Something special is going to happen this year in the NBA. When it does, we will be asking ourselves the age-old question, “Who is the greatest?”

Lebron James is entering his 17th season.  At the age of 34, with 3 championship rings, it seems unlikely that he will catch up to Michael Jordan’s 6 that he won all in Chicago. Amazingly or unfortunately for Lebron, he has made the NBA Finals 9 times and only has 3 rings to show for it.  Jordan, on the other hand won all 6 of his appearances. Now we can argue until the end of time about who had better teammates, tougher competition, and so on.

The reality is that the game is constantly evolving so we will always have the challenge of comparing greatness between eras. I mean, Lebron was born during Michael Jordan’s rookie season. A lot has changed since 1984.

At the end of the day, to be the greatest you have to be the best at putting the ball in the hoop. And last season, Lebron James passed Michael Jordan in total points scored.  It’s true that Jordan averaged more points per a game throughout his career. But he also spent 3 years in Chapel Hill, one year riding the bus, and some extra curricular time saving the human race from Aliens. 

Sure, Lebron will inevitably save the humans too in a bigger budget film *Spoiler Alert*

I would much rather see Mo Bamba become the next Kazaam, or Tacko play the lead in He Got Game: Senegal Streets.

Lebron coming into the league straight out of high school has landed him in 4th place on the all-time scoring list. Ahead of him are two legendary Lakers and a guy who hates golf courses and once body slammed Hulk Hogan. The list currently looks like this:

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387

2. Karl Malone   36,928

3. Kobe Bryant     33,643

4. Lebron James   32,543

5. Michael Jordan 32,292

After them are Dirk, Wilt, and Shaq. 

It seems only fitting that Lebron will be in a Lakers jersey when he passes Kobe Bryant in total points this year. If Lebron scores his career average of 27.2 points per a game, it will only take 41 games to pass him.  Considering he only played 55 games last season, there is a good chance that we will see an older Lebron playing less minutes with the hopes of making a healthy playoff run with Anthony Davis and the “revamped” Laker’s roster.

I predict that Lebron James will pass Kobe Bryant for 3rd place on the NBA All-Time scoring list on Tuesday January 28th, against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center. 

And my Extra Extra Read All About It Bold Prediction is that both Kobe Bryant and Billy Crystal will be in attendance. 

Barring any significant injuries I think Lebron will maintain his 27 points per a game for the next couple of seasons.  Now will he pass Karl Malone next? Win another championship? Will he play at least one season with or against his son? Will he dunk at his Grandson’s AAU tournament? Time will tell. 

Most importantly, at the start of this season Lebron will be 5,844 points behind Kareem. He wants to be remembered as the greatest. Breaking that record and becoming the point “King” is the one thing that is in his control.  While he most likely won’t win 3 more championships, he will retire as the player who put the ball in the basket more than anyone else.  I think that makes him the greatest.