SECTION 12 - Lebron: The Most Overrated Defender of All-Time

LeBron guarding 1-5 is one of the biggest lies in NBA History. Lebron can absolutely NOT guard 1-5 consistently or effectively. Before we get into this, there's a couple things that people need to realize. All those made up stats like defensive rating and defensive win shares do not indicate the quality of an elite defender. Let's take a look at some examples.

In the 2013/14 season, a horrible defender like Boozer was ranked in the top 10 of defensive rating, ahead of Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler, Dwight Howard, and Serge Ibaka. Lebron was also not ranked in the top 20 of defensive rating, but that is not the reasoning I am going to use to prove in order to prove he is an overrated defender. Defensive rating is a meaningless and made up stat. 

Gar Heard has the highest defensive rating of all time. That tells you all you need to know. Manu Ginobili and Shawn Kemp have higher defensive ratings than Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan, and Gary Payton is not in the top 200 Drtg. This stat has no credibility whatsoever.

Hakeem at age 39 in the final season of his career with the Raptors in 01/02 had a better Drtg than he did in the 94/95 season when he won his last championship, and better than his 86/87, 87/88, 91/92, 95/96, 96/97 seasons

In the playoffs, Charlie Ward is top 15 in Drtg over Kevin Garnett, and Greg Ostertag and Anderson Varejao are top 25 ahead of Dwight Howard, Kahwi Leonard, Dennis Rodman, Hakeem, Tony Allen, Mutombo, and more.

Made up stats like defensive rating and win shares don't
indicate anything about high quality defense

The same goes for defensive win shares. In 2014/15, James Harden was top 10 in Dwin shares, and Ron Artest only has one season in his entire career that he was top 10 in Dwin shares (2004). Bringing up those pointless stats will do nothing to prove that someone is a top-notch defender. 

DPBM is another irrelevant stat. In the playoffs, according to DBPM, Marcus Camby and Greg Ostertag are top 3 defenders of all time over Hakeem, David Robinson, Mutombo, Dwight Howard, Garnett, Duncan and many more players that they are not close to defensively.

And in the 1996 Playoffs, Luc Longley had a higher DBPM than Jordan, even though Jordan did the best defensive job out of anyone on Penny Hardaway and Gary Payton in the Conference Finals and NBA Finals. Longley also had 0.2 less DBPM than Dennis Rodman. The only Bulls with a worse DBPM than Jordan in the 1996 Playoffs were Buechler, Kerr, and Edwards (who played 28 total minutes) and this is simply ludicrous. Ron Harper and Luc Longley also had a higher DBPM than Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman in the 1997 Playoffs.

As more proof of how useless these stats are for evaluating defense, Ron Artest never was top 10 in DBPM or Drtg in any of his seasons in the league, and only once was he top 10 in Dwin shares at 7th in 2003/04 during his DPOY season. This is despite the fact that Ron Artest is considered arguably the best perimeter defender of his era. Clearly these stats are not to be trusted at all when it comes to evaluating defense, since apparently Ron Artest was never a top 10 defender in the league according to these stats, with the exception of Dwin shares in 2003/04.

And the fake defensive stats still don't back up Lebron in the first place regarding defense in the 2012/13 season. In the 2012/13 season that LeBron got 2nd place in DPOY he was only top 20 in one defensive category (Dwin shares at 10th). He was not top 20 in DBPM or Drtg. Remember, this is NOT my reasoning for Lebron's overrated defense. It's just here to show you that the logic of basing defense on meaningless numbers doesn't help LeBron's DPOY case anyway.

There are a multitude of high-quality defenders in the game's
history, and even today, that Lebron is not close to

Lebron does NOT guard 1-5, at least not effectively. If he could effectively guard 1-5, he would have won DPOY by now. He can play good help defense for a few seconds, switch over for one possession, and play some good defense on guards but he can not consistently guard 1-5. He can play 1-3 effectively (at times, not consistently) and that's it. Even if Lebron can guard 1-5, there is no point in guarding everybody if you don't lock anyone down. Jack of all trades but master of none. I would rather take the guy that can completely shut down 2 or 3 positions on the floor, like Gary Payton, rather than the guy who tries to guard all 5 but doesn't slow anyone down. And later on in this section we'll look at how much of a so-called "lockdown" defender Lebron really is. 

Dennis Rodman, now he could guard 1-5 consistently and effectively. I'd like to see Lebron go from giving Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan massive problems, then turn around and shut down Shaq consistently, and school Karl Malone in back to back NBA Finals. And no, playing two quarters of defense on Derrick Rose in two entire playoffs consisting of 10 total games is not guarding 1-5. It's impressive, but it doesn't make him Scottie Pippen (1-4), Anthony Mason (2-5), or Dennis Rodman (1-5).

