Liberal Arts Blog — Lebron James: “Consistency and Adaptability” — No Signature Move but Soon 38,388 Points
Liberal Arts Blog — Saturday is the Joy of Sports, Dance, Fitness, and All Things Physical Day
Today’s Topic: Lebron James: “Consistency and Adaptability” — No Signature Move but Soon 38,388 Points
Apparently, “Kareem Abdul Jabbar had his skyhook” and “Michael Jordan had his fadeaway” but “LeBron James will pass them for most points in NBA history by scoring however he needs to.” I will take it on faith. I just don’t know the history of basketball as well as I wish I did. But I try to learn more periodically to be able to have more rewarding conversations with people for whom basketball means so much. Today, a few notes on LeBron. Any strong opinions? Second to Michael Jordan? Much further down the list? Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
“FOR 20 YEARS JAMES HAS BEEN THE NBA’S METRONOME”
1. “Only once has he played fewer than 55 games in a season, and not since his rookie year has he averaged less than 25 points per game.” (first link below)
2. “But that statistical consistency belies the adaptability that has made his rise up the scoring ranks possible. James’s career has seen him be a one-man band and a superteam stalwart; it has coincided with a period of unprecedented evolution in how basketball is analyzed and played.”
3. “He will soon tally his 38,388th point, one more than anyone else ever has, because of how he’s evolved with it.
NB: “Depending on who he has with him, that’s when he changes,” said Keith Dambrot, who coached James for two seasons at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. “It’s just a superior intellect that allows him to morph into whatever he wants to be.”
JAMES (1984 — ) IS UP THERE WITH JORDAN (1963 — ), CHAMBERLAIN (1936 -1999), AND RUSSELL (1934–2022)
1. James has won more points, rebounds and assists than any of his biggest three record-book rivals. In 2022, he crossed the 10,000 mark — the only player in NBA history to do so. (second link below)
2. He is also the first player in NBA history “to cross the $1 billion mark in career earnings as an active player.” (Of course, with an assist, so to speak, from inflation.)
3. He is a 19X NBA All Star, a 4X NBA champion, 4X NBA MVP, 4X NBA Finals MVP, 3X All-Star MVP, 2X Olympic gold medal.
A DIFFICULT CHILDHOOD IN AKRON, OHIO
1. His mother, Gloria Marie James, “was 16 at the time of his birth. His father, Anthony McClelland, has an extensive criminal record and was not involved in his life.”
2. “When James was growing up, life was often a struggle for the family, as they moved from apartment to apartment in the seedier neighborhoods of Akron while Gloria struggled to find steady work.”
3. “Realizing that her son would be better off in a more stable family environment, Gloria allowed him to move in with the family of Frank Walker, a local youth football coach who introduced James to basketball when he was nine years old.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/lebron-james-signature-move-michael-jordan-11675199255
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James
https://www.complex.com/sports/best-nba-players-of-all-time-ranked
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“In my walks, every man I meet is in some way my superior and in that I can learn of him.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
For the last four years of posts organized by theme:
PDF with headlines — Google Drive
ATTACHMENTS BELOW:
#1 A graphic guide to justice (9 metaphors on one page).
#2 “39 Songs, Prayers, and Poems: the Keys to the Hearts of Seven Billion People” — Adams House Senior Common Room Presentation, 11/17/20
YOUR TURN
Please share the coolest thing you learned this week related to sports, dance, fitness. Or the coolest thing you learned about Sports, Dance, of Fitness in your life — whether on the field, on the dance floor or in the gym, whether from a coach, a parent, a friend, or just your own experimentation.
This is your chance to make some one else’s day. Or even change their life. It’s perhaps a chance to put into words something you have never articulated before. And to cement in your own memory something cool you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply than otherwise about something dear to your heart.
