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evidence 1: Personally, I feel like the obvious place to start is to compare their honors, though this may unfortunately seem a little bit one sided, starting with Super Bowls. Tom Brady has 7, including 5 Super Bowl MVP awards. Aaron Rodgers has 1 Super Bowl, in which he was the MVP. Next, NFL MVP awards, Brady has 3 with 2 NFL Offensive Player of the Year awards. Rodgers trumps him on that one, with 4 NFL MVP awards, however he has 0 offensive player of the year awards. Between them they have 25 Pro Bowl appearances, 15 for Brady and 10 for Rodgers.

evidence 2: Over their years they have faced each other 5 times and while Brady does hold the advantage with 3 wins to Rodgers 2. Rodgers taking the W most recently won’t be forgotten by Brady. These men have grown to respect each other massively and while Brady is known as the golden standard for post season football, it’s fair to say that Aaron Rodgers will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest regular season quarterbacks of all time.

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When it comes to American Football, it feels like for those outside of the States, the position they all love the most is the Quarterback position and when it comes to the quarterback position there are very few names bigger than Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Today we're going to be analyzing the long careers and the rivalry of two of the MVPs of the last two decades in the NFL.

Personally, I feel like the obvious place to start is to compare their honors, though this may unfortunately seem a little bit one sided, starting with Super Bowls. Tom Brady has 7, including 5 Super Bowl MVP awards. Aaron Rodgers has 1 Super Bowl, in which he was the MVP. Next, NFL MVP awards, Brady has 3 with 2 NFL Offensive Player of the Year awards. Rodgers trumps him on that one, with 4 NFL MVP awards, however he has 0 offensive player of the year awards. Between them they have 25 Pro Bowl appearances, 15 for Brady and 10 for Rodgers.

Now some 'Quarterback Specific Stats '. Firstly, both have won awards for being the NFL Passer Rating Leader, twice for Brady and four times for Rodgers. They have also both been awarded for being the NFL Passing Touchdowns Leader, 5 times for Brady and twice for Rodgers. Rodgers holds a couple of records in the NFL, he has the highest Single season passer rating of 122.5 from the 2011 season, he has the most consecutive passes without an interception at 402 and lowest career interceptions percentage at 1.4%, he also has the lowest interception percentage in a season at 0.3% in the 2018 season.

For Brady however, he has a few more, he has the most career quarterback wins, 251, the most career passing attempts, 12,050. The most career passing completions at 7,753 which is 100 more passes than Rodgers has even attempted. The most career passing touchdowns at 649 and the most career passing yards at 89,214. There are more but let's not go into it. Aaron Rodgers doesn't deserve this disrespect. But there's no denying that Tom Brady is the Goat. At 39 years old however, there is still time for Rodgers to get his hands on some of these records.

We have been lucky to have witnessed some great battles and some not-so-great battles between these two absolute juggernauts of the Football world. The last battle between the two was in September 2022 when the Packers played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A game that would prove to be a battle of defenses. Rodgers put up 27 completed passes of his 35 attempts, for 255 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and one sack. The two touchdowns were on the Packers first 2 possessions. While those stats are pretty great it was the defense that helped him claim the 14-12 victory over his rival, Brady.

Over their years they have faced each other 5 times and while Brady does hold the advantage with 3 wins to Rodgers 2. Rodgers taking the W most recently won't be forgotten by Brady. These men have grown to respect each other massively and while Brady is known as the golden standard for post season football, it's fair to say that Aaron Rodgers will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest regular season quarterbacks of all time.

Look, I understand that it's quite hard to compare these two quarterbacks, of course we love Aaron Rodgers, he has been with the Packers through thick and thin and has led us to a Super Bowl victory in 2010, which was the first since 1996! We owe a lot to Rodgers and he has give us plenty of good times over the years, but there's a reason that Tom Brady is often seen as the greatest of all time (GOAT), the man has more super bowls than every single team in the NFL, the list goes Tom Brady with 7, then the New England Patriots & the Pittsburgh Steelers tied with 6, followed by the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers with 5. That is just outrageous.

With all that being said, we have the potential for a few more quarterbacks to get their name etched into the history books. One that comes to mind if we follow the Brady's timeline is the New England Patriots QB, Mac Jones. He was drafted in the first round of the 2021 draft. Filling Tom's shoes is a very big responsibility and not one that many would be eager to take. Knowing that the Pats are out of competition for the time being, betting punters can stay ahead for the new season's sports betting promos available in Massachusetts.

While Tom Brady has already sort of retired once, when the day comes that both of these men retire from Football, it's going to be a sad day for the sport. Both of them have given everything for the game and while it's true they will be leaving the game a lot differently, they have made so many people happy over the years and we may never see other players reach anywhere near their heights. So I would just like to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to both Brady and Rodgers for all the good times and the bad.

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Battle of the Quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers Vs. Tom Brady

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LeBron James is the Greatest of All Time.

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Evidence #1: But here's another reason he's considered the best: LeBron has been selected as the No. 1 NBA player by Sports Illustrated for six years in a row because of his remarkable consistency.

Evidence #2: Which brings us to another heroic characteristic: perseverance. LeBron reportedly spends over a million dollars a year on his training, which includes a personal biomechanist—a former Navy SEAL—traveling with him on vacation.

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In Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble," he sings, "It's every generation throws a hero up the pop charts." It's both an observation and a lament about how each generational changing of the guard demands its own unique voice, coded language and defiant look. That need to rebelliously announce and define what's news and cool while scornfully denouncing what's old and uncool is as true in laundry detergents (New and Improved!) as it is in music, literature, politics-and sports.

Every age needs ageless heroes. But it's important that we closely study our culture's most prominent heroes because they reflect the trending values we are being asked to embrace while pointing to the future those values will lead us to. This generation's most prominent basketball hero is LeBron James, and he clearly represents a bold new language.

LeBron isn't the shiny new penny of sports. At 34, he's no perky teen idol or sassy YouTube "influencer." He's a 16-year veteran of the NBA who's played for the Cleveland Cavaliers (twice), the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers. He's a husband, a dad, and, though he's playing with the intensity of a man in the prime of his athletic and intellectual prowess, he's not too many years from doing ads for joint-pain medication. His status as sports icon has been earned from years of grinding out victory after victory on a daily basis.

Why him when there are many great players out there? Steph Curry is paid more (his salary is $37 million versus LeBron's $35 million), and last year Curry's jersey was the top NBA seller. But LeBron has the most followers on social media, with 104.3 million (Curry has 42 million). Kevin Durant has higher three-point and free-throw percentages, but LeBron beats him in most other categories. Part of his statistical dominance is that he's been playing longer than Curry and Durant. With time, they both may surpass him as players, but for now LeBron is considered by many to be the best in the NBA.

