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I’m not going to editorialize on the merits of Lebron vs. Kobe or Lebron vs. Wade.  They’re all great.  But Sean Deveney of Sporting News wrote an article focusing on how dominating Lebron James has been during Team USA’s Olympic performance thus far.  It’s worth a read, especially if you live in Los Angeles and are subjected to Lakers fans who make comments like you’ll hear in the audio below. 

One of these was lifted from the Lakers Radio Network during the post-game call in show.  The other is a parody songed penned by yours truly featuring my rap skills and audio I pulled from LA sports talk radio station KLAC.  The show in questions features two pandering homers and former Laker Mychal Thompson, whose the only host sounding remotely objective in this whole stupid “Kobe is better than Lebron” debate: 

 

 Lamar Odom is Better Than Garnett [0:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Lebron James sucks says LA Talk Radio (KLAC) [2:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m getting sidetracked.  Let me return from my inferiority complex and get back on point.  Lebron has played great.  His defense has been great.  Maybe that will put to rest some of the holdover criticism from his rookie year, but probably not on the radio airwaves of Los Angeles.  Here’s some of the more flattering excerpts from the Sporting News piece:

He’s the leader. He’s the one whose voice is heard when a teammate commits a defensive breakdown. There’s a sense on this team that you don’t want to disappoint James. “He’s definitely the vocal leader of our team, the guy that brings energy every day,” Williams said. “Not just [on the court]. You don’t see the stuff behind the scenes. He’s a great teammate, a great guy to have in the locker room and keeps us focused.”

If this edition of Team USA is called an unselfish bunch, that’s because James is so unselfish. If it’s called a tough, focused defensive team, that’s because James is so tough and focused. If he’s aggressive, they’re aggressive. “We know when he’s aggressive it puts the rest of us in an aggressive mode,” Paul said. “He’s the one starting out who really gets us going. When he picks it up, everyone usually follows.”

It’s chuckle-worthy that, in the pre-Olympic exhibition games, coach/analyst Fran Fraschilla called Anthony the best international player in the world. It’s obvious where Fraschilla was coming from. Anthony can shoot from the perimeter, score inside and has the size to be an international power forward. But if we’ve learned anything from Team USA’s first five games of these Olympics, it’s that the all-around ability and consistency of James — at both ends of the floor, whether dunking or passing or rebounding or stepping into the passing lanes — makes him, by far, the world’s best international player.

Team USA’s outside shooting has been inconsistent. Its rebounding and free-throw shooting only so-so. Kobe Bryant has struggled with his shot. But the team has gotten incredible play from James, every night. Just peek at the Olympic stat leaders. James ranks in the Top 10 in scoring, at 15.8 per game, despite taking just 10.2 shots per game. He is fifth in assists (4.4) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s tied for fourth in blocks (1.4) and tied for third in steals (2.4). He’s got just about every category covered. One exception? Minutes. He’s tied for 34th there, which makes his presence all over the leaderboards even more impressive.

“This is what he’s been dreaming of, to get the chance to play in the Olympics, go out there and lead a team, and he’s doing a great job of that,” Howard said. “He’s been very consistent every night on the defensive end and on the offensive end. I really appreciate the way he leads the team. He makes everybody around him better.”

Put all of that together — offense, defense, consistency, leadership — and Howard’s right. James is doing a great job. He’s doing the best job in the world, in fact.