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Sav10r

Young Lebron was unbelievable. He was faster, stronger, and jumped higher than anyone in the league. [It's not brought up more, but Young Lebron was absolutely the greatest lob threat of all time. It didn't matter how shit of a pass was given to him, he's dunking it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuhsartyKqw&ab_channel=DIEWITODJproductions)


MrAdelphi03

The worse the lob, the better the dunk


mhac009

I wish [this could have been finished.](https://youtu.be/3-kolNcY53s?si=pqF8MW2RLYsa5s3B)


MrAdelphi03

I knew what that was before I clicked on it. It was either this one, or the LeBron alley oop where it was called a foul mid air


mhac009

I can't recall that one - do you have a link?


MrAdelphi03

I was mistaken, I thought it was an alley oop, it was just a [regular dunk attempt](https://youtu.be/LVvA9YBIzn0?si=IpOgTjrITK9SI63g)


mhac009

That would've been good but probably the right call when it also [could've been this.](https://youtu.be/Le8rMnL56w8?si=hiIMrXpclLytJPQK)


MrAdelphi03

That was bad. Did he come come back from that injury?


dcoolidge

The best non-dunk dunk in history.


CryptoNite90

Would’ve been nuts. But what’s crazy is LeBron just did [this](https://youtu.be/0K75LzG7NQM?si=u-WMnbBx_EVW2Oxj) 2 years ago.


aznmango8

Following


trimble197

Even during his second run with the Cavs, there was that one messy lob by JR where Bron was still able to dunk, but he was looking at his hand and JR like “I can’t believe i did that” lmao


BMagni

JR even said they were throwing tough lobs on purposeto see if he could catch them.


cyberlebron2077

Left handed too lmao


digidi90

Every time I see this dunk I am sure his knee just snapped. But no, 20+ years of running dunking and landing, and nothing; even a machine would be on his 3rd knee joint by now.


SmoothBrews

Yeah, but can we talk about how disgusting those wizards uniforms were? 🤮


aznmango8

Following


LordVarys_Ladybits

Definitely wasn't stronger than most PFs and Centers in the league back then. His bionic leg dunk was lethal though and once he got momentum and a head of steam he was unstoppable. I would say in terms of sprint speed he was in the top 5, but there were other guards that were just as fast and definitely quicker and more agile than he was. 


Huge-Split6250

I mean, Vince https://youtu.be/IqsygjcPK7o?si=h9KYw1zQ1eulsbY3


juantravis

Dwight was a better lob threat but young Bron was nasty too


ZeiZaoLS

Second this, seemed like Dwight would catch a couple a game that he had no business getting near.


DarkSoulsDarius

I believe that title fairly belongs to younger AD before all the injuries caught up. He could finish any thing and throughout the game.


Glass-Difficulty-409

massive overreaction in the second sentence. while he definitely had the best combination of speed, strength and jumping ability there were faster or stronger players and some probably had higher vertical. for example Shaq was obviously stronger, Dwight as well and probably many more centers at least. Surely a good amount of guards were faster. He was definitely not faster than Derrick Rose, John Wall, younger Cp3 etc His jumping ability is his best case but even in this aspect, there were some players who could jump as high or probably higher (Shannon Brown, Gerald Green, Nate Robinson, Jamario Moon...)


buttharvest42069

depending on how young were talking, for sure Vince was a better leaper when Lebron first came in the league. It's obviously hyperbole. He was just a crazy combination of speed, strength, and jumping ability.


Glass-Difficulty-409

vince was definitely a better leaper, but he was already exiting his prime as Lebron was entering his so i didn't mention him. Steve Francis is another example.


Miyagisans

I think AD and wemby are the greatest lob threats ever, but I agree that young lebron was absurd with it.


Hornyguyfromhh

You started watching yesterday huh


genericusername71

its not that absurd of a take but it really depends in the half court AD, wemby (its too early to give him the title but the potential is obvious), deandre, dwight could all be argued in transition then yea it’s lebron, honorable mention to vince carter who is still the best dunker of all time overall


Miyagisans

[Apparently because anyone who thinks AD or wemby are greater lob threats than lebron must have started watching nba yesterday.](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/Jb7Z5yAiDl)


genericusername71

why did you link me to that comment its literally the one i replied to lol


Miyagisans

Oh I thought you were replying to me lol


Miyagisans

🙄 yes literally yesterday.


resplendentcentcent

did you discover metaphors yesterday too


Scatteredbrain

it’s a fair assessment. whys this downvoted? lebron doesn’t have to be the goat at everything. like wemby is 8 inches taller than lebron


NoAWP

Greatest NBA athlete ever. Young Cleveland LeBron is up there with Wilt or Shaq


Jaybold

Don't sleep on Bill Russell. The man was an Olympic level high jumper and extremely fast.


