[SportsPedagogy]

Originally posted on 06/12/2011:

People either love Lebron James and think he is the best, or they think he is very overrated. I think its somewhere in the middle. One thing i keep hearing is people saying "Dont listen to the media, you buy their BS and makes you think he sucks" . I think its kind of the opposite, the media helped make Lebron when he was in high school. I have never seen a kid get his high school games played on TV as much as this kid. Days and Days of ESPN coverage, "Where wil he go" "When will he decide. I twas like "He got game all over again. He wind sup with the Cavs and their games are all over tv. Every good thing Lebron did was put on ESPN, he took the helpless Cavs and turned them into contenders. Then he goes to Miami in one of the biggest spectacle free agent signings ever seen. The Lebron hype train is humongous. Not saying hes not a good player deserving of hype, but this story fully eclipsed that of Kobe Bryant going for a 3 peat.

On the other hand, you have Kevin Durant. As a kid, he won many AAU national championships, Was regarded as the 2nd best high school player next to Greg Oden. He went to Texas and played on season and carried them to the Big 10 title game where he scored 37 in a losing effort to Kansas. The ended up losing in the 2nd round to USC in the big tournament. He then went 2nd to the Supersonics, All of the hype went to Greg Oden. He was offered a spot to try out for the 2007 FIBA team where he was cut. The 2008 Olympic team, where he was cut, then finally selected to the 2010 FIBA national team. Durrant led The "B-Team" (Without James, Kobe, Wade or Bosh " to the Championship against Turkey and won. Something the United States hadnt done in over a decade. Still, Durant was viewed as a perennial Super Star in the League, some people still dont fully accept him as one.

They say a players legacy is defined by his accomplishments, neither have won a championship yet, but ill break down the rest.

Years in the league: James: 8 Durant: 4
Rookie of the Year Awards: Each have one ...obviously.
All-Star Appearances : James: 7 Durant: 2
NBA Scoring Titles: James: 1 Durant 2
All NBA First Team: James: 5 Durant: 2
James as well has won MVP of the League Twice.

My question to you, is, what if the roles were reversed. What if Durant was hyped up on ESPN when he was in high school and went straight into the NBA after days of the media following him for his decision, while Lebron James did a year in College, gained some recognition as one of the top college players that year and as drafted #2 overall. Each player being the same exact as they are. Same skill set and mentality, just different media exposure. Do you think Durant would be refereed to as the best in the league and "potently better then Jordan" ? Or would that title still go to Lebron ?

Side Note: Im not bashing Lebron, i think he is a great player. (He is human as he has shown in this series, but stil one of the top players) I just feel the media can make a players legacy and i wanted to compare two differently viewed players.

[jmbbarata]

Originally posted on 06/12/2011:

People either love Lebron James and think he is the best, or they think he is very overrated. I think its somewhere in the middle. One thing i keep hearing is people saying "Dont listen to the media, you buy their BS and makes you think he sucks" . I think its kind of the opposite, the media helped make Lebron when he was in high school. I have never seen a kid get his high school games played on TV as much as this kid. Days and Days of ESPN coverage, "Where wil he go" "When will he decide. I twas like "He got game all over again. He wind sup with the Cavs and their games are all over tv. Every good thing Lebron did was put on ESPN, he took the helpless Cavs and turned them into contenders. Then he goes to Miami in one of the biggest spectacle free agent signings ever seen. The Lebron hype train is humongous. Not saying hes not a good player deserving of hype, but this story fully eclipsed that of Kobe Bryant going for a 3 peat.

On the other hand, you have Kevin Durant. As a kid, he won many AAU national championships, Was regarded as the 2nd best high school player next to Greg Oden. He went to Texas and played on season and carried them to the Big 10 title game where he scored 37 in a losing effort to Kansas. The ended up losing in the 2nd round to USC in the big tournament. He then went 2nd to the Supersonics, All of the hype went to Greg Oden. He was offered a spot to try out for the 2007 FIBA team where he was cut. The 2008 Olympic team, where he was cut, then finally selected to the 2010 FIBA national team. Durrant led The "B-Team" (Without James, Kobe, Wade or Bosh " to the Championship against Turkey and won. Something the United States hadnt done in over a decade. Still, Durant was viewed as a perennial Super Star in the League, some people still dont fully accept him as one.

They say a players legacy is defined by his accomplishments, neither have won a championship yet, but ill break down the rest.

Years in the league: James: 8 Durant: 4
Rookie of the Year Awards: Each have one ...obviously.
All-Star Appearances : James: 7 Durant: 2
NBA Scoring Titles: James: 1 Durant 2
All NBA First Team: James: 5 Durant: 2
James as well has won MVP of the League Twice.

My question to you, is, what if the roles were reversed. What if Durant was hyped up on ESPN when he was in high school and went straight into the NBA after days of the media following him for his decision, while Lebron James did a year in College, gained some recognition as one of the top college players that year and as drafted #2 overall. Each player being the same exact as they are. Same skill set and mentality, just different media exposure. Do you think Durant would be refereed to as the best in the league and "potently better then Jordan" ? Or would that title still go to Lebron ?

Side Note: Im not bashing Lebron, i think he is a great player. (He is human as he has shown in this series, but stil one of the top players) I just feel the media can make a players legacy and i wanted to compare two differently viewed players.

I agree with the " face to face " but today James scores 40 points or more