With Thursday night’s NBA draft fast approaching, the league’s 21 general managers with first-round picks – the other nine forfeited theirs through trades – are all looking for the next LeBron James.
It’s a waste of time, though, because there aren’t any. At least not in this draft. Perhaps not for many drafts to come. The 6-foot-8, 255-pound James is a freak of nature, much as Michael Jordan was, and Magic Johnson before him, and Dr. J before him.
And even matched against those icons, the man they rightly call King may stand alone. After all, he’s bigger and more powerful than Jordan, Dr. J or Kobe Bryant. He’s more athletic than Magic or Karl Malone. In some ways, he’s almost Shaquille O’Neal with a reliable shot and Magic’s passing skills, given that the game never has seen anyone as physically overpowering at his position of small forward, much as there’s never been a center with the overwhelming size and athletic ability of Shaq.
So no matter how hard any of these GMs look and hope, a younger version of James isn’t walking through their organization’s doors in this draft. Or next draft. Or likely the draft after that.
No one’s been much of a close resemblance to LeBron since he was drafted out of high school in June of 2003, and no one now or on the horizon appears capable of matching that unique blend of size, skill and passion. That’s the way it is with true greatness. It’s rare. Best to enjoy it for what it is rather than pretending it can be duplicated. Or to pilfer a line from Billy Crystal at Muhammad Ali’s matchless memorial service, a Picasso, a Mozart, a Shakespeare, an Ali comes along every thousand years or so. You could argue the same about LeBron, whose physical gifts and internal drive often defy description.