Dennis Rodman is the ONLY human being that effectively AND consistently guarded all 5 positions

Boris Diaw held Lebron himself to 3-13 shooting over course of the 2013 Finals. In game 5 alone, Lebron shot 1-8 (12.5%) when guarded by Diaw. That one game makes Diaw a good defender, but it doesn't make him the next Defensive Player of the Year. Likewise, Lebron's two quarters of defense on Rose in an entire playoff series were impressive, but that does not make him the next Dennis Rodman, and it doesn't mean he can effectively and consistently guard 1-5.

Lebron has never consistently trouble an all-time great
big man the way Rodman and Mason did,
or even Pippen as seen by his defense on Barkley.

One or two strips on Duncan don't mean he can consistently guard a center like a lot of his irrational fans believe. Jordan had a huge block on Ewing, and also blocked Shaq on at least three different occasions. There is also a game where Jordan repeatedly blocked and stole the ball from Kevin Willis and Antoine Carr. There were also times where Jordan guarded Vlade Divac for multiple possessions and forced him into turnovers and missed shots, but that doesn't mean he can guard the 5 consistently. According to Lebron fanboys' logic, however, yes it does.

• Dennis Rodman (6-8 220) shut down a rookie Shaq (7-1, 300) in a 1993 regular season game. Shaq finished with 29 pts in the game, but Rodman was only assigned to guard him for the last 15 minutes of the game. Once Rodman guarded him, Shaq only took one shot and finished with one point in the 4th quarter.
• Rodman was not assigned to guard 24 year old Shaq (7-1, 320+ lbs) in the first half of a 1997 reg season game, and Shaq had 23 pts in that first half on 10/15 shooting. In the first half, Shaq scored 19 of his 23 points on defenders other than Rodman. When Rodman began guarding Shaq, Shaq had 0 pts on 0/3 shooting for the remainder of the 2nd half and OT.
• You think Lebron could do that to Shaq? Nope. If Lebron even tried guarding him for only one quarter like he did to Rose, Shaq would be on pace to break Wilt's 100 point record.

Can Lebron do that? Absolutely not. Lebron had maybe four or five plays where he fronted Pau Gasol in a regular season game against the Lakers. That's it. He did not lock down Gasol for long periods of the game. When has Lebron ever consistently guarded a center or power forward, let alone shut them down? At most he can do it for one play of help defense. That doesn't mean he can guard the 5 spot. He could be allowed to hand check, camp out in the lane without defensive 3 seconds, and maul Shaq all he wants but he would never come close to stopping him. Nor would he have a chance of stopping legit PFs for long stretches like Rodman did to Malone or Barkley. The one time LeBron tried guarding a PF consistently in David West during the 2014 ECF, West shot 100% against LeBron in Game 1 and LeBron didn't guard him for the rest of the series. That's what really happens if LeBron tries to legitimately guard a 4 or 5.

This is what happens when LeBron actually guards PFs and Cs for multiple possessions
- Dwight Howard
- David West
- Kevin Garnett 

LeBron even admitted after Game of the 2014 ECF, in which David West easily lit him up, that he can't guard PFs for long periods.

“It’s a huge adjustment, starting the game off that way,” James said of defending West on one end and then running the Heat’s offense at the other. “I could do it in spots at times. It was definitely a challenge for me. And I don’t think, personally, I was in the right spots in the right times. It was just a couple of breakdowns on my part. Guarding a [power forward] is definitely a challenge for me for long periods of time. I’m used to switching off more and more.”
Sure, there were a few plays in the 2014 Finals where Lebron knocked the ball out of a 38 year old Tim Duncan's hands. So what? Jordan also pulled the chair on Buck Williams once. That one play doesnt mean he can guard a 4 spot consistently. 38 year old Jordan also stripped Kenyon Martin 3 times in one game, does that mean Jordan can guard 1 to 4? Jordan also guarded Vlade Divac for a few possessions and made some good defensive plays. He also stopped Christan Laettner 1-1 at least 3 times in the 1997 NBA ECSF. 

Jordan also had success in guarding Charles Barkley for a few possessions in the 1990 ECSF. And Barkley is better than any PF or C LeBron has momentarily guarded in a playoff series, as Duncan was not in his prime when he went against LeBron. Does that mean Jordan can guard 1 to 5? No, it just means that he played good defense for a few possessions on those 4s and 5s, which isn't anything close to being able to guard a 4 or 5 consistently throughout an entire game.

Lebron got outscored by a bench player in the 2011,
who also shot more efficiently than him. So much
for that 1-5 lockdown defense.