LeBron's overwhelming career achievements include three NBA championships, four times NBA Most Valuable Player, 15 times NBA All-Star and many other awards and distinctions. But here's another reason he's considered the best: LeBron has been selected as the No. 1 NBA player by Sports Illustrated for six years in a row because of his remarkable consistency. He's proved himself to be steadfastly effective no matter where he plays, who he plays with or what his age is. Some years, he has single-handedly dragged less experienced and less talented teammates into the playoffs. His consistency is illustrated by his stats from the 2012-2013 season, which are very similar to those of the 2017-2018 season. For a player in his 20s, that wouldn't be noteworthy, but when comparing a 28-year-old with a 34-year-old, it's not only impressive, it's inspiring.

To inspire others is a key trait in a cultural hero. LeBron's sheer athleticism motivates young players to reach for a high standard of physical preparedness. His physical dominance isn't just genetic luck; he is dedicated and disciplined in his workout and diet, often rising at 5 a.m. to begin exercising, which he does five days a week off-season, and seven days a week during the season. His routine includes everything from a step-climber, spin classes, Pilates and weights to hot tubs, cold tubs and a liquid nitrogen chamber. Just reading about his relentless routine makes me want to drop and pump out 50 pushups.

Which brings us to another heroic characteristic: perseverance. LeBron reportedly spends over a million dollars a year on his training, which includes a personal biomechanist-a former Navy SEAL-traveling with him on vacation. We don't begrudge him that expense-he's a professional athlete whose body has been abused and bruised since childhood. Back problems have plagued him for years. He is certainly rich enough to retire anytime he wants, but he keeps stepping out onto the court each year to receive more physical punishment.

Yes, he faces formidable opponents on the court almost every day, but more important, he's in an epic battle against time. This is a fight we all face eventually, and eventually we all lose. But we can't help but root for an athlete who struggles with such grace and determination. And who refuses to go gentle into middle age. To watch a 270-pound, 34-year-old man move with such agility and stamina and style puts a little extra lift in all our steps. In last year's playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, LeBron badly twisted his ankle and still managed to pull off a triple double: 33 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. That's pretty much the definition of perseverance.

But an effective leader doesn't just command his followers to victory; he is a leader who helps each of them elevate their individual talents. He becomes the rising tide that lifts all boats. "Leadership isn't a one-day, two-days or two-month thing; leadership is consistent," he has said. "Once you get into team sports and you see how you are succeeding, you understand it isn't about you. In order for you to continue to be successful, everyone has to be important and have something to do with the success."

Being a leader among ambitious, competitive athletes is not an easy task. I was a leader at UCLA and on the Lakers, and balancing those roles was challenging. Success depends on your teammates respecting you, not just as a player but as a strategist.

But success as an athlete isn't enough. To laud anyone as a cultural hero, that person would also have to embody as well as promote some of the core values of that culture. LeBron has done that through his outspoken political and social advocacy, especially in support of racial equality. But beyond just talking, he has taken positive actions to better the community and country. This was demonstrated when Fox News' Laura Ingraham famously reacted to an ESPN interview with LeBron in which he discussed, among many other topics, politics, by complaining, "It's always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball. Keep the political comments to yourselves.... Shut up and dribble."

Instead of just engaging in a social media war, he turned her lame insult into a three-part documentary series for Showtime called Shut Up and Dribble, which explores the evolving role of athletes in today's divisive political climate. Over the years, LeBron has added his voice to the many athletes of conscience who wish to call attention to social injustices in order to eradicate them.

This "dumb jock" stereotype is the same refrain I and other athletes have heard all our lives from conservatives who use the lowest form of logical fallacy, the ad hominem (name-calling) attack, to distract from the message. The weird implication is that a black man raised in America has no idea about racial injustice because he also plays basketball. I have been a journalist and book author longer than I played basketball, yet every time I publicly express an opinion, some people complain that my opinions have no validity because I was once an athlete. Because he is so articulate and revered, LeBron is helping to eliminate that stereotype.

I'm often asked whether there's a significant difference between the black athlete activists of my era and those of today. In the '60s and '70s, there were fewer of us: Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Tommie Smith, John Carlos and a handful of others. Today, a lot more are speaking out. Sadly, aside from numbers, there's not much difference because so little has changed. Athletes are still punished for using their constitutional rights, and the things we protested 50 years ago are still happening. And some members of the public are more outraged at being reminded that little has changed than the fact that little has changed. It would be easy for black athletes to give up in despair at such a response. But players like LeBron, Colin Kaepernick, Andrew Hawkins, Serena and Venus Williams, Eric Reid and many others keep fighting for justice.

There have been missteps, like a media exchange in 2017 after Charles Barkley called LeBron "whiny" and "inappropriate" for publicly complaining about Cavaliers management's not securing better players. "I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that," LeBron said. "I'm not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, 'I'm not a role model.' I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying."

Part of the animosity seems to stem from Barkley not including LeBron in his list of five top NBA players of all time. I understand an athlete who plays for love of the game, or for adoration of fans, or even for money. But concern over one's "legacy" seems shortsighted. I set a lot of records when I played, but I never played to set records. I didn't concern myself with creating a sports legacy as much as I did with my legacy as a teammate, a social activist, a helpful community member. LeBron is all those things too, which is why worrying about his sports legacy seems petty.

LeBron's legacy is assured. He will continue to break records, perhaps even my all-time scoring record. When he does, I'll be there cheering him on, because every time a record is broken, humanity has pushed the boundaries of what we are capable of.

Last year, LeBron helped found the I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, for some of the city's underprivileged children. More than providing academics, the school will also reach out to the students' families to provide them resources to improve their lives economically, emotionally and educationally. This kind of dedication to community makes him more heroic than slamming a basketball through a hoop.

Finally, the GOAT question, which runs through the media like a nasty STD: "Who is the Greatest of All Time?" A month ago, LeBron claimed the title for himself during an ESPN interview, saying he deserves the title because he gave Cleveland its first championship in decades after an improbable comeback from being behind by three games to one. "That one right there made me the greatest player of all time," he proclaimed.

It's a little disappointing hearing him play this imaginary game, which is akin to asking, Which superpower is better, flying or invisibility? I get asked this question a couple times a week, and my answer is always the same: The game has changed so much over the years that there is no leveling rubric to take into account the variables. So, sorry, LeBron, you're not the GOAT because it's a mythological beast. It's like asking, How big is the horn on a unicorn?

But LeBron James is the hero this generation has thrown up the pop chart. It's a place he clearly has earned, and we are all better off for him being there.

→ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played center for 20 seasons for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. He remains the NBA's all-time lead scorer and was a record six-time NBA MVP. Since retiring, he has written 19 books, including Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White, Coach Wooden and Me and Becoming Kareem. Abdul-Jabbar's legacy and memorabilia are up for auction here.

