Personally, I have always been frustrated by all of the accolades that Lebron received, especially prior to even winning a Championship. I always felt he was overrated, and needed to prove himself before officially being "King". Jordan was regarded as a great player, but never went to that elite status until he won a championship or two.
As a Phoenix Suns fan, I have seen more than my share of Kobe Bryant, and always felt he was the 2nd best player next to MJ......I have felt that Kobe has held on to that spot, especially since Lebron hadn't won a championship yet. Then Lebron won, and had some pretty special performances where he put the team on his shoulders to do so...so the praise and accolades quit bothering me so much, because he truly did get his team over the hump, and won the big prize. Now, without question, he has a sick supporting cast, certainly better than MJ ever had...Kobe had Shaq, but Lebron seems to have the most best supporting cast from top to bottom than the other greats have had.
So, now looking at this season, I have seen Lebron do some things 1 on 1 on that are just absolutely freakishly sick. There are times he gets the ball, and everyone in the building and on TV knows hes driving to the hoop, and he will still get right to the basket for a layup with a primary defender all over him, and 3 help defenders coming over...its truly amazing what that guy is capable of doing with the ball in his hands.
The thing is, for all the criticism of Kobe for being a ball hog, there is not a question that when Kobe is at his best, the rest of his teams game elevates too. For a guy regarded as selfish, he picks up every ones games. Lebron gets more assists than Kobe does, and yet the better Lebron does, the worse his teammates seem to do. You even have Wade and Bosh frustrated about their roles and lack of opportunities...Can you imagine an MJ teammate saying something like this?
I think Lebron may be the most talented complete player the game has ever seen...but as far as being a good teammate goes, I think there are a handful of other players that I would rather have on my team than him. Lebron seems to be the reason the Heat win a lot of games...but he also seems to be the reason the team struggles. I don't think Michael Jordan was ever the reason the Bulls lost a game....that says something when you discuss who the greatest is. Kobe has had his pouting episodes, and sometimes he tries to make a point by being passive...but how many players have come through LA and had career seasons only to leave for another team while their stock is high, and you never hear their name again?
Lebron is capable of doing so many things, and can give the team exactly what they need in any game because he can score, defend, rebound, pass etc. So rather than running everything through him, and letting other players that are more limited in what they are able to do (even Wade) why not run the ball through Wade, and let him play to his strengths, and let Lebron feed off of that...I bet Lebron would average a triple double if he were feeding off everyone else, rather than being the guy....Letting Lebron have the ball as much as he does makes his stats gaudy, and sure shows how great he is, but that + you get from all he does, is not always worth the minuses you lose from having Wade, Bosh and others stand around watching...but if those guys were able to play to their limited strengths, it might actually free up Lebron to get even more boards, and pick and choose his spots...and at that point i think the Heat would truly be unbeatable.