Jason Terry called out Lebron's overrated defense in the 2011 Finals. And what happened? Did Lebron make him pay? Nope. At first, Terry actually didnt shoot well in the first few games of the series, and that was without Lebron on him. Even then, Lebron ended up getting outscored by the bench player, who increased his regular season stats of 16 ppg on 45% to 18 ppg on 49% in the Finals.

Lebron wasnt guarding Terry the whole time (as usual, Lebron can't guard someone for a whole game), but when he was, Terry lit him up. And he hit the game-sealing shot of the eventually series-deciding game 5 in Lebron's face. He couldn't even guard a spot-up shooter like Terry, and people think he could trouble Jordan who was going up against way better defenders like Cooper, Dumars, Rodman, Mason, Payton, etc.? Handchecking and physical defense isn't going to help Lebron against Jordan when Jordan already went up against better defenders with those advantages, like Anthony Mason, even bigger than Lebron.

I thought Lebron always consistently guards the other team's best player? What happened with 13 ppg Kawhi Leonard?

In the last 3 games of the series where the Spurs broke the tie and went 3-0 to cruise to the title, Leonard averaged 23.7 ppg on 69% against Lebron's overrated defense after only having 13 ppg on 52% in the season. If he can't handle a 13 ppg forward like Leonard, why would anyone think he can handle Larry Bird or Dominique Wilkins? His 6-8 250 athleticism wasn't even good enough to stop a 13 ppg Leonard. All the handchecking in the world wouldnt save his sporadic defense against Bird or Dominique after they dealt with vastly superior defenders like Pippen and Rodman.

• In the 1988 Finals, Magic Johnson was shut down in Game 5 against the Pistons with Rodman being the primary defender, and Rodman singlehandedly killed the Showtime Lakers' fastbreak game.
• Can Lebron do that? Nope. The closest Lebron has come to stopping a real PG is his two quarters of defense on Derrick Rose in the entire 2011 ECF (after already getting lit up by Rose in the 2010 first round), and his 2013 Finals against Tony Parker, and Lebron did not guard Parker throughout every quarter of the series. Plus, it was after Parker already lit him up in the 2007 Finals.

The best defensive performance of Lebron's entire
career is two quarters of defense on Derrick Rose
in 10 playoff meetings. That's consistently guarding
the 1 spot according to Lebron fans.

Lebron is far from a good defender like people think. This is why he played poor defense in 5 out of 6 NBA Finals appearances (we will get to this). LeBron isn't shutting down Isiah Thomas and Drexler like Jordan did. Guys like Dominique, King, Gervin, David Thompson, and Bird would drop 40 almost every time if Lebron tried guarding them for 40+ minutes.

Here's what Lebron has to say about his own defense

"That’s why I should be Defensive Player of the Year. “One-through-five. Started off on DeAndre, guarded Darren Collison that one possession, so, you know. No one has ever done this before.

ONE possession doesn't mean you can guard 1-5, as seen by Jordan's blocks on Shaq and Ewing, his blocks and steals on Kevin Willis and Antoine Carr, or his steal on Karl Malone, or the few 1-1 possessions he stopped Vlade Divac, Kenyon Martin, Christian Laettner, and Charles Barkley. Even though Dennis Rodman is the ONLY human being that could lock down 1-5 (Cedric Maxwell could guard 1-5, but not as effectively as Rodman), Pippen 1-4, and Anthony Mason 2-5, Lebron acts like he is special when he doesn't effectively AND consistently guard more than 2-3, with sporadic success at the 1

"He is truly the only person I have ever known that could guard all five positions. And I don't mean just guard them a little bit. Clamp down and shut down."

- 1989 Finals MVP Joe Dumars on Dennis Rodman.

Lebron has a long way to go from even being Defensive Player of the Year, let alone guarding all 5 positions consistently AND effectively like Rodman. Let's see if Lebron backs up his words with his performances in some of the most important playoff series of his career.

1) In the first round of the 2007 Playoffs, Lebron got outscored by Antawn Jamison, who also shot much more efficiently than him. Yes, you read that right. 

• Antawn Jamison averaged 32 ppg on 48% in the first round against Lebron after only averaging 19.8 ppg on 45% in the regular season
• Lebron, despite going against a Wizards defense that was the 3rd worst in the league, as well as Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler out for the playoffs, had 27.8 ppg on 43%.
• Jamison outperformed Lebron in every major category besides assists and steals.
• This is the year that Lebron was backed by a Cavs team with the top 5 defense in the league, so there is no excuse about not having enough help on the defensive end.
• Unfortunately, I can't find any footage of this series so we can't see for sure if Lebron was guarding Jamison. However, considering that Jamison was a small forward like Lebron, it is most likely that he was matched up with him.
• If Lebron wasn't matched up with Jamison for most of the series, then that shows that his team knew he wasn't good enough to guard Jamison in the first place. 