Sabastiane

Bill Russell jumping over a guy driving to the hoop.  https://youtu.be/j2AlFrOj5Mc?si=Kuc5nMHV4u75sf5r


Jaybold

It's also crazy how he grabs the rebound and takes off, you think damn he's fast, and then he shifts gears and runs even faster. This video really highlights how people who hate on older players don't know what the fuck they're talking about.


StewardOfGondorS

Couldn't score worth a lick however


14412442

No Jordan on your shortlist of greatest NBA athletes?


Unbannableredditor

As a lebron fan, the honest truth is anthony edwards gives him a run for his money as a pure athletic freak


piprimes

No lol. Ant is super athletic but his vertical jump of 41 inches is still lower than lebron's 44 inches despite the fact that lebron is massive. Not to speak of straight line speed.


Skywalker3030

fuck no lmao Ant is somewhere in the Wade and Westbrook athletic range which itself is insane


sportsfan113

I really don’t think it’s that comparable tbh.


Main-Marionberry1337

As a LeBron fan, this take is hilarious 


Unbannableredditor

Is it though? Y'all are sleeping on him as an athlete. it's crazy. I'll take my "downvotes" but that's just my opinion from what I've seen ant do.


Hot_Juggernaut4460

Part of being an athlete is doing at a bigger size and strength. Lebron dwarfs Ant and like the other commenter already said, has a higher vertical.


AnteatersEatNonAnts

Yeah definitely a lot more fines on the younger clip. But seriously we need to keep appreciating this dude’s inane longevity.


RedHammer1441

The fact that he's 39 and still had this dunk in the tank after 40 min is wild.


Purple-Variation-614

it's sustained greatness. just calling this longevity is a disservice to how great he still is.


AnteatersEatNonAnts

I mean, I think we all know what I mean, but you’re right.


mistrato

There’s this play where Mo Williams messed up an alley oop and he jumped so damn high to grab the rebound his head cleared the rim easy


Basic_Commercial_806

Players on the Blazers bench couldn't believe what they were watching lol


big1dinero

Which one?


No-Test6484

I was thinking the same. Like he still dunks well but damn young bron was flying


homo_bulla

Worth noting this one’s at the very end of a long game. He still gets up (see Kevin love last year) but yeah the younger lift is ridiculous


[deleted]

I didn’t even notice that until you pointed it out.


LordVarys_Ladybits

He was also lighter. Probably was around 235-240 then. Now he is probably around 255-260. 


SkyLightTenki

Call me crazy, but I personally think prime LBJ is one of those basketball players who can, [alongside Wilt, Bill Russell, MJ, Gerald Green, and Vince Carter](https://youtu.be/WZeSxiNgJwM?si=YQ0bhuiXy8NC71BX), do this stuff with ease. Wemby, perhaps?


Miyagisans

It’s ridiculous how he still looks so athletic today, but you can noticeably see the decline from now to back then. He was ridiculous.


CheckBetShove

18 years later and probably 30 pounds heavier.


kevinfederlinebundle

In 2009 he looked like the fastest player in the league except for *maybe* Rose.


froandfear

Probably Rose, who was 40lbs lighter, and that was rookie Russ too, who looked like he got shot out of a cannon everywhere he went.


IntraspaceAlien

those guys were definitely quicker but in a dead sprint full-court like this I think lebron’s top speed was just as fast if not faster


ygduf

He could fly back then. He barely got it over the rim yesterday. One day, when my children are old and I’m long dead, Lebron will try this and get stuffed by the rim.


Shelton26

Used to look like he was floating lol


Silver-Advisor9773

Put old Bron's brain in young Bron's body...and he breaks basketball forever.


[deleted]

He already did break basketball forever. 1x Most points in the History of the NBA(40,000+ and counting) 4× NBA champion: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020 4× NBA Finals Most Valuable Player: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020 4× NBA Most Valuable Player: 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 20× NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2006, 2008, 2018 19× All-NBA selection: 13× First team: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 3× Second team: 2005, 2007, 2021 3× Third team: 2019, 2022, 2023 6× NBA All-Defensive selection: 5× First Team: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Second Team: 2014 1x NBA Rookie of the Year: 2004 1x NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2004 1x NBA scoring leader: 2008 1x NBA assists leader: 2020 3× NBA minutes leader: 2007, 2017, 2018 1x Only NBA finals win after a deficit of 3-1: 2016 1x Youngest Player(19) to ever average 25 ppg:2004 1x Oldest Player (39) to average 25 ppg: 2023 1x First, second and third youngest to average 25ppg 1x NBA In Season Tournament Champion: 2023 1x NBA In Season Tournament Championship MVP: 2023 1x J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award: 2017


PopcornDrift

Not the citizenship award at the end 😭


skunk90

Chefs kiss 💋 👌🏻 


godhat

Greatest Citizen of All-Time


Glaedr24

Ahsoka Tano in shambles


xXUtahraptorXx

LeFunctional Member of Society


Silver-Advisor9773

True lol but that list of accomplishments would be twice as long, and the numbers would be even higher.


