Lebron James was talented enough to go from high school straight to professional basketball and has been a dominant player in the league for many years. People can argue many ways about which player is the greatest basketball player. This can be based on specific player statistics, number of wins, number of championships, etc. or even a popularity contest. You have to also look at what someone does both on and off of the basketball court. Lebron still supports his hometown and does charity work which is not something that gets a lot of publicity. Most people only see the player and judge him by how well he plays basketball. Based solely on pure talent and skill, Lebron is a contender. If there was a time machine, we could pick players from when they were in their prime and put them up against one another to determine the greatest player. This would include legends such as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Julius Irving, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Wilt Chamberlain, Charles Barkley, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Grant Hill, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, and many others. If we could have all of the great players be able to compete, Lebron would do very well. Could he be the best? Maybe. Regardless, I think he deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest players that has made an impact to the sport itself.