Finals against each other.
For Duncan this would be his fifth title which is the most for a big since Kareem. This would also give him a title in three separate decades showing how far his dominance has stretched. Kareem won Finals MVP in 1971 and again in 1985 which is the record for longest gap. If Duncan wins Finals MVP he would have that beat by a year going from 1999-2014.
I think ultimately Lebron has the most to gain. If the Spurs win the title and let's say Parker is MVP that wouldn't mean as much as Lebron joining only Shaq/MJ as the only guys to ever 3-peat as Finals MVP.
Also historically speaking this is to date the rubber match in the finals between these two greats as they are 1-1 in the Finals against each other.
Comments
Yes he's more corrupt than his high school classmate Tim Donaghy.
If Bron doesn't get the 3 peat this year, he'll still have a chance at another one or two. Lebron's build and durability makes me think this is a guy who is going to play at a high level into his 40s. A loss in this finals won't mean much if he dominates for the next ten years.
They've been saying it for years, but Duncan's clock has run out. It's too hard to get into this position with the emerging young talent. He needs to cash in this opportunity because it most likely will be his last.
A championship for Duncan won't do as much. He will still be ranked behind Russell, Kareem, and Wilt for big guys. I think as time goes on, Duncan will become even more underappreciated than he already is. He wasn't flashy, didn't put up outrageous scoring numbers (averaged 25.5 once, next highest was 23.3), played in San Antonio, and was part of a consistently outstanding basketball team, but they weren't necessarily a dynasty considering they never won back to back titles. He's already cemented himself as the greatest PF of all time (even though he's always been the crunch time C except for a few years with David Robinson).
For Lebron OTOH it's the first real step towards having a real argument for GOAT. A three-peat puts him one title away from longest consecutive streak since Russsell - if he hits four straight he's solidly in the conversation with Jordan and Russell. But lost this year and he'll need at least five total to get there, IMO.
Duncan already is the greatest power forward ever win or lose. And Bron, Bron will be retired a couple years before he hits 40. He came into the league as a grown man in his teens. Those types of guys tend to fall off severely once they hit their mid to late 30's. Look at Kobe and MJ's build when they came into the league. Pipe cleaner arms both of them. While ironically Duncan looks more like He was a rookie given his dedication to being quicker by losing the 25 lbs.
It means more to Bron Bron and Wade as they would 3peat and could say Hi to Jordan/Pippen and to Kobe/Shaq.
Duncan, while wanting this so bad he can taste it, already has 4 rings. He's not chasing anybody.
What hurts Duncan and for that matter Shaq/Kobe is none of them have a memorable finals. Due to the east being so fucking awful the teams they went up against were fucking garbage. The only finals that we remember from Duncan is the Detroit one which happened to be his personal worst one. For Kobe it's 2010 Boston where he was horrible in game 7. For Shaq in 2006 with Miami which is remembered with Wade flopping to the FT line.
While what helps Lebron just like MJ is fair or not they were always in marquee finals match ups. Lebron vs Durant was a memorable one, then against the Spurs we remember that series. Just like MJ when he went up against Magic, then Drexler, then the MVP Barkley, then DPOY Payton, then MVP Malone, then Malone again.
I think Lebron can gain a lot from winning his third straight title. I think a loss won't kill his legacy like if he had lost either of the last two. Remember Magic Johnson who we all have in our top 5 all-time was 5-4 in the finals with two of those being swept(actually has a career losing finals overall record). If Lebron ends up like 2-4 or 2-5 in Finals then yea that will hurt his legacy.
Spurs have home court but does anyone else find it weird that the Spurs are a -130 while the Heat are a +110? With Wade playing well I actually like Miami in this series but I know this will be a dog fight.
Also does Wade have anything to gain by possibly winning 4 titles? Or is his legacy pretty much secure as a top 5 SG of all-time but no way he ever sniffs top 15 status?
I think that 27 game winning streak last year damn near cost them in the playoffs last season.
Is there any scenario at all where the Heat win the title and Lebron ISN'T MVP? In 2011 had they won the title I think Wade would have been finals MVP.
Probably a dumb question because if Lebron isn't MVP mode I doubt they win the series.
I'm a big Lebron guy but was a little disappointed in him I gotta say.
Lebron can move to number 2 all time. I don't think he can ever pass Jordan. Maybe with 7 titles but he'll never win the tie breakers with MJ. He has more at stake. He gets a pass for the Cleveland Finals but that Dallas series kills him. He can't lost another. Especially this one. If Miami loses that title last year will forever have an asterisk. Yeah Miami won but it was a really weird series of events. If SA wins this year I think everyone comes away thinking that they were the better team twice, just got really unlucky one year. It takes away from that championship. Doesn't take it away but lessens it. That's 2-3 in the Finals and everyone discounts 1 of the 2. That hurts.
The odds that LBJ plays into his 40s is very low and even if he does, the odds of him playing at a high level goes way down.
40 is a long time though. I mean Ray Allen is the second oldest player in the NBA and he just turned 39. He's also still effective and last I saw not a center.