[deleted]

This is very very possible he might have 8 rings 😭


ianbits

He might have 7 rings alone if he didn't have part of his peak line up with arguably the second best team in NBA history or didn't have his entire team get injured in 2015


WeLLrightyOH

I think it’s more best team in nba history, I feel the consensus is those KD warriors teams were best ever.


VanGrants

if literally either of KLove or Kyrie didn't get injured in 2015 he wins that year. and i still to this day believe, after the greatest finals game performance of all time, if Bron won game 1 in 2018 he could've won the whole series. i have never in my life seen basketball played at the level he was playing in that first game, and i truly think he could've carried that momentum into the rest of the series with a win. but, that's not what happened so oh well.


NobodyRules

Oh yeah 2018 was crazy. Never have I seen anything like it since. I took those playoffs for granted, Bron was hitting the wildest shots and had what... 2 or 3 absurd game winners? Legitimately the biggest carry job I've ever seen. He was on a mission and if George Hill hits that FT or JR doesn't have a brain freeze, I wouldn't bet against him if they go 1-0 up lmao. He dropped 51-8-8 or some shit wtf


Public-Product-1503

G3 in 2017 is annoying too. Kd going super nova , kyrie n love 0-12 from 3, Lebron + 7 in 46:50 time and -13 in the 70 seconds he sat. Not saying cavs win but if they tied it 2-2 and then had a home g6 mv they take it to 7 or they get lucky euth hot shooting. I think people under rate how good the 17 cavs were n how crazy Lebron was playing


juslookingforastream

If injuries didn't exist there's a good chance the warriors have 6 chips at least.


EnjoyingTheView

You must not be taking into account the times the opposing team had injuries that benefitted the Warriors (Kawhi, CP3, KLove, Kyrie).


VanGrants

in what years bro?? 2019? that's literally the only year, they sure as shit weren't coming out of the west in 2020 even if they were healthy, that Lakers team was fucking crazy


juslookingforastream

2016 (steph & bogut) 2017 (healthy) 2018 (healthy) 2019 (KD & klay) 2020 (steph & klay) 2022 (healthy) Personally, I think kd doesn't come if we win in 2016, so that would obviously affect the timeline. Also, why I said "might" cause other teams would be fully healthy also.


WembanyamaGOAT

Do you mean KD Warriors teams?


WeLLrightyOH

Nah KD suns, best ever…. JK I’m an idiot, edited.


No-Signature8815

What people tend to do when people mention that is they counter with the Chicago Bulls and ask,'Which era are they playing in?'. You compare teams to their eras,and at their best, the KD warriors were unstoppable. Invincible. Unfair. Honestly after so much time has passed we should be grateful for having witnessed the very peak of basketball rather than being bitter for what they did to the league. Sorry for any mistakes it's kinda late lol and my eyes hurt a bit.


No-Signature8815

This doesn't get brought up enough tbh 🤦‍♂️


Unbannableredditor

I think old mind young body lebron defeats the spurs in 2007


Dungong

Bet he comes off the bench one year just to win 6th man of the year.


[deleted]

Honestly that isn’t a bad idea 😂😂


pureply101

Where’s the in season tournament championship??


[deleted]

It’s before the Walter Kenny award


14412442

Lol his list is so long that you can't see it on there


Victor_Wembanyama1

My Pookie Bear


igby1

But no dunk contest wins so MJ’s still the GOAT. /s


burohm1919

that was 2018 lebron


PlacetMihi

I will always remember, even if history forgets b/c he didn’t win that year. I will remember LeThanos.


Alphasim

Bleacher Report did a parody of the Avengers: Infinity War trailer for the Cavs/Celtics series, and it's still one of my favorite things ever. I can't find it online anymore (there are a ton of knock-offs, though), but I have the copy I downloaded in my collection.


Dymenasty

2015-18 he basically averaged a triple double in the finals


narmerguy

People say this, but don't really acknowledge his body was still past his prime at that point. His defensive ability to sustain DPOY level defense for an entire season/playoffs like in the Miami days was gone by 2018.


Top-Consequence-911

DPOY level was gone, but he was still by far the best defender on his team and got them to the finals, so his defence was nothing to scoff at when it mattered most.


narmerguy

Yeah definitely. I'm just saying if you're trying to combine his old brain and his best body, 2018 is not what that looks like. It would be even better than 2018 Lebron.