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: LeBron Is a Hero for Our Time

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The NBA's all-time scoring leader reflects on the remarkable career of LeBron James, on and off the court.

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Evidence #1: He had become the first NBA player outside the Celtics dynasty to reach five consecutive Finals. He then went on to extend that streak to eight in a row, which is tied for fourth all-time with Frank Ramsey and behind Tom Heinsohn and Sam Jones (9) and the great Bill Russell (10). He reached the Finals in more than half of his completed 19 seasons in the league.

Evidence #2: In James’ last season with the Cavaliers before departing to Miami as a free agent in 2010, the team won 61 regular-season games. The second-leading scorer on that team was Mo Williams, followed by J.J. Hickson and Anderson Varejao. Seriously. After James left for Miami, a similar bunch of Cavs won 19 games. That’s a 69 percent decline in success rate.

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A couple of days before the 2015 NBA Finals began with an overtime classic that tilted a fascinating six-game Warriors-Cavaliers series in favor of Golden State, I wrote that I'd seen enough, as political analyst Dave Wasserman tweets so many times as election results are being calculated.

My call: LeBron James had surpassed Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time.

Hard to believe now, but that was eight years ago.

LeBron essentially has had another Hall of Fame career just in the seasons since.

Consider all James has accomplished while Jordan could do no more than point to the television ratings of "The Last Dance":

Since 2015, LeBron has scored 13,739 regular-season points, or more than Hall of Famers Dave Cowens, Rudy Tomjanovich and Paul Westphal did in their careers; passed for 4,119 assists, or more than Hall of Fame guards JoJo White, Earl Monroe and Pete Maravich in their careers, and James grabbed 4,165 rebounds, or more than Hall of Famers Ralph Sampson and Chris Mullin in their careers.

James' teams in Cleveland and Los Angeles have appeared in another 100 playoff games, or more than the career totals for Hall of Famers Elvin Hayes, Dave DeBusschere and Bob McAdoo. They have reached another four NBA Finals series and won two championships, which is more than Hall of Famers Dominique Wilkins, Charles Barkley and Dave Bing achieved.

In 2015, the case for LeBron as history's greatest player primarily involved his overwhelming impact on winning:

* He had become the first NBA player outside the Celtics dynasty to reach five consecutive Finals. He then went on to extend that streak to eight in a row, which is tied for fourth all-time with Frank Ramsey and behind Tom Heinsohn and Sam Jones (9) and the great Bill Russell (10). He reached the Finals in more than half of his completed 19 seasons in the league.

* In James' last season with the Cavaliers before departing to Miami as a free agent in 2010, the team won 61 regular-season games. The second-leading scorer on that team was Mo Williams, followed by J.J. Hickson and Anderson Varejao. Seriously. After James left for Miami, a similar bunch of Cavs won 19 games. That's a 69 percent decline in success rate.
MORE: Comparing rings between Steph, LeBron
During the four seasons James spent with the Heat, the Cavs averaged a .288 winning percentage. Upon his return, they immediately posted a 53-29 record, a .646 percentage. In 2018-19, after James departed for Los Angeles, the Cavs plunged to 19-63.

It was similar in Miami, where the Heat were 47-35 the season before he arrived, 37-45 the season after he left but achieved a .717 winning percentage and four Finals appearances in between. He was not the only great player added in either case, but the declines following his departure offered plenty of evidence he was the difference in both.

Compare that to what happened in Chicago when Jordan left to play baseball after the 1992-93 season, following a run of three consecutive NBA championships. The Bulls declined from 57 regular-season victories - all the way to 55.

* James made big winners out of some dubious rosters. In 2007, James led the Cavs to the first of his Finals appearances. The second-leading scorer on that Cavs team was Larry Hughes, who was out of the league four years later. He didn't even score 15 points per game that year.

In January 2015, the Cavaliers executed a trade that secured two players, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, from a New York Knicks team that had begun the season with a 5-30 record. After arriving in Cleveland, they were rotation players on a team that, including playoffs, went 49-18. The difference, obviously: They got to be LeBron's teammates.

The third-leading scorer on the Lakers' 2020 NBA Championship team was Kyle Kuzma, who averaged 12.8 points per game. In the playoffs, it was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who averaged 10.7.

There's no one out there doing so much with so comparatively little.
MORE: Breaking down Curry vs. LeBron head-to-head playoff matchups
In 2023, the case for James as history's greatest player now can be based on the astonishing breadth of his accomplishment. After 19 seasons, he owns the NBA career records for points scored, All-NBA selections and All-Star selections (tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). He stands No. 4 in assists, No. 9 in steals, No. 10 in defensive rebounds, No. 9 in 3-pointers, No. 4 in triple-doubles and No. 4 in free throws.

He is first in playoff games, playoff victories, playoff points and playoff steals. In the advanced-stat department, he is the NBA's career leader in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) and No. 2 in win shares.

At the same age, 38, when James just finished a regular season in which he averaged 28.9 points, 6.8 assists and 8.3 rebounds in 55 games, Jordan averaged 22.9/5.2/5.7 in 60 games for a 37-win Wizards team and Abdul-Jabbar produced 23.4/1.6/6.1 in 79 games for the Western Conference finalist Lakers.

Perhaps because Jordan was not a part of my childhood or developing years, but rather a contemporary, I don't feel the compulsion to diminish or understate what James is accomplishing most every night with the Lakers.

We all see the passes he is making, the shots he rejects, the big baskets, but some continue to insist it's not that extraordinary, it's not as special as what Jordan achieved. There were things, indeed, that Jordan could do that James cannot. Jordan could jump higher, fly longer, and thus more regularly steal the breath of his many ardent fans.

There clearly are things, though, that James do that Jordan could not - and did not.

How many times did Jordan help make a double-figure scorer out of a second-year undrafted free agent shooting guard? Austin Reaves is doing wonderful things for the Lakers in this season, in these playoffs. Let's not pretend it would be happening if the guy wearing No. 6 weren't wearing the same uniform.

Eight years ago, I'd seen enough to be convinced the player I'd first seen in July 2001 at Sonny Vaccaro's ABCD Camp - and was inspired to write that he was "Magic Johnson's head on Michael Jordan's body" - had become the greatest player in the game's history.

He's done so much more in those subsequent seasons, I don't see how it's even debatable.

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LeBron James' case for status as the NBA's GOAT keeps piling higher as the years advance | Sporting News

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LeBron James has accomplished so much since he first made it clear he was the greatest player in NBA history, it's hard to believe anyone's still engaging in the debate.

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How old is Ray Lewis?

Ray Lewis is 48 years old.

When was Ray Lewis born?

Ray Lewis was born on May 15, 1975.

Where was Ray Lewis born?

Ray Lewis was born in Bartow, FL.

How tall is Ray Lewis?