2) Lebron did play good defense on Tony Parker at times - not for the whole series - in the 2013 Finals. But people conveniently forget what happened against a prime Tony Parker

What Tony Parker did to Lebron's defense in 2007
is far worse than whatever Lebron's defense did to
Tony Parker, or any other player for that matter.

• In the 06/07 regular season, Tony Parker averaged 18.6 pts on 52%
• Against Lebron in the 2007 Finals, Parker averaged 24.5 pts on 57%.
• Jordan never allowed a much greater Isiah Thomas to torch him like that in any playoff series, but Lebron lets that happen against Tony Parker and somehow he can guard 1-5? 
• For those saying Lebron didnt have enough help on defense, the 2007 Cavs were a top 5 defense in the league and reduced Duncan's production to 18.3 ppg on 44.6% shooting after Duncan had 20 ppg on a much more efficient 55% in the regular season
• To those saying that Lebron didnt guard him the whole time, that is true, and that's the point. Lebron DOES NOT consistently guard the best player or different positions. And whenever he did, Parker schooled him anyway
• In the 2013 Finals, Parker's production was lower, but Lebron was not the only reason for that. Lebron did not guard Parker consistently throughout the series, and even then Parker would hit clutch shots right in the face of his overrated defense.

3) In the 2008 ECSF, Paul Pierce had a poor 4 points on 2/14 (14%) FG in Game 1, but over the last 6 games, Pierce dropped 22 ppg on 44% and had an easy time when LeBron was guarding him. Paul Pierce would also expose LeBron's defense in the 2011 ECSF, even though the Celtics lost.

4) Jason Terry, a bench player, called out Lebron's overrated defense even after having a bad start in the 2011 Finals.

• Despite that bad start, Terry still increased his regular season output of 16 ppg on 45% to 18 ppg on 49% overall for the Finals. Terry outscored Lebron and shot at a higher percentage in this Finals than Lebron.
• Lebron was not guarding Terry the whole time (as we'd expect), but when it mattered most Terry nailed a game-deciding three on Lebron's face.
• What's the point of supposedly guarding 1-5 if Durant, Leonard, Terry, Parker (2007) all increase their overall output anyway?

5) Carmelo Anthony equaled Lebron's scoring output during their 2012 First Round playoff series with 27.8 ppg, and 42% FG which was only 1% lower than Carmelo's 2011/12 regular season 43% shooting. Carmelo's scoring increased by 5 ppg in the playoffs compared to the regular season (22.6) at the negligible cost of 1 FG%. He also out rebounded LeBron 8.2 to 6.2 in this series.

• Carmelo 2011/12 regular season - 22.6 ppg on 43%
• Carmelo 2012 playoffs vs Lebron - 27.8 ppg on 42% 

6) Durant in the 2012 season averaged 28.5 on 52%.

• And vs Lebron in the Finals? 30.6 on 55%.

7) In the 2013 playoff series between the Heat and Pacers, Paul George played better against LeBron than he did in the regular season or against any other playoff team 

• Paul George in the 2012/13 regular season - 17.4 ppg on 42%
• Paul George in the 2013 playoffs against the Hawks - 18.7 ppg on 42%
• Paul George in the 2013 playoffs against the Knicks - 19.5 ppg on 39%
• Paul George in the 2013 playoffs against Lebron's Heat - 19.4 ppg on 48%
• Paul George was at his most efficient, by far, when he played against Lebron's Heat.

Even Jordan as a Wizard shut down multiple scorers who were better than Paul George in the 2012/13 season, yet prime so-called 2nd place in DPOY LeBron couldn't guard Paul George consistently.

• Holding Paul Pierce to 14 points on 6/16 (38%) with 4 turnovers in their first meeting. Pierce averaged 26.1 ppg on 44% that season

• Shutting down Latrell Sprewell on Dec 14, 2001. Sprewell averaged 19.4 ppg on 40% for the season, and 20.7 ppg on 44% at the time of this game.

• Shutting down Vince Carter to 0 points in the 2nd half on Dec 16, 2001 after 19 in the first quarter.

• Once again shutting down Latrell Sprewell to 3/16 (19%) FG on Dec 22, 2001 and forcing him out of bounds on the game-winning attempt. Sprewell was also averaging 20.7 ppg on 44% at the time of this game, and averaged 26 ppg on 41% in the 1999 Finals against Duncan/Robinson's Spurs

• Locking down Peja Stojakovic (21 ppg on 48% for the 01/02 season) in the Feb 7, 2002 game in which Jordan's knee injury happened. Peja did not score on Jordan until after the knee injury happened.

• And even three games after his knee injury, Jordan was still able to shut down Shawn Marion, who averaged 19.1 ppg on 47% that season. Marion did not score until late in the 1st half and did not score on Jordan until midway through the 3rd quarter. Marion had only 4 points on Jordan.

