RateItAll: The Opinion Network

He should win the MVP this year, not that ball hog Kobe Bryant!

he is over rated

He is one of the top five players in the league and he can do it all.

Is expected to win in weak conference and did! But is absent when it really counts! gets 5 stars jus because he could go out any night and get a triple double- but usually doesn't. Still one of my favorite players!!

He is a very good player, but I am not ready to label him great, yet. Great players do not go 3 for 7 from the free throw line in an NBA finals game.

Rare update: He finally won a game that mattered. . .push to 5 stars. . .good speed plus a team player. . .streaky shooter, but almost unstoppable when he's hot. . .James has finally grown up.

Old testament review: Can everybody just calm down? He hasn't won anything yet. Zero. Although he has a decent game he is nobody until he wins a game that actually matters.

Where are all the Lebron haters now?? Game 5 was the most impressive single performance from a basketball player I've ever seen. I wish I recorded it cause that stuff was legendary. Lebron played like he was a man playin' against boys and he led an average at best Cleveland Cavalier team against a better Detroit Pistons team.

I hope Lebron and the Cavs beat those dirty, cheatin' SA Spurs.

If he goes to the Finals and puts it on the Spurs I will crown him King James and take back every doubt and criticism I've ever shared. Help me Lebron Kenobi, you're me only hope...

One of the best players in the game right now. Of course it does seem like he just takes some nights off. But if he can manage to get the Cavs to the finals this year, maybe not going all out every night this season was actually a good thing for the Cavs. An injured superstar doesn't do you any good, and maybe LeBron realized that. I guess we'll see.

4 years after entering the league, at age 22, lebron has career stats that look like typos: 27 ppg, 7 rpg, 6 apg, 2 spg, 1 bpg, 1 3pg. i truly believe he has what it takes to be the best ball player ever to play the game. or at least top-5 all-time.

his maturity is off the charts.

if he ever gets to play with a supporting cast with even a small fraction of the talent that was on jordan's 3-peat squad, he will win rings.

i'm sorry, but i just noticed that samjung (below) thinks lebron's style of play just "doesn't cut it in the NBA." i'm just curious: if lebron doesn't "cut it," what does a player like steve blake do? i'm just so confused right now.

In his Senior year of High School (was it two or three years ago--bad memory), ESPN was constantly talking about a "Lebron James" and even calling him "King James." I never had the opportunity to see him play in high school (I was always watching something else and didn't believe that he could be as good as ESPN was hyping him up to be) even though his games, if I remember, were being shown on ESPN. I had the pre-conceived bias that he could not possibly be anywhere near as good as the critics thought he was -as a potential NBA star. I decided to take a look for myself and watched his first game (on television) in the NBA. It only took one game to convince me that he was the 'real deal,' the complete package offensively and defensively. What amazed me the most was that for an 18-year old, his body was a big and strong and athletic as anyone at any age who's ever played in the NBA. I realized from his first game, also, that he already had a good outside shot, his confidence was already as good as most veterans in the league, and he was very athletic and had an array of moves when in transition or driving to the basket. So far, he's proven that his first NBA game was no beginner's luck and he's combined elements of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. He rarely seems reluctant to share the ball (sometimes ESPN criticizes him for sharing it too much) and he's a threat to score from the outside and inside. He isn't nearly as graceful as Jordan in the paint, but he has as much athletic ability as Jordan or anyone else who's ever played. On the downside, he shows trends of being somewhat of a streak shooter sometimes (he's had a lot of bad shooting games this year), but otherwise, so far in his very short career, he's had the maturity and skills of some of the best players who have ever played and is considered one of the best current NBA players -alongside the likes of Shaq, Kobe, Garnett, and Dwayne Wade. Let's see if he keeps it up and gets even better.

Lebron James is already the BEST NBA PLAYER OF ALL TODAY and he is yet to hit his stride. He is still very, very young, inexperienced, needs practice to improve his footwork, needs better shot selection, and will fill out his already huge frame to a frightening size. When he makes these changes he absolutely has a chance to become the BEST EVER NBA PLAYER...although I still believe Wilt Chamberlain should hold that distinction in the meantime. For now Lebron is the best and WILL GET MUCH BETTER SOON!!!

