Help me settle an argument with my buddy: How good would LeBron James be if he was 6'1 instead of 6'8?

Is their defense as good as Lebron's?

If LBJ was shorter, his shooting would likely be more fine-tuned. This is silly. LBJ is the greatest of all time. No argument necessary.

Your argument is assuming he wouldn't have developed his game based on his smaller size. Over the past 2 years he's shot the 3 at 39%, so that 33% you cite is hardly accurate these days. Since he's shown the ability to adapt his game so well, at a smaller size, he would have had to develop his shooting at a much earlier age. I would say he would be a Derrick Rose/Russell Westbrook type player if he were 5 inches shorter and 60 pounds lighter.

Truth! wrote:

Your argument is assuming he wouldn't have developed his game based on his smaller size. Over the past 2 years he's shot the 3 at 39%, so that 33% you cite is hardly accurate these days. Since he's shown the ability to adapt his game so well, at a smaller size, he would have had to develop his shooting at a much earlier age. I would say he would be a Derrick Rose/Russell Westbrook type player if he were 5 inches shorter and 60 pounds lighter.

i think he would be a better distributor; maybe a cross between tony parker and westbrook.

herkimer wrote:

i think he would be a better distributor; maybe a cross between tony parker and westbrook.

For real? It is literally impossible for Lebron to be a better distributor than he is now.

Truth! wrote:

Your argument is assuming he wouldn't have developed his game based on his smaller size. Over the past 2 years he's shot the 3 at 39%, so that 33% you cite is hardly accurate these days. Since he's shown the ability to adapt his game so well, at a smaller size, he would have had to develop his shooting at a much earlier age. I would say he would be a Derrick Rose/Russell Westbrook type player if he were 5 inches shorter and 60 pounds lighter.

I agree he'd work on his shooting and get better but he'd have to.

One thing you're not realizing is guys wouldn't be playing off of him scared to death he was going to take it to the hole and either slam or get fouled.

Right now, if you play him tight out on the perimiter, he puts his head down and just gets one of those almost phantom foul calls that Dwayne Wade often gets.

If he's 6'1, guys aren't fearing the drive at all, so the D would be COMPLETELY different. They'd play him so tight on the perimter and dare him to come in amongst the trees.

Derrick rose and allen iverson disagree

If he was only 6'1" his skills would be even better than they are now. Being coordinated at such a large size is a tremendous skill in and of itself.

Jordan at 6-ft was cut from the varsity HS team.

Rodman at 6-ft was a towel boy.

Pippen at 6-ft was a college nothing.

LeBron at 6-ft was garnering nat'l attention as a can't-miss.

Jordan at 6-ft was cut from the varsity HS team.

Rodman at 6-ft was a towel boy.

Pippen at 6-ft was a college nothing.

LeBron at 6-ft was garnering nat'l attention as a can't-miss.

I mean he was 6'1 as a frosh. There have been lots of young players that garnered national attention who ended up sucking. No different than running. Well, maybe a little different.

For the sake of the argument I assume you guys agreed that he would keep his same skill set? If so then I agree with you. Actually, regardless I pretty much agree with you.

He would be in the league but to say he'd be the likes of Derrick Rose or Allen Iverson is crazy for multiple reasons. Derrick Rose isn't that much of a step down right now. Take 7-8 inches off Lebron and you think they would be of the same caliber?!?!? That is outrageous IMO.

You missing that Lebron was 6' 1 as a 8th grader. Jordan was 5''11 as a sophomore getting cut large because there were 2 senior guards coming back and the coach wanted him to get playing time so he would develop.Rodman was 5'6 as a freshman and was 5'11 when he graduated. There isn't much room in the NBA for a 5'11 energy guy who can rebound like mad.

ttc wrote:

Jordan at 6-ft was cut from the varsity HS team.

Rodman at 6-ft was a towel boy.

Pippen at 6-ft was a college nothing.

LeBron at 6-ft was garnering nat'l attention as a can't-miss.

You say the comparison to Derrick Rose is crazy for multiple reasons, but list none of them. Lebron is already a better shooter and passer than Rose, things which shouldn't be negatively affected by him being shorter. With their similarly explosive athletic abilities, I don't see how this isn't an almost perfect comparison.

ttc wrote:

Jordan at 6-ft was cut from the varsity HS team.

Rodman at 6-ft was a towel boy.

Pippen at 6-ft was a college nothing.

LeBron at 6-ft was garnering nat'l attention as a can't-miss.

Jordan was not cut from his high school team.

Who knows. Maybe at 6'1 Lebron would not be able to see the passing lanes or through the balls at the right angles. Or maybe he would be 2x as fast and would be like the old AI taking it to the rim all day long.

Truth! wrote:

You say the comparison to Derrick Rose is crazy for multiple reasons, but list none of them. Lebron is already a better shooter and passer than Rose, things which shouldn't be negatively affected by him being shorter. With their similarly explosive athletic abilities, I don't see how this isn't an almost perfect comparison.

I would say no. Lebron thrives driving to the rim. 642 attempts(72% FGM) at the rim this season. Next highest area was left baseline jumper with 102 attempts.

If you take away his height, and put him at the level of Tony Parker, who is one of the top PG that takes the bulk of his shots at the rim, Parker only averaged 59% FGM around the basket.

As for his handling, Lebron does have great handles for a big guy, but he is a north/south player. Vision is also different too. A bigger guy doesn't have his eyeline interfered with as often.

Now he could adapt to an elite level, but it is a lot of questionable factors.

Of course he wouldn't be as good. He would not be able to physically dominate anyone at 6'1". Not being able to post up, rise above the rim, or rebound at will would take away critical components of his game. No one under 6'5" is considered the best at their position, even at point. Dudes like Gary Payton and Jason Kidd are 6'4".

That's not a knock on Lebron - if Shaq was built like Travis Knight, he'd suck, straight up.

He wouldn't even be in the NBA if he were 6-1. He be too slow, not a good enough shooter or ball handler or defender. Plus he would not get away with traveling on every play. They don't let the little guys take that extra step (or two or three) that James consistently gets away with.

I'm not saying Lebron is not any good. He is. For 6.8 250 Lebron is fast, a great ball handler, and a good shooter. Compared to all 6-8 plus guys there are only a few who are close to James ever (a PG named Magic is probably closest), but the 6-1 guys who are stars in the NBA are in a whole different world skill wise.

Josh Hamilton's Addiction wrote:

herkimer wrote:

i think he would be a better distributor; maybe a cross between tony parker and westbrook.

For real? It is literally impossible for Lebron to be a better distributor than he is now.

I said that referring to the commenter that said he would be like westbrook and derrick rose. i meant he would be as athletic as rose/westbrook, but a better distributor than they [westbrook and rose] are.