8) In the 2014 ECF, every single Pacers starter did not have a decrease in their offensive production from the regular season, except for Roy Hibbert who already started disappearing in the first round of the playoffs and who Lebron obviously wasn't guarding.

• George Hill went from 10.3 ppg + 3.5 apg on 44% in the regular season to 11 ppg + 1.8 apg on 43% in the 2014 ECF. The difference was negligible
• Lance Stephenson went from 13.8 ppg + 4.6 apg on 49% to 14 ppg on 49% + 5.0 apg. His production increased very slightly.
• David West went from 14 ppg on 49% to 16.2 ppg on 56% while his assists barely increased by 0.2.
• Paul George went from 21.7 ppg on 42% to 24 ppg on 45% and increased his apg by 0.5. He outscored Lebron over this series.

So no matter who Lebron guarded in this series, he didn't lock anyone down.

9) Leonard in the 2014 season averaged 13 pts on 52%.

• Against Lebron in the 2014 Finals, despite his first 2 horrible games, Leonard averaged 18 pts on 61% shooting and won Finals MVP
• In Games 3-4-5 that decided the 2014 Finals, allowing the Spurs to break the 1-1 deadlock and go 3-0 to win the series, i.e. the most important games of the season, Kawhi averaged 23.7 pts a game on 69% shooting.
• Now people are going to say, well Lebron didnt guard Leonard the whole time. What they will not mention is that whenever Lebron did try guarding Leonard, starting with Game 3, Leonard scored on him at will. Because of that, Lebron's overrated defense was forced to be taken off of Leonard. Further proof that Lebron isn't good enough to consistently play high quality defense.

It is very common for LeBron's matchups to
expose his overrated defense in the Playoffs.

I've heard some people say that Lebron was robbed of Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 when Marc Gasol won it. That is a huge joke. Gasol led the Grizzlies to the number 1 defense in the league in ppg allowed while playing in the tougher Western Conference against more higher-scoring teams.

Gasol played better defense on Blake Griffin, Ibaka, and Duncan than Lebron did to anyone in the 2013 playoffs. Gasol led the Grizzlies to the number 1 defense in ppg allowed, and in the tougher conference.

Blake Griffin averaged 18.0 ppg on 54% in the 2012/13 regular season. 

• Against the well-deserved Defensive Player of the Year Gasol, unlike LeBron with almost none of his defensive accolades deserved, Griffin's numbers plummeted to 13.2 ppg on 45%

Serge Ibaka averaged 13.2 ppg on 57% in the 2012/13 regular season

• Ibaka's FG took a gigantic drop of 19% going against Gasol, as he averaged 12.6 ppg on 38%
• Meanwhile Paul George averaged his highest FG% by far when he matched up with LeBron in the 2013 ECF

Although Duncan's Spurs swept Gasol's Grizzlies in the 2013 WCF, Duncan had a harder time going against Gasol

• Duncan in the 2012/13 regular season averaged 17.8 ppg on 50%
• Against Gasol in the 2013 WCF, he had 15.5 ppg on 47%. Not a huge decrease, but it was more effective defense than anything LeBron did in 2013.

LeBron is supposed to be a 2nd Place in DPOY, but he failed to play adequate defense in 7 of 8 NBA Finals

• 2007 Finals - Parker drops 24.5 ppg on 57% and outscored LeBron. LeBron got burned the few instances or quarters that he tried to guard Parker

• 2011 Finals - Jason Terry outscored LeBron with 18.0 ppg to 17.8 ppg, while shooting 1% higher. He played 11 less mpg than LeBron, and still nailed the sealing shot of Game 5 in LeBron's face. Shawn Marion also lit up LeBron.

• 2012 Finals - Kevin Durant dropped 30.6 ppg on 55% on LeBron's overrated defense. Russell Westbrook also exposed him.

• 2013 Finals - The only time LeBron played good defense in an NBA Finals when he helped contain Parker to 41% shooting. However, a 35 year old Gary Payton shut down Tony Parker to 38% shooting in the 2004 WCSF.

• A prime LeBron failing to hold Parker under 40% is not that impressive compared to all-time great defenders like Payton. Parker had averaged 21 ppg + 8.5 apg on 53% in the 2004 Playoffs before Payton shut him down, nearly identical to what Parker averaged against the 2013 Grizzlies. Also, LeBron still had trouble guarding Kawhi Leonard

2014 Finals
Now to analyze LeBron's 2014 Finals in full context. LeBron was only productive for the first 2 games of the series. In the final 3 games, LeBron didn't show up on offense or defense, and was completely outplayed by 13 ppg Kawhi Leonard across the board. The majority of LeBron's stats over the last 3 games were padded in blowout situations (being down 15+). LeBron by no means was "carrying" his team in these Finals.