The man continues to improve, which is a scary thing for his opponents, because he's already one of the top 3 players in the NBA. He can literally do it all, and he can only get better. (Side note: he has some of the most amazing dunks I've ever seen. Not many players have ever been as limber in the air as King James is.)

lebron james sucks mad donkey balls

Too bad we can't take away some of the ratings from a few years ago. He is clearly the best in the leauge.

One of the few players whose play exceeded the hype. Though ESPN did everything to destroy him, he has emerged to become one of the greatest stars in the NBA. Incredibly mature and poised for someone so young. He averaged over 30 points this season and has proven critics wrong by winning games in the clutch. Barring injury, he is on track to be the NBAs all-time leading scorer.

There some people with ratings I can't understand. It's simple: Lebron has changed the game of basketball. He's not perfect but neither were Bird, Magic or Jordan. Lebron is so young and can become so much more than any of them.

He's a top 10 NBA player right now, and he's so young. His pass first mentality is great and refreshing to see. He's not going to chuck up 30 shots like Kobe. Lebron James has everything you want in a player: size, speed, and court vision. He's a complete player.

Definately has all of the skills but hasn't been too clutch as of late. He seems to have a real good attitude and hopefully will learn to mature with the league that has recently been making a positive move into the past. For too many years, the NBA has looked like the slam dunk contast or a night with the Harlem Globtrotters, but the influx of superior foreign talent (who seem to have a better grasp of the fundementals of the game) is helping the league to regain it's past glories. Unfortunately, guys like Lebron are part of the problem. Even talent needs time to mature and college is the place where that used to happen. This guy is awfully skilled, though, and could end up being a good ambassador of the game.

He is seriously overrated. Just like Kevin Garnett, he plays the same way he did in high school, which doesn't cut it in the NBA. What's worse, he's not even trying to learn how to play better. Lebron doesn't play intelligently at all and charges the basket a lot. He's a very strong, fast player, but given the nature of today's NBA and its players, he won't get much better beyond that. I've seen it WAY TOO MANY TIMES. The high school ones are notorious for not knowing how to play right. Jermaine O'Neal is the only one that has transcended that. The two main problems NBA players have that draft out of high school are that they cannot play team ball well and that their skills are very inadequate. Lebron James and KG are guilty of those two problems and Kobe is guilty of not playing team ball well. I think a lot of people are fooled by KG and Lebron's body and their strength. If they had both gone to college, or just learned some fundamentals in the off-season, I guarantee KG would've already won a championship or at least been a perennially serious playoff contender and Lebron definitely would've reached the second round by now. However, I've seen this all a million times before, and all teams have to do to stop these jokers is put pressure on them. If these fools want to play like Jordan, they have to remember Jordan PASSED and actively looked for open teammates. The only way the NBA will get taken seriously again and superstars will actually accomplish something is if the league stopped guaranteeing contracts. Clearly, the players are just abusing the honor system that is currently in place. Good talent is now just showing up to the games and "putting in their time" while telling the fans they care about winning. KG and Lebron are the biggest offenders. Sorry, I don't believe you frauds, ok?

One of the best b-ball player to ever play the game, Next MJ, for all you retards out there that thinks he sucks, SHUTUP, he is better than you'll ever dream.

The guy averaged 27 7 and 7 last year and still can't buy a beer. He'd be a JUNIOR in college right now. Start comparing him to Jordan's stats NEXT year, which was the same age Jordan came into the league (after his junior year).

Great all-around player, except for he doesn't seem to be much of a 3-point threat. I don't see why all the "the next Jordan" hype. I thought it was supposed to be Kobe? Or is that Wade? He's Lebron, not Jordan, and he'll play like himself. He needs to find a better team, the Cavs aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Teams like the Pistons could use his scoring.

He needs to be put on a team that will do him justice. I find him extremely talented and just the fact that he slid into his role in the NBA after playing high school basketball with such ease is enough for me to give him a 5. He hasn't shown us all of what he's got yet, so he gets 1 star taken off. They should put him in the Nets' team. He would be great there.

OVER RATED. Don't believe the hype. Lebron James is not the next Michael Jordan. The next Darryl Dawkins (maybe). Lebron has got skills but not enogh skills to be a winner.

Overrated, egotistical, disrespecful and arrogant to coaches (Disgustedly yelled Fix this defense! to interim coach Malone in the middle of a game at the end of the season).

