How good will Lebron James be in the 2005-2006 season, his third year in the NBA? Let’s look at Michael Jordan’s early career for comparison.
Jordan spent most of his second season, 1985-86, on injured reserve with a broken foot, playing only 18 games that year. Coming back from that injury in his third season, 1986-87, Jordan averaged 37.1 points a game, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists, with not much of a supporting cast other than Charles Oakley, and a new coach in Doug Collins. So to get to a better comparison, you have to compare Lebron’s 3rd season to MJ’s 4th season, 1987-88.
Why? Because that is the year that Jordan’s core supporting cast of Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant joined the Bulls, creating the core that started the Bulls dynasty. Similarly, this year Lebron is joined by a supporting cast of scorer Larry Hughes, 3-point threat Donyell Marshall, and point guard & 3-point threat Damon Jones, all joining All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. So how did Jordan do in that pivotal year?
Simply dominated. Jordan scored 35 points a game, collected 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and an incredible 3.16 steals a game. He shot 53% from the field, and was named League MVP. The Bulls went 50-32, and went one series deep in the playoffs, beating, you guessed it, the Cavs in 5.
How will Lebron compare in this, perhaps his own breakout season? As ridiculous as this sounds, Lebron could blow right by those numbers. He already gets more assists and rebounds. And Lebron already shoots WAY better from 3-pt land (32% career) than Jordan did in his first 4 years (less than 20%). All this BEFORE he had any reliable scoring support other than Ilgauskas. Now, Lebron has a team around him that can score from virtually any point on the court. Defenses that used to be able to just key on Lebron can no longer do so.
Hold onto your hats, Cavs fans. Lebron is about to put on the show of a lifetime this year. History says so.