Games 3-4-5 Lebron scored 51 of his 81 points (63%) being down 15+  Leonard scored 27 of his 71 points (38%) being up 15+ Leonard outscored Lebron 44-30 in non-blowout situations  Leonard 23.7 ppg on 69% LeBron 27.0 ppg on 55% (Leonard 14% more efficient) And again, Lebron stats were heavily padded in garbage time, in non blowout situations Leonard outscored him  Leonard 9.3 rpg LeBron 7.7 rpg Leonard 2.0 spg LeBron 1.7 spg Leonard 2.0 bpg LeBron 0.7 bpg
Leonard 2.3 apg with 1.7 TOpg LeBron 4.7 apg with 3.7 TOpg Leonard had a slightly better ast:TO ratio  Through games 3-4-5, Leonard scored much more efficiently (and more in non blowout situations) and outrebounded, outstole, and outblocked Lebron with a better ast:TO ratio Game 3 Lebron had 14 points and 0 TO in first quarter, then 8 points and 7 TOs for the last 3 quarters. LeBron had 22-5-7-5 with 7 TOs on 64%, Wade had 22-4-2-2 with 5 TOs on 67%. But over the last 3 quarters, LeBron had 8 points and 7 TOs to Wade's 20 points and 3 TOs. The Heat cut the lead from 15 to 9 without LeBron, after Wade subbed in for him, from the 5:00 to 1:00 mark of the 3rd quarter, but even with that help LeBron still lost. Game 4 Lebron had 9 points in first half and the Heat were blown out by 19 at halftime. He padded his stats from there, and he did not score on Leonard in the first half. Game 5 Lebron had 1 FG in 2nd quarter (2:30 mark) to bring the Heat within 5. Then he did not score again until the Heat were down 21 with 4:40 in the 3rd. LeBron shot 1-6 against Leonard this game.
Leonard clearly outplayed Lebron over the final 3 games, even with Lebron padding his stats, and Lebron failed to score consistently until after his teams were getting blown out. LeBron did not play well in the 2014 Finals after Game 2, he only padded his stats. LeBron's 2014 Finals was a repeat of the 2011 Finals after Game 2, the only differences being that LeBron's teammates disappeared along with him, and LeBron padded his stats to save face. So any notion that LeBron had an "amazing" series, and still lost because of his teammates is false.

2015 Finals
Bench player Andre Iguadola more than doubled his scoring average from 7.8 ppg on 47% in the season to 16.3 ppg on 52% in the Finals against LeBron. Iguodala had 20 ppg on 48% in the 3 games he started. Harrison Barnes shot 37% for the series, but over 50% when LeBron was guarding him.

2016 Finals
Draymond Green increased his scoring from 14 ppg on 49% to 17 ppg on 49% in the Finals and exposed LeBron plenty of times.

2017 NBA Finals - Durant averaged 35 ppg on 56/47/93 after averaging 25 ppg for the season and Rounds 1-3 combined, an incredible +10 PPG increase in volume. Durant became the only player to shoot 55/45/90 in a Finals series under the original 3PT line with a good amount of attempts. This marks the 4th time in 8 NBA Finals that LeBron was outscored by the other team's top perimeter player. So much for guarding 1-5.

2018 NBA Finals - Durant again lit up LeBron with 29 PPG on 53/41/96. LeBron struggles to even guard his own position, let alone all 5. 

So to recap, LeBron was outscored in the Finals by Tony Parker 2007, Jason Terry 2011, Kevin Durant 2012 and 2017, all of whom increased their ppg and FG% and shot better than LeBron from the field. In 2014, he was outplayed by Kawhi Leonard over the final 3 games, and in 2015 he allowed Andre Iguodala to double his scoring average on more efficient shooting, and allowed Barnes to shoot over 50% on LeBron despite shooting 37% for the overall series. 2013 was the only good defensive Finals he had and he still had trouble guarding Kawhi Leonard

Compare this with Jordan, who had an elite defensive performance in all 6 of his NBA Finals

• 1991 Finals, Game 3 - after Pippen fouled out at the end of the 4th quarter, Jordan held Magic Johnson to 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists and 1 turnover in OT as the Lakers only scored 4 points in the OT.

• 1992 Finals - Drexler had 25 ppg on 40.7% FG after 25 ppg on 47% in the regular season, and most of his points did not come on Jordan. Jordan also shut down Terry Porter, who averaged 21.6 PPG with 52% FG and 47% 3PT in the 1992 Playoffs. He is the only player to average at least 15 PPG on 50% FG and 45% 3PT in an NBA Finals run (min. 1.5 3PA/game).

