LeBron Taking It To Another Level

There can be no doubters left - LeBron James is competing on a level rivaling any of the game's greats. His performance is the past 10 games - last four in particular - are scary good. How about this stat - in the Miami Heat's last four games, LeBron has scored 123 points on just 59 SHOTS!

He's connected on 33 of his last 43 field goal attempts and is only playing about three quarters of the games. The knock on LeBron has always been his mid-range and long-range shooting efficiency. To improve that, the world's best player worked diligently in the off-season, getting off up to 2000 shots a day. It seems to be working.

Previously, critics pointed out that he's not a great post player which was surprising given his 6-8, 250-pound frame. So two summers ago, he worked day and night on his post moves and became a deadly inside force last year. Critics are running out of ammunition with LeBron, who is still only 28 years old.

He is shooting a career high 56 percent from the floor this year, marking the seventh consecutive season of improving his percentage. James averages 27 points a game on a team loaded with other star players. Adding to that, he is dishing out seven assists an outing and grabbing eight rebounds in an all-around game never before seen in the NBA. To illustrate how great 56 % from the floor is for a wing player, Kobe Bryant's best season was 47%, Michael Jordan 54%, and Kevin Durant, currently the planet's second best player, is averaging 52% - a career high for him.

Last night, James scored 30 points in 31 minutes while taking ONLY 11 shots. There has never been a more unselfish superstar. Two games ago, vs. Charlotte, King James connected on 13 of his 14 field goal attempts, scoring 31 points. He is the only player ever that could defend all five positions on the court and is by far the best point-forward we've ever seen.

James is a hybrid of Magic Johnson (passing, intelligence, unselfishness), Jordan (athleticism), and Karl Malone (size, strength). Some say he lacks Jordan's and Kobe's killer instinct, but his maturity and drive the past couple of seasons has demonstrated improvement in that area too. He handles teammates much kinder than Jordan and Kobe did. He is a lot like Magic but is a far better defender and shooter. There simply has never been a player quite like LeBron. Not saying he's the best ever. Not yet...anyway.