Ray Lewis is 6-1 (185 cm) tall.

How much did Ray Lewis weigh when playing?

Ray Lewis weighed 240 lbs (108 kg) when playing.

Is Ray Lewis in the Hall of Fame?

Ray Lewis was elected into the Hall of Fame as a Player in 2018.

How many games did Ray Lewis play?

Ray Lewis played 228 games over his career.

How many sacks did Ray Lewis have?

Ray Lewis had 41.5 sacks over his career.

How many Super Bowls has Ray Lewis won?

Ray Lewis has won 2 Super Bowls.

When did Ray Lewis retire?

Ray Lewis last played in 2012.

What are Ray Lewis' nicknames?

Sugar is a nickname for Ray Lewis.

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Ray Lewis Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College | Pro-Football-Reference.com

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Checkout the latest stats for Ray Lewis. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, college, draft, and more on Pro-football-reference.com.

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University of Miami (FL) linebacker Ray Lewis entered the NFL as the Baltimore Ravens first round pick, 26th overall, in the 1996 NFL Draft.

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How old is Ray Lewis?

Ray Lewis is 48 years old.

When was Ray Lewis born?

Ray Lewis was born on May 15, 1975.

Where was Ray Lewis born?

Ray Lewis was born in Bartow, FL.

How tall is Ray Lewis?

Ray Lewis is 6-1 (185 cm) tall.

How much did Ray Lewis weigh when playing?

Ray Lewis weighed 240 lbs (108 kg) when playing.

Is Ray Lewis in the Hall of Fame?

Ray Lewis was elected into the Hall of Fame as a Player in 2018.

How many games did Ray Lewis play?

Ray Lewis played 228 games over his career.

How many sacks did Ray Lewis have?

Ray Lewis had 41.5 sacks over his career.

How many Super Bowls has Ray Lewis won?

Ray Lewis has won 2 Super Bowls.

When did Ray Lewis retire?

Ray Lewis last played in 2012.

What are Ray Lewis' nicknames?

Sugar is a nickname for Ray Lewis.

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Ray Lewis Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College | Pro-Football-Reference.com

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Checkout the latest stats for Ray Lewis. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, college, draft, and more on Pro-football-reference.com.

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One of the most intimidating Hurricanes ever, Ray Lewis's dominating field presence changed the way teams prepared to play the 'Canes. His punishing abilities as linebacker made opposing coaches draw up special plays to try and contain him, while their teams' QB and running backs were always nervously looking for #52. Starting as a true freshman, the Bartow, FL native racked up awe-inspiring numbers and a bevy of honors in his three-year Miami career.

Lewis holds the UM individual season record for tackles by a MLB with 95, and incredibly is tied for second in career total tackles and assists with 160. He was named All BIG-EAST in 1994 and 1995 as well. Not bad for someone who only played three years, and was the recipient of the very last scholarship available in 1993.

Voted the Jack Harding MVP of the team after the 1995 season, Lewis opted for the NFL draft and became a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens. Now preparing for his 11th NFL season with Baltimore, Lewis has racked up over 1000 solo tackles, 258 assists, 23 sacks, 71 pass deflections, and 21 interceptions. Lewis was also the NFL's defensive player of the year in 2000 and was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, leading the Ravens to their first-ever world championship.

Lewis remains beloved both in Baltimore and Florida for his commitment not only to being a great football player but his deep involvement in community enrichment. He regularly donates of his time and money to a variety of worthy causes, among them "Ray's Summer Days", which raises money for his non-profit foundation. After earning his degree Lewis put it to work, starting several successful business ventures, including a nutrition product line and a popular barbecue restaurant in Baltimore. A man who feels 'completely blessed' to be part of the Hurricanes rich football history, Lewis will go down as one of the best to ever play for the 'U'.
​

Ray Lewis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on August 4, 2018 becoming the seventh Hurricane to be inducted. In December, 2019, Ray was named as one of 12 linebackers to the NFL's 100-Year All-Time Team !

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Ray Lewis - University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame

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Biography page for University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame member, Ray Lewis

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Evidence #1:

At 38 years old, which is ancient in the NBA, he's averaging 30 points per game, and it looks like there's no slowing down in sight,

The expectations placed on LeBron from the beginning were unrealistic and unfair. Yet, 21 years after Sports Illustrated put him on the cover with the headline 'The Chosen One,' LeBron exceeded all expectations, even with the odds stacked against him.

Evidence #2:

I love LeBron the husband - the way he loves his wife.

I love LeBron the dad - the way he loves his three children.

I love LeBron the son - the way he loves his mother.

I love Lebron the friend - the way he has helped improved their lives.

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His outstanding numbers separate him from all NBA players, both past and present, but the work he does off the court is what's really impressive.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - LeBron James is the G.O.A.T and there's no question about it.

On Tuesday night, LeBron passed Kareem Abdul Jabbar to become the all-time scoring leader with his 38 point performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The stars were out in Los Angeles to see LeBron accomplish a feat many said would never happen.

It's hard to comprehend his sustained greatness over the last two decades.

At 38 years old, which is ancient in the NBA, he's averaging 30 points per game, and it looks like there's no slowing down in sight,

The expectations placed on LeBron from the beginning were unrealistic and unfair. Yet, 21 years after Sports Illustrated put him on the cover with the headline 'The Chosen One,' LeBron exceeded all expectations, even with the odds stacked against him.

In his youth, he fell into the category of 'at-risk children,' missing more than 80 days of school in the fourth grade. It's one of the reasons why he founded the LeBron James Family Foundation.

It doesn't happen often. A 16-year-old boy projected to be one of the all-time greats ends up as one of the all-time greats.

His outstanding numbers separate him from all NBA players both past and present but the work he does off the court is what's really impressive.

Even as many stand in solidarity against some societal issues, few are vocal about it. However, LeBron has made it part of his life's work to speak up against racism, police brutality, voter suppression and human rights violations despite being told to just shut up and dribble.

I love LeBron the husband - the way he loves his wife.

I love LeBron the dad - the way he loves his three children.

I love LeBron the son - the way he loves his mother.

I love Lebron the friend - the way he has helped improved their lives.

Now before you start calling and emailing me, saying Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time, I said what I said, LeBron James is the GOAT and it ain't even close.

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Sorry, not sorry. LeBron James is the GOAT and it's not even close

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His outstanding numbers separate him from all NBA players, both past and present, but the work he does off the court is what's really impressive.

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evidence 1: Brady isn't a gunslinger by any means, he is the perfect picture of the field general. He holds the record for most touchdowns in one season. He is an amazing athlete who can throw the ball for amazing distances. His form is perfect.

He may not have another magic year this year, but he's still an amazing QB.

evidence 2: Before I begin, I think it is important to let everyone know I am a die-hard Colts fan. So I believe that this should mean a lot to Pats fans.

Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL. He does it all. His pocket presence is the best in the NFL, if not, he's just behind Peyton Manning.

Brady is a leader with charisma that rivals that of the great quarterbacks in the history, and is only matched by Peyton. He has the best weapons in the NFL. His receivers and offensive line are unrivaled by any team in the entire league.

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Tom Brady: The Greatest Quarterback Of All Time

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Before I begin, I think it is important to let everyone know I am a die-hard Colts fan. So I believe that this should mean a lot to Pats fans. Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL...

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evidence 1: But at some point, results have to be the main driver of the argument. That's the one tangible thing to judge any quarterback on. And when a quarterback's resume is the criteria, there's not much doubt about who the greatest ever is.

Here's one top-five all-time quarterbacks list, upon Tom Brady officially announcing his retirement on Tuesday morning:

evidence 2: Brady played in an astonishing 14 conference championships, won 10 of them and won seven of the 10 Super Bowl he played in. No other quarterback won more than four Super Bowls. No other player at any position has more than five. Only Peyton Manning and Brady won Super Bowls with two different franchise, which dispelled any notion Brady was just a product of the Patriots' system.

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Defining the greatest quarterback ever isn't as easy as it should be.

Some will point to John Elway's physical gifts and say he'd have been the greatest in a better situation. Many will cite Dan Marino and say he was the best pure passer ever. Aaron Rodgers gets mentioned as the most talented anyone has seen.

But at some point, results have to be the main driver of the argument. That's the one tangible thing to judge any quarterback on. And when a quarterback's resume is the criteria, there's not much doubt about who the greatest ever is.

Here's one top-five all-time quarterbacks list, upon Tom Brady officially announcing his retirement on Tuesday morning:

5. Drew Brees

Brees might be behind Dan Marino, Otto Graham, Johnny Unitas, Steve Young, John Elway, Brett Favre or others on similar lists, but what box doesn't Brees check? He won a Super Bowl with a New Orleans Saints franchise that had done nothing before he got there. If you say Brees' stats were solely because of the era he played in, it's hard to explain then how he led the NFL in passing yards seven times, which is a record. Brees has five of the 14 5,000-yard seasons in NFL history, and Tom Brady is the only other quarterback on that list multiple times. Brees set records for career passing yards and touchdowns, though Brady passed him in both categories. If accomplishments matter most, Brees is a top-five quarterback.

4. Joe Montana

Montana benefitted greatly from playing on great 49ers teams, with an all-time legend in Bill Walsh coaching him. His legend is built on his 4-0 record in Super Bowls, though that ignores that he failed ( sometimes in spectacular fashion) in other playoff games. But he was great in those Super Bowls and was the master of being calm in pressure situations, leading to a generation that will still proclaim him as the best ever. He won MVPs in 1989 and 1990 and for a long stretch his accuracy and deadly precision running the West Coast Offense set the standard of playing quarterback in the NFL.

3. Peyton Manning

Manning won five MVPs and it could have been more; he was the first-team All-Pro quarterback seven times. He finished second in MVP voting three times and third another. Winning a championship with the Indianapolis Colts put to rest the worry that he'd be in that group of great players without a ring. Then he became the first quarterback to win a title starting for two different franchises when he got one with the Denver Broncos. He was a shell of himself on that 2015 title team, but it was karmic payback for 2012-14, when the Broncos had some great teams and couldn't win it all. Manning's 2013 season, when he set single-season records for passing yards and touchdowns, might be the single greatest season in NFL history.

2. Aaron Rodgers

Many will ding Rodgers for winning only one Super Bowl, though it's not exactly easy to win even one. Ask Dan Marino. Rodgers has done everything, including multiple MVPs and some of the best individual seasons ever. His arm talent and accuracy, especially from impossible angles, is simply astonishing. That he is still winning MVPs in his late 30s is a testament to his greatness, and the lack of another championship can't be pinned solely on him.

1. Tom Brady

Nobody can match Brady's accomplishments. Brady played in an astonishing 14 conference championships, won 10 of them and won seven of the 10 Super Bowl he played in. No other quarterback won more than four Super Bowls. No other player at any position has more than five. Only Peyton Manning and Brady won Super Bowls with two different franchise, which dispelled any notion Brady was just a product of the Patriots' system. Brady's longevity is unmatched - it has been said often if you cut his career in half, the first half of his career and the second half of his career would each be Hall of Fame worthy. He also was spectacular and not a compiler, proven by his three MVPs. He's first all-time in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and in the top 10 all-time in passer rating.

It's not like you can't make an argument for Manning or Rodgers or someone else as the best ever. But the argument would come up short.

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What is Tom Brady's place among the 5 greatest QBs in NFL history?

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Tom Brady's retirement brings back the argument about who is the greatest QB ever.

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Stephen curry is the Greatest Player Of All-Time

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Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of all time.

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Stephen Curry influenced people like no other player in the NBA. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, doesn´t even compare to what Curry does even at the age of 35 he is influencing people just like he did when he was young still producing same if not better numbers then before.

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Stephen Curry: The most influential basketball player of all-time

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Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Lebron James: all of those names come to mind when you think of the greatest basketball players ever; however, when the question turns into who is the most influential of all-time, there is only one name that comes to mind: Stephen Curry. Curry may not be the best al…

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Stephen Curry has already been named better than Magic Johnson. He passed a PG 7 inches taller which is incredible for him height is almost everything in basketball especially when you are 6¨9 as a PG Curry is doing way more insane things then Magic did 7 inches shorter. Curry is one of the best ball handlers in the league, can shoot over tall defenders, can finish with contact. Curry has changed the game like no one else in the Finals Curry caused over 100 million more fans to watch it compared to any other year in the Finals.

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ESPN staffAug 24, 2023, 08:00 AM ET

It's late August. Damian Lillard is still a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. James Harden is still on the Philadelphia 76ers' roster, though he might be out $100,000 now. The last NBA game was played more than a month ago (and that's only if you count summer league) and the next NBA game won't be played for more than a month (and that's only if you count preseason).

With no big trades to grade and no on-court action to break down, the late-summer NBA discourse has once again turned to one of the fanbase's favorite narratives: the GOAT debate.

However, this time it's not LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan (though somehow Jordan is involved, as is often the case with all things NBA). This debate is about the greatest point guard of all time, and it boils down to Stephen Curry vs. Magic Johnson.

It all started earlier this week, when Curry was a guest on "Gil's Arena," the podcast hosted by former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, who posed this question to Curry: "Are you the best point guard ever?"

"Yes," Curry said. "Yes. It's me and Magic, that's the conversation?"

"Magic's résumé is ridiculous," Curry added, "so the fact that we're even having that conversation is a place I never thought I'd be in."

Tuesday on ESPN's "First Take," Stephen A. Smith backed up Curry's opinion.