• 1993 Finals, Game 3 - Kevin Johnson scored 23 points before Jordan guarded him with 7 mins left in the 4th quarter. Johnson had 2 points the rest of the game including the 3 overtimes. KJ has an NBA record 5 playoff runs averaging 20 ppg 9 apg, all past the 1st round, and is 2nd all-time behind Magic Johnson in playoff runs averaging 20-10 with 3. All of those runs were also past the 1st round.

• 1996 Finals - With Ron Harper's knee injury limiting him to 1 minute in both Games 3 and 5, Jordan shut down Gary Payton in both Game 3 and Game 5. Payton averaged 22-5-7-2 on 50% through 3 rounds in the 1996 Playoffs.

• 1997 and 1998 Finals - Jordan did not guard Stockton for long periods of time, as this was past his defensive peak. Jordan's off-ball was huge, however, including the flu game in which All 3 of Jordan's steals came off of Stockton's passes. His on-ball on Stockton was also good the times when he did guard Stockton, and his off-ball and help on Karl Malone was also key, including the championship winning steal and shot in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals

The 80s/90s were filled with
much, much more talent
defensively, and offensively as
well. That's why Lebron has it
so easy making the defensive
team in his era.

Lebron is good but far from great on defense. the only reason he is on all-defensive teams is because the quality of NBA defense is weak, not because he is that good. 

Defensive Player of the Year 
Jordan - 1
Lebron - 0

Top 2 in DPOY Voting
Jordan - 2
LeBron - 2

Top 3 in DPOY Voting
Jordan - 3
LeBron - 2

Top 4 in DPOY Voting
Jordan - 4
LeBron - 4

Top 5 in DPOY Voting
Jordan - 7
LeBron - 5

Top 8 in DPOY Voting
Jordan - 10
LeBron - 7

- Jordan's era was filled with much higher quality defense, and he still won DPOY while Lebron can't do that in an era where it's easier to win DPOY
 
- Aside from Jordan having more top finishes in DPOY voting in less seasons, he also did so against far stiffer DPOY competition. Tyson Chandler, Marc Gasol, and Joakim Noah won DPOY in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively.

- A far superior defender in 2x DPOY and 2x Blocks Champion Alonzo Mourning failed to even make All-Defense 1st or 2nd Team in his first 6 seasons until 1998/99. Showing how much harder it was to win DPOY or receive votes. 

- Jason Kidd failed to make All-Defense prior to 1998/99 - his first 4 seasons in the Jordan era - despite being tied for the most total All-Defense Teams by a guard (9)

- Jordan has both a higher quantity and quality in his DPOY voting resume than LeBron and in less time.

- Jordan didn't have the luxury of 2nd/3rd place votes to inflate his DPOY voting like LeBron did. Prior to 2002/03, only 1st place votes existed for DPOY. Outside of 2013, less than 1/3 of LeBron's votes for DPOY in every other season came from 1st place votes. 

- This means that the majority of LeBron's DPOY votes wouldn't even have existed in Jordan's era, making his defensive accolades even less impressive without even factoring LeBron's easier DPOY competition 

- LeBron was 2nd place in 2009 and 2013 DPOY to Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol, respectively. Jordan was 2nd place in 1993 DPOY to Hakeem Olajuwon and 3rd place in 1992 DPOY to David Robinson and Dennis Rodman. Huge difference.

All Def-First Team 
Jordan - 9
Lebron - 5

• It was much harder to make the defensive team in Jordan's era than in the 2000s. A prime Cliff Robinson never made one defensive team in the 90s, but past his prime at age 33 and 35 he made the defensive team in the watered down 2000s era
• Gary Payton even past his prime heading into his mid 30s continued to make the all-defensive first team in the 2000s even after all of the anti-defense rule changes

LeBron only began making All-Defense Teams and earning DPOY votes from 2009-2014, once the top perimeter defenders of that era, Bowen, Prince, and Artest had passed their prime and before Leonard, George, and Butler had hit theirs. For big men, Garnett, Duncan, and Ben Wallace had also exited their primes and were replaced by Chandler, Gasol, and Noah. Once Kawhi Leonard, the actual best perimeter defender of that era, hit his prime starting in 2015, LeBron never made All-Defense again.

