With the news that Bron has passed Kareem for minutes played, it got me thinking about the mileage some of these greats have compared to this generation.
Kareem played all 82 games 5 seasons in his career, 18 of those 20 seasons never missed more than 10 games, (on top of 4 years of college).
Bron has only played 82 games one season in his 21 year career. Still, he’s racking up pretty much every accumulation record which will be his main legacy, but falls short of Kareem when it comes to rings, scoring titles, and defense awards.
Same can be said of Mike; played 82 games 9 separate times over his career, only played under 78 games three seasons out of the 15, and his resume is just far deeper than Bron’s.
Playing fewer 82 game seasons has helped to prolong Bron’s career, but has it also diminished his legacy when compared to guys like Mike and Kareem who played fewer years but accomplished more?
Absolutely. Unequivocally. Undeniably. I wholeheartedly believe the fact that Lebron James, the man who has played the most basketball in minutes in the NBA, who is currently the best player on his team while being the oldest player in the NBA, who is the leading scorer in NBA history, who is a top 2 player in NBA history, is a certified bum because he has not played 82 games each season that he has played.