.@stephenasmith believes Steph is the best PG of all time ✍️ pic.twitter.com/eyQJvWqMp3
- First Take (@FirstTake) August 22, 2023

On Wednesday, the debate took on new life when Jordan, who played with Johnson on the 1992 Dream Team, texted his thoughts to Smith.

"Although greatest of anything is always a debate, I beg to differ on greatest point guard of all-time," Jordan wrote, according to Smith. "Magic Johnson is easily the best point guard of all-time. Steph Curry is very close, but not in front of Magic."

Jordan went on to call Curry the "best shooter of all-time," a title Curry himself had been reluctant to claim until 2021 when he broke Ray Allen's record for most career 3-pointers made.

As for greatest point guard of all time, both Curry and Johnson have strong cases.

The case for Magic Johnson

Jordan said in his message to Smith, "you must define point guard to really have a serious debate" and if you define point guard as primarily a passing role, Johnson excels where Curry does not.

When Johnson retired the first time in 1991, he was the NBA's all-time assists leader with 9,921. After a brief comeback in 1996, he finished his career with 10,141 assists, a total that ranks seventh in NBA history. His 11.2 assists per game still rank as an NBA record. And that's just the regular season. Johnson also dished out 2,346 assists in the postseason, more than 300 more than the next player on the list (LeBron James).

Curry, by comparison, has been far less prolific in setting up his teammates. His 5,740 assists rank 45th in NBA history, and he's averaged more than eight assists only once in his 14 seasons.

Johnson also has three MVP Awards to Curry's two, three Finals MVP Awards to Curry's one, and five NBA championships to Curry's four. In the 12 seasons Johnson played before being forced to retire because of a positive HIV test in 1991, his Los Angeles Lakers never missed the playoffs, and reached the NBA Finals nine times.

When ESPN did its ranking of the NBA's 75th anniversary team in the 2021-22 season, Johnson ranked fourth overall, behind a shooting guard (Jordan), a forward (James) and a center (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Meanwhile Curry ranked 16th -- though that was before his fourth title and first Finals MVP Award.

The case for Stephen Curry

First, it should be noted that Curry, 35, is still active, and has plenty of time to move up various NBA statistical lists -- though he can't move up the career 3-point list, because he's already at the top. He also holds four of the top five spots on the NBA's single-season 3-point list, and is the only player in NBA history to make at least 400 3-pointers in a single season.

Speaking of lists in which Curry stands alone, he remains the only player to win MVP honors unanimously, something he did in 2015-16, when he led the Warriors to a record 73 wins in the regular season. Curry's career scoring average (24.6 PPG) dwarfs Johnson's (19.5), and he's already far surpassed Magic in total career points (21,712 to 17,707). Curry won scoring titles in 2015-16 and 2020-21, averaging better than 30 points per game in both seasons.

As Arenas pointed out during his podcast discussion with Curry, the Warriors' star has also spawned a generation of imitators and changed how the game is played beyond the 3-point arc.

"I can witness and watch every kid trying to be Curry," Arenas said. "The influence you have on the game from the position as a player. ... I look at the stats and I say 'Magic then Curry,' but when I look the kids in AAU, it's like 'nah.'"

The numbers to know

The stats have been laid out and both players can make a case for being the league's best-ever point guard, but the debate will continue going on. Take your vote below:

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Magic Johnson or Stephen Curry? The debate for the greatest point guard of all time continues

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Who is the GPGOAT? Or in other words the greatest point guard of all time? Here are the straight statistics to help you decide which side of the latest GOAT debate you're on.

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1. For Montana, his pick is Dan Marino.

2. “Put Marino into today’s game where he gets free release…and his receivers, holy cow, weren’t very big,” Montana said. “Now these guys are 6’4,” 6’5.” I think [Marino] is probably one of the most unsung heroes of the game. People don’t talk enough about him or realize the numbers that he put up during the times that he put them up.”

Joe Montana has some good reasons Marino did have small receivers but it does not matter how small they are they can still be good Tom Brady he has to work with some small people and he always make it work he finds them and he puts it in there arms the stuff Marino did Tom Brady also did too.

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Patriots
"People don't talk enough about him or realize the numbers that he put up during the times that he put them up."

Given his extensive resume, Tom Brady is widely considered the greatest quarterback in NFL history.

It's a validated standing that's regularly accepted in most circles, be it former players, executives, fans, or the media.

Well, in most circles, at least.

During a recent interview with Men's Health, Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana - largely considered the greatest QB in league history before Brady's ascension - tabbed yet another signal caller as the best that football has ever seen.

No, Montana didn't nominate himself, or other legends of the game like Peyton Manning or John Elway.

For Montana, his pick is Dan Marino.

"Put Marino into today's game where he gets free release...and his receivers, holy cow, weren't very big," Montana said. "Now these guys are 6'4," 6'5." I think [Marino] is probably one of the most unsung heroes of the game. People don't talk enough about him or realize the numbers that he put up during the times that he put them up."

It should be noted that Montana did draw a distinction between the "greatest" and "best" quarterbacks in league history, with the former title factoring in career achievements, and the latter revolving around pure talent and skill.

If that's Montana's line of thinking, his take is a bit easier to digest.

Even though a player like Brady perhaps didn't possess the strongest arm and certainly not the best wheels as a signal caller, his achievements on the gridiron (seven Super Bowl titles, five Super Bowl MVPs, 3 MVPs, etc.) all speak for themselves.

Despite Marino's evident talent (nine Pro Bowls, three All-Pro selections, one MVP), he only played in one Super Bowl - losing to Montana and the 49ers in Super Bowl XIX back in January 1985.

Still, Montana has regularly changed his tune when it comes to bestowing the "GOAT" title on one quarterback.

After Brady - who idolized Montana and the 49ers while growing up in the Bay Area - won his seventh Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2021, Montana declared Brady as the best to ever play at QB.

But the following year, Montana was hesitant to validate Brady as the greatest, noting that it's tough to compare different eras of football while referencing older legends like Otto Graham.

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Joe Montana doesn't believe that Tom Brady is the best quarterback in NFL history

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"People don't talk enough about him or realize the numbers that he put up during the times that he put them up."

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Evidence 2: He played his first PGA Tour, the 1995 Masters, at the age of 19, and went professional the following year.

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Jason kelce is the best nfl center of all time

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Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is the model for undersized centers at every level of football, and has found himself a fan in Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum. "One of the best centers to ever play the game – still playing – is Jason Kelce," Linderbaum said per the Ravens team site. “He's undersized and he plays at such a high level. I think guys that think that are wrong just because there's a lot of people that can play at a high level, and especially him, who will be a Hall of Famer."

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Sports Illustrated Philadelphia Eagles News, Analysis and More

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Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is the model for undersized centers at every level of football, and has found himself a fan in Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum.