More

SECTION 1 - Players From Jordan's Day Against 2000s Defenses

- Looking at how the Jordan Era players had an easier time in the modern era

SECTION 2 - How Washed-up Jordan Did Against the Top Defenders of the "Advanced, More Athletic, Superior" 2000s Era

- Looking at how a 38-40 year old Jordan himself schooled the 2000s defenders

SECTION 3 - Jordan's "Weak" Defensive Competition Compared to Lebron/Kobe's "Advanced" Competition
- Proving the vast superiority of individual defenders of Jordan's era compared to the 2000s

SECTION 4 - The "Jordan Never Faced Zone" Myth

- Destroying the myth that Jordan never played zone defense

SECTION 5 - The Myth That 80s/90s Defenses Can't Contain Modern Players Without the 80s/90s Rules

- Proof that 80s/90s players would still have success guarding 2000s players without the 80s/90s rules

SECTION 6 - The Myth of Jordan's Inability to Deal with 80s Teams, and the Truth About Expansion

- Looking at how Jordan did against the 80s teams and why expansion did not make it easier to win championships

SECTION 7 - "Jordan Played Weak Competition in the 80s/90s"

- Proof that Jordan's Competition was 80s-quality and far better than the 2000s era

SECTION 8 - The Myth that Jordan Was Not As Valuable to His Teams' Success

- Looking at the truth of how the Bulls did without Jordan, and how other great teams did without their stars.

SECTION 9 - "Jordan Got All the Calls"

- Did Jordan really get any more special treatment than other superstars? Nope.

SECTION 10 - Wilt Chamberlain: Great, but Far From the Greatest

- Exposing the myths behind the great, but misunderstood, Wilt Chamberlain

SECTION 11 - The "Lebron is a 6-8 250 Freight Train and too Big/Strong/Fast to be Guarded in the 80s/90s era" Myth

- Looking at how Lebron got locked down by defenders of the 2000s era and comparing them to the vastly superior 80s/90s

SECTION 12 - Lebron: The Most Overrated Defender of All-Time

- Destroying one of the media's biggest misconceptions regarding Lebron's solid but vastly overrated defense

SECTION 13 - "Lebron Doesn't Have Enough Help, and No One Can Carry a Team Like Him"

- Lebron fans think no player in history could succeed if their teammates don't step up, and that Lebron is the only one who has carried a team on his back. Is that really the case?

SECTION 14 - Jordan vs Lebron: The Truth

- The real Jordan vs Lebron comparison

SECTION 15 - Jordan vs Kobe: The Truth

- The real Jordan vs Kobe comparison

SECTION 16 - Jordan (and Hakeem) vs Kareem

- Kareem is great, but he is not even the greatest center of all-time, let alone the greatest of all-time.

SECTION 17 - The Truth about Michael Jordan Without Scottie Pippen

- The full context behind Jordan's struggles without Pippen

SECTION 18 - Michael Jordan's Wizards Years

- A look at how Jordan turned the Wizards around before his knee injury caught up to him

SECTION 19 - The Case for Jordan as the Best Perimeter Defender of All-Time

- Looking at Jordan's defensive impact in detail, both as a team player and 1 on 1 defender

SECTION 20 - Why Jordan Would Accomplish More In Cleveland and Miami than LeBron

- Looking at the strong evidence supporting that Jordan would have achieved more than what LeBron has in Cleveland and Miami 

SECTION 21 - Hakeem Olajuwon: The Greatest Center of All-Time
- Hakeem Olajuwon is the best center of all-time, and there is strong evidence to prove it

SECTION 22 - Chris Paul: The Most Overrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Chris Paul is an extremely overrated playoff performer and defender, and isn't even a top 5 PG of his own era, let alone all-time

SECTION 23 - Kevin Johnson: The Most Underrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Kevin Johnson is an extremely underrated and under-appreciated point guard, who should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer and considered a top-10 point guard of all-time

SECTION 24 - The Three Greatest Playoff Runs of All-Time
- Analyzing the three greatest individual playoff runs in NBA history

SECTION 25 - The Worst Finals Performances of All-Time
- Analyzing the worst performances in NBA Finals history

SECTION 26 - Jordan vs Russell
- Comparing the two players who won the most championships as the best player on their team

SECTION 27 - The Five Greatest Coaches of All-Time
- Taking a look at the greatest coaches in NBA history

SECTION 28 - The Least Deserving Finals MVPs of All-Time
- Taking a look at the players who least deserved to win their Finals MVPs

SECTION 29 - Refuting 10 Myths About Michael Jordan
- Refuting certain myths about Jordan, as well as abridging of some of the main points in earlier sections for easier reference.

SECTION 30 - The 20 Greatest Conference Finals Runs of All-Time
- Ranking the 20 greatest playoff runs in which a player played 3 rounds before losing prior to the NBA Finals

SECTION 31 - The 1970s: The Weakest Decade of the NBA's Post-Infancy
- Why the 1970s was the weakest decade of any era from 1960-present

SECTION 32 - The 10 Worst Supporting Casts on NBA Finals Teams (1960-Present)
- Examining the worst supporting casts on teams that reached the NBA Finals

SECTION 33 - The 10 Greatest Rookie Playoff Runs of All-Time
- The most impressive playoff runs in which rookies led their team to at least one series win