Unless you’ve been sitting under a rock for the past few months you understand now that LeBron James is by far and away the best player in basketball.  LeBron clinched Ring #2 last week by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in 7 games in the NBA Finals.  Ever since he was drafted #1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers exactly ten years ago he has shown that he has more than deserved the hype.  So much in fact, that he has placed himself on a trajectory where at the rate he’s going at he will be better than Michael Jordan.

Yes that’s right I said it.  At the “rate” LeBron is going at he’s going to be better than Michael Jordan.

Things can happen though.  LeBron might get hurt, he might go a spell or two without getting a ring, but regardless he deserves our respect and admiration considering that he’s a once in a generation type find that will be hard to find anywhere else. 

However, here are some conditions he must fulfill to be better than Jordan.

1. He must get 7 rings

LeBron has already beaten two stellar players in Kevin Durant and Tim Duncan to get his first two rings, but look at the competition Jordan had to beat to get his.  Jordan had to beat Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Gary Payton, John Stockton, and many other great players to get his.  The system currently favors the Heat right now, so anything less than the amount LeBron predicted is unacceptable.  Besides who wants to go down in history as the “Kid Who Cried 7 Rings”?

2. He must win at least two more MVP’s

This is an easy one considering that he has four of these already.  However, LeBron needs to keep on winning these because it’ll show people that by far and away he was the best basketball player during that time.  If LeBron can get 7 MVP’s to go along with his 7 Championships that will seal his fate as the G.O.A.T (“Greatest of All-Time”)

3.  He must set the NBA Scoring Record (or at least come close)

 Statistics courtesy of the List of National Basketball Association Career Scoring Leaders on Wikipedia.  Which I know isn’t the most credible website, but it references a lot of good resources.

LeBron still has a ways to go to catch up with Abdul-Jabbar, but from the looks of things he could catch him if he continues his current pace of production.  LeBron is also #46 on the list of career assists, and #7 on the list of triple-doubles (during the regular season).  As long as he gets known for something other than flopping that’s fine by me.

4.  He must make more outside shots

This isn’t a huge must, but LeBron definitely needs to work a little bit on his outside game because he’s not always going to have Dwayne Wade, Ray Allen, or Mike Miller taking those tough 3’s for him.  Kobe and Jordan both pride themselves in making these tough shots, and in order for LeBron to be considered “clutch”, he needs to make more of those shots and not just have every other field goal attempt be a dunk (as much fun as those are to watch).

5.  He must return to Cleveland, and at least win a ring or two there

Pardon my language on this one, but the way LeBron left Cleveland in 2010 was one of the biggest douc***ag moves anyone could have ever pulled.  Given the circumstances surrounding him right now (and seeing that he has two rings and isn’t ringless any more), LeBron needs to return to Cleveland and give them the championship they deserve.  It’s the least he can do for that city.

Well there are my criteria.  Let me know what you think, and we’ll see what happens this next basketball season.

HOHOHO!