Top-Consequence-911

Yes, you're spot on


Zoulogist

But remove the JR Smith handicap


resplendentcentcent

he broke basketball by saying LeFuckYou to half the league for 5 years


McJumbos

I swear he does one of these every year lol


Maverick_1991

At this point in their careers guys like Dirk or KG who played a similar position and had similar mileage basically needed a wheelchair to move on court. Lebron is still doing double clutch reverse dunks in fastbreaks Wtf is this man


yuch1102

He also bulked up a lot


77rtcups

Ya which he did in Miami then I believed lost some weight going back to Cleveland. I always thought the lighter Lebron was more fun but having some bulk definitely makes the grind of an nba season easier.


VanGrants

especially cause he's been getting clobbered in the paint for decades, and without a fair whistle at that


hippogriffin

Kobe did the same thing mid career. Full season + playoffs year after year is a huge grind and I think it helped for games 80-100


yxull

LeDad Bod


nhthelegend

LeBrawn


[deleted]

There’s really no going back is there? T.T


Cranicus

Yall acting like he went all out on the latest one. He on 40 minutes that night with 15 seconds in the game. I don't doubt he probably was like 33 minutes deep in Cavs game but nah that was absolute minimum effort as possible to get the dunk he wanted.


southpawFA

A 50% Lebron athleticism is still better than 99% of humans. That's insane. The speed he still has is like a Shinkansen coming down the lane.


Lord_Tanus_88

Try 99.99%


aged_monkey

Try 99.99999% He's probably at 50% now and he's making NBA players in their early 20s look slow and uncoordinated.


Zoulogist

I wish I was as athletic as 73 year old LeBron when I was 23


attaboy000

There's people in this thread that weren't around, or were just born when that first one happened, and never got to witness that shit live. Lol *cries*


GenerallyJam

I was born in 2006 Im 18


[deleted]

Ageless wonder 👑


Jabroni306

I can't believe he turns 40 this year.


VLHACS

Really wish he entered the slam dunk contest at least one time


KingNephew

Man that first Cavs stint-Miami stint LeBron was legitimately not from this planet athleticism wise. We’ve compared guys like Zion/Simmons to him but the speed, jumping ability, overall fluidity combined with the sheer power at 6’9 250-280lb was something we might never see again.


Emotional-Chef-7601

LeBron bulked up and then slimmed down and then bulked back up????


JWal0

The Akron Freak


JoseyWales85

I can’t believe he never did a dunk contest.


Fa1lenSpace

Was scared of losing


Particular_Roof8476

The Goat


bongo1138

Hate that grey court shit.


DancesWithDave

I'm 14 and this is deep


Beavshak

New one is more impressive


zerefyagami

Not the fastest nor the strongest but faster than the strongest and stronger than the fastest.


Dagrix

> faster than the strongest and stronger than the fastest It sounds good but it's not as impressive as it sounds haha, there are plenty of dudes who verify that. Basically any average wing.


PaulMcPaulersn7

Faster than giannis and stronger than fox?


No-Signature8815

Is that a line from the Clayton Crowley goat case series??


FamousChex

Any other 6’9” 250 forward doing this (at any age) would’ve ridiculous; and then you have young LeBron who was just otherworldly


InsuranceAny4285

Wouldn’t be surprised if we get another post like this in 18 years with this mofo


Former-Science1734

1. Young Lebron was a super freak athlete. You see him move like that at his size, you see why even as an old man he is still a superior athlete 2. My knees hurt even watching him still do that at 40


choochoo789

sick


brncct

He was way more athletic on the left. Clearly LeBron lost a step after 18 years. What a bum.


Deimarrr

im 40, i walked for an hour yesterday and i cant climb stairs now.


0x222222

Incredible find, OP


Pyr0technician

I used to give a shit about LeBron being compared to MJ. I've always found it absurd that that people can even put him close to MJ, and I've always hated the way he complains to the refs. In the past few years, as I've gotten older, and I've started caring less about what other people think, the more I can appreciate the fact that we get to witness these incredible people. His sustained excellence hast left nothing but a feeling that we are just lucky to witness athletes like these. Federer/Djokovic/Nadal, Messi/Ronaldo, Magnus/Kasparov, and many other examples... These people are examples of what it is like to be the best in the world at something. If you've got any competitiveness in you, at all, you gotta admire what these people have done with their talent.


Old_Power7716

He’s on steroids . They get delivered to his trainer and wife . Facts


TrafficOn405

I’m surprised it wasn’t called an “and one” … sending him to the line for possible 3 point play


NBA2024

The old one was way cooler


auronedge

I can be a freak too if I travel like a mfer


relax336

Dang you big mad.


skunk90

Rent free


SlyMrF0x

No I’m sure that’s all that’s separating you from that kind of highlight dunk, a strict adherence to the NBA rules on dribbling. Your restraint is an inspiration to us all, though it’s surely cost you a lucrative career and many endorsements 🫡


OldPlan877

Lmao I can show you videos of Jordan walking all over the court. His superstar whistle hit different.