"One of the best centers to ever play the game - still playing - is Jason Kelce," Linderbaum said per the Ravens team site. "He's undersized and he plays at such a high level. I think guys that think that are wrong just because there's a lot of people that can play at a high level, and especially him, who will be a Hall of Famer."

At 36 years old, Kelce is still the heart of the Eagles offensive line and a driving force behind why the offense is so successful. He is often considered to be one of the most important offensive players in the NFL, even as a center.

USA Today Sports

He is sometimes seen as undersized for a center at 6-3, 295 pounds. That hasn't stopped him from being named to six Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams, as well as winning Super Bowl LII with Philadelphia.

Linderbaum has been one of the top centers in the league since he was drafted No. 25 overall by the Ravens in the 2022 NFL Draft. The 23-year-old center praised Kelce, saying that he watches his tape almost religiously.

"I watch his tape all the time, maybe sometimes more than mine," Linderbaum said. "There's a lot of stuff as centers that you can't do what he's doing, just the way he moves his body, the way he's able to get in certain positions. But you're always trying to learn from guys who have been successful and he's certainly one of them."

The Eagles are on a bye week but will have a Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs when they return. The game will be on Monday Night Football in Kansas City on Nov. 20 at 8:15 p.m.

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Jason Kelce An Inspiration to Ravens' Tyler Linderbaum

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Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce has inspired many, but one specific fan is Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum.

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For Stephen Curry to be compared to LeBron is crazy as is. For him to be doing things that LeBron can do is also crazy he is 6 ¨ 2 and still unstoppable at the age of 35. If you're 35 in the NBA that's tough as a PG is even worse. Stephen Curry was being compared to Michael Jordan only 27 Curry was already putting up stat lines just like MJ, A small point guard being compared to someone that people say are better than LeBron. Stephen Curry is better at shooting than LeBron averages the same amount of rebounds even though he is 7 inches shorter. He is better at free throws a better percentage of winning the finals. People said LeBron never had any help but thats far from the truth. He had Dwayne Wade in Miami, Chris Bosh, Shaq O´neal, Ray Allen. Cleveland, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and Tristan Thompson.

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In 2010 if you took a 28-foot three you were instantly benched and would be lucky to see the court again.

By 2019, that shot is encouraged.

With that change and many others, the popularity of the sport exploded.

That explosion was mostly about the star players - dominant teams led by recognizable faces playing on the league's biggest stages every year. This is the deepest the league has been in elite talent in a long, long time.

Which makes compiling a list like this a challenge - outstanding players who had amazing decades are left off this list. The biggest among those is Damian Lillard, who had a monster decade - four All-NBA teams, four-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year - but also leaving out Blake Griffin, Giannis Antetokounmpo (maybe player of the next decade), and others was hard.

Here is our list of the top 10 players of the 2010s:

10. Draymond Green

Everyone else on this list was a top 15 pick, a player scouts and GMs recognized coming in with potential. Draymond Green was a second-round pick, a player seen pre-draft as a "tweener" who would have trouble fitting his game into the NBA - it turned out his positional flexibility would help define a decade. His defensive versatility - the ability to switch onto all five positions on the court - was exactly what the Golden State Warriors needed. Also, Green's emotional leadership glued together the Warriors' championship defense, and with that their dynasty.

Green is a three-time NBA champion, Defensive Player of the Year, two-time All-NBA, three-time All-Star, and five-time All-Defensive team player this decade.

Why Green over Lillard or Griffin, who put up bigger numbers and were the No. 1 option on a very good Portland/Los Angeles teams this decade? Because 10 years from now, as we enter 2030, if we look back at this decade, what are we going to remember? The championships, the five straight Finals appearances, the way the Warriors changed the game. Green was at the heart of that. Green's contributions made the Warriors the Warriors, and that impacted the last decade more than just box score numbers.

9. Dwyane Wade

Miami put up two banners in the 2010s, and those don't happen without Wade being both bold and savvy.

Bold because he recruited LeBron to South Beach, forming the "super team" that ushered in the era of player empowerment. By the end of the decade, the hype around NBA player movement was surpassing that of interest in the games themselves, and Wade was at the forefront of that movement.

Wade was savvy on the court because he was willing to do what he called "one of the hardest things I had to do in sports" and adjusted his game to become the No. 2 option on those Heat teams. He accepted the role of Robin to LeBron's Batman. It worked. Wade got two more rings and averaged 22.2 points per game in those four years with LeBron, with a 57.5 true shooting percentage, going to the Finals every season.

Wade's skills faded as the decade wore on, but he was still an 8-time All-Star the past decade. He was at the heart of a team that changed the game, he picked up rings (plural), and for that deserves to be on this list.

8. Anthony Davis

The youngest player on our list - he could be on this countdown for the next decade, too - Davis is a dominant two-way force, a guy who can block shots into the third row in defense and step out to the three-point line on offense. He's as complete a player as the decade has seen.

Davis toiled in relative anonymity through nearly the entire decade in New Orleans, a franchise that (at least until recently) thought short-term and made moves accordingly. Davis never had the kind of roster around him needed to win (he only made the playoffs twice, in 2018 getting to the second round before running into the Warriors), but fans coaches recognized the talent and made him a six-time All-Star in the decade. In 2019 he was part of the ground-shifting months of player movement that changed the balance of the league, getting traded to the Lakers to team up with LeBron (how that ultimately plays out remains to be seen). Wherever he played, he earned his spot on this list.

7. Chris Paul

The best floor general of the decade - arguably the best game orchestrator in NBA history - and one of the highest IQ players the league has ever seen, Chris Paul spent the last decade carving up defenses like a surgeon.

CP3s teams win - he is second in win shares per 48 minutes during the decade. He started the decade getting the then New Orleans Hornets to the playoffs, but is mostly known for being the lob in the "Lob City" Clippers teams through the heart of the decade. Those teams were among the best in the league through the middle of the decade, but for a variety of reasons never lived up to expectations in the playoffs. We'll see how the rest of his career plays out, but Paul could eventually go on top of the "greatest player never to win a title" lists.

Paul gets a mixed reaction from fans, some of whom can be frustrated by his flopping and complaining. All of that is a manifestation of his drive to win - CP3 is as intense a competitor as there is in the league. Because of that, and just his understanding of the game, the future Hall of Famer was arguably the best point guard of the decade and earned his spot on this list.

6. Russell Westbrook

Westbrook is an absolutely unstoppable freak athlete who just overwhelmed the NBA for much of the decade. He's not the technical surgeon that CP3 is, nor is he the efficiency darling of the advanced stats crowd, but what Westbrook did was rack up numbers nobody thought we would ever see again - back-to-back seasons averaging a triple-double

Westbrook came into his own after Durant bolted OKC for the Bay Area. Westbrook re-signed in the small market of Oklahoma City then proceeded to dominate the ball and give the fans there a show like nobody had seen before - 147 triple-doubles during the decade.

What fans in OKC and everywhere appreciated is that nobody played harder than Westbrook - he went out every night not playing like a superstar but like a guy on a 10-day contract trying to keep his job. Westbrook only knew one speed and that was fifth gear, pedal-to-the-metal, all-out.

Westbrook won an MVP award on the first of those back-to-back triple-double seasons, racked up a couple of scoring titles (2015 and 2017) and gave us countless highlights during the decade. There's not going to be another guard like him because there's not going to be another athlete like him.

5. Kawhi Leonard

An NBA Finals MVP with two different teams in the same decade is a rare feat, one that requires a special combination of play on both ends of the court - Leonard at his peak is as good a two-way player as the decade saw.

We tend to think back to the 2014 Spurs and picture the last title of the Duncan/Parker/Ginobili era, or to view that team as playing the most beautiful, elevated team basketball the league has ever seen (that's how I remember them). However, Leonard was the reason Gregg Popovich has a fifth ring. Leonard averaged 23.7 points and 9.3 rebounds a game while shooting 68 percent in the final three games of the series, all while frustrating LeBron at the other end with his defense. Leonard did that at the age of 22, before he even made an All-Star team.

In 2018-19, Leonard brought the word "load management" into the NBA lexicon and showed why it mattered - he rested his quadricep tendon and opposing knee for 22 games during the regular season. Then in the playoffs he dominated - 30.5 points and 9.1 rebounds with a 61.9 true shooting percentage, he hit one of the defining shots of the decade and played spectacular defense - leading Toronto to the franchise's first title.

When healthy, Leonard is as good as anyone in the game, a two-time NBA Champion, a two-time Defensive player of the year, and a three-time All-Star. He helped define the player movement of 2019 and his impact will carry over to the next decade on a few levels.

4. James Harden

At the start of the decade, Harden was the sixth man on a team everyone thought would dominate the decade. By the end of it, he was an unstoppable scoring machine that generated a combination of admiration and frustration across the league. And throughout it all, his beard was spectacular.

James Harden was the Sixth Man of the Year, playing a critical role on a Thunder team that reached the Finals in 2012, with Westbrook and Durant as the stars. By the start of the next season, Harden was traded to Houston because of a ginormous tax bill coming to small market OKC. The Thunder got back Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and a 2013 first-round pick that became Steven Adams; but by 2016 Harden's Rockets were knocking the Thunder out of the playoffs.

In Houston, Harden developed into the arguably the best scorer the game has ever seen - the perfect analytics player for a modern era, taking and hitting efficient shots. His ability to hit a step-back three, or drive the lane and draw a foul, put defenders in an almost impossible position as Harden racked up a couple of scoring titles (and is on his way to a third). He also won an MVP and has been a perennial candidate for the award in the second half of the decade.

Not all fans love his style of play, but he's unquestionably become one of the game's greats, an offensive machine for which there is no good answer. He will be one of the players that defined the decade.

3. Kevin Durant

We tend to forget sometimes that Durant is as good a scorer as the game has seen, with his 7-foot frame, high release and accuracy well beyond the three-point line, he's nearly impossible to defend. Starting with the 2010 season, Durant won four scoring titles in five seasons while playing in Oklahoma City, and picked up an MVP trophy along the way.

However, he wasn't winning and he wasn't happy, which led to one of the big franchise-changing moments of the decade - Durant bolting OKC for Golden State, forming a "super team" as good as any the game had seen. Durant became a villain in the eyes of some for doing what those same people always say they want players to do - prioritize winning over personal glory - and it ate at him a little, but he kept winning.

On the court, Durant became the guy the Warriors needed in the final couple rounds of the playoffs. That's when defenses could shut down favorite plays and force teams away from their preferred options, but the Warriors got the ball to Durant and he took over. Durant picked up two titles and two Finals MVP, rounding out his resume.

Durant left the West Coast for Brooklyn at the end of the decade but has yet to set foot on the court for the Nets because of a torn Achilles. How he recovers from that will help define the start of the next decade.

But he was a force in this one.

2. Stephen Curry

Curry unquestionably has an eye-popping resume during this decade - three NBA titles, two MVP awards, a scoring title, and being a six-time All-Star.

None of that is what lands Curry this high on our best of the decade list - he's here because he changed how the game is played.

His shooting range, his handles, his gravity to pull defenders to him spaced out the floor and defenses in a way nobody had ever seen before. Curry changed the geometry of the NBA and spawned imitators everywhere from the point guard in Atlanta to playgrounds and driveways of New York. And San Diego. And everywhere in between. Curry changed the idea of what was a good shot in the NBA, and with that changed the game.

Curry also was the driving force behind the culture in Golden State that led to the most dominant team of the decade - three titles and five straight Finals appearances. Curry practiced and played a selfless attitude that inspired teammates to do the same, willingly giving up good looks for great. The joy the Warriors played with sprang from the fountain of love for the game Curry embodied. The Warriors were fun to watch because Curry was fun to watch.

Injuries and roster changes had the Warriors ending the decade on a down note, but nobody sane is counting Curry out in the future. He had defied expectations from Davidson until now, and that's one thing he will not change.

1. LeBron James

This decade was the peak of a Mount Rushmore NBA player - the man went to eight straight NBA Finals, at times carrying teams that otherwise had no business on that stage to those lofty heights. He also scored more points in the decade than any other player, had brilliant assists, and made timely defensive plays. LeBron can do anything on a basketball court.

LeBron defined the game off-the-court as well. His "Decision" to join Miami sparked the player empowerment era that nearly a decade later led to the NBA's wildest offseason ever in 2019 (including Anthony Davis coming to join him). LeBron picked up two rings and two Finals MVPs in Miami, but he also came of age there in terms of learning what it takes to win, not just from himself but an organization.

LeBron then sealed his legacy by returning to Cleveland and leading it to a franchise-defining -and region defining - NBA title.

LeBron is finishing out the decade (and likely his career) trying to add to his legacy by adding to the storied Lakers history, but he also is there to grow his brand - something other players look up to LeBron for. He's the greatest player of a generation - three MVPs in this decade, too - but he has parlayed that into a business empire that reaches well off the court and sports and into the world of entertainment (that includes Space Jam 2, coming soon to a theater near you). LeBron used some of that money to open a school to help the underserved in his hometown of Akron. LeBron became more than just a player, he did it on his own terms with his own people, and other players want to emulate that as much as his on-court exploits.

LeBron was the best player of the decade. No doubt. He's one of the greatest ever to play the game, and we need to savor watching him play and look back in amazement at what he did this decade. Because there will not ever be another one.

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LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and the top 10 players of the 2010s

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James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and others make our top 10 list for the decade.