Carmelo Who? only Dwane Wade is proving himself like Lebron. With so much hype he's even surpassed expectation as is Wade. Lebron's on of the best overall packages in the history of the game. He can do it all and is just so naturally talented and so smooth he will be with Jordan, if not pass him all together

Worse than Carmello and Wade.

He got rookie of the year he is a great dunker

soon will be the best in the NBA and by the end of his career will be one of the alltime greats

Lebron is a great ball player now and will be for years to come. His shooting is getting better and he's an amazing passer. All-Star starter 2nd year, rookie of the year, nuff said. And Griffeyfan, he didn't participate in dunk contest '05 because he said his ankle wasn't completely heeled for the crazy dunks he would have put down.

Lebron is the next MJ.He can steel, dunk, pass, rebound. Lebron is the best rookie to play in the NBA. Go LeBron!!!!!!!

He does the same boring dunk every time. Why hasn't he participated in the dunk contest last year or this year? Because he knows he only has one dunk! He's not a good shooter, has good passing skills, but his ball-handling skills need a lot of work. He's an above average college player, not NBA elite status.

I'm not surprised at all. Will be the best player in Cavaliers history and will be a legend and a Hall of Famer.

I was thinking of giving him 4 stars. But this kid has already shown so much potential and just flat out skill -- that I think it should be inevitable now. 5 stars.

the real deal,incredible talent.by the time he retires he will be in mentioned in the same breath as magic,michael,and larry.

He is all hype. They started calling him King James before he played his first game in the NBA. It took awhile before they call MJ Air Jordan.

i am down with lebron. his shot needs improvement, but look at his stats 20 pts, 5 boards, 5 assists. wasn't jordan the last rook to do that?

not the next mj

not the next mj, the first lebron james

one of da best draft picks made u cant denie he is tha next micheal jordan

he's over rated and he's not all that. he's a disaster... show off

This youthful phenom did live up to the hype. I was one of the skeptics regarding the time it would take King James to get acclamated to the NBA. He has effectively mitigated all doubts as to his incredible talent on even the pro level. He is leading the Cavs back from their losing ways at the beginning of the season and he's put them right in the playoff hunt. Will remain among the league's elite for years to come.

BIG POTENTAIL TO BECOME A SUPERSTAR IN THE LEAGUE. NEED TO TAKE MORE HIGH PERCENTAGE SHOTS.

LeBron is gonna be a great player, look at him now, hes a rookie, and hes playin better than some others that have been there for years! Right now hes not great, but he will be!

LeBron is going to be a great player in due time and in my opinion don't be surprised if LeBron goes to the all star game this year.

LeBron is currently averaging more points then any other rookie to come out of high school in the history of the N.B.A. This list includes Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Kobe, and Jermain O'neal. So to the people who have ranked James terrible or bad--- What was your opinion of Kobe and others when they were rookies? They probably weren't good at all, if you truly think that LeBron is terrible.

A point guard at 6'8??? You've got to be kidding me. Anyway, he's impressed me so far, but he ain't getting 5 stars until he plays a few seasons.

He gets a 3 from me. He is OK, but as my main man Stephon Marbury says: He hasn't live up to the hype.

LeBron so far has shown remarkable abilitly as well as great poise considering all of the pressure that has been put on him. I think he is going to do well in the NBA.

Lebron has been impressive so far. He is scoring better than he did during the preseason, and i wonder how he will be over the long haul this season. But he has been rebounding and giving out assists as well, and looks to be the real deal. He is lightyears ahead of where Kwame Brown was at the same time two years ago.

This is the most overratted person in the history of this planet. He won't last long in the NBA and he'll be in the NBDL next year. I don't see his "projected talent." His first two games were against teams with no defense and his points in those games were fast breaks and dunks. His third game, when he played the Portland Jail Blazers, he was shut down by that group of thugs. The lesson of this story is anybody, including me, can score on a team with no defense. But when you run into a defense, like Lebron did a couple of days ago, and you'll be shut down.

LeBron looks like the real deal. His debut against a championship caliber Kings team was one of the most dominant in NBA history. I am blown away by 1) his court vision; 2) his body (if i had his build when i was 19, i may have gotten some dates); 3) the way that the game seems to slow down for him. 4) the fact that he is playing POINT GUARD. It won't be long before he gets 5 stars from me.

you idiots he hasn't even played a game and you rank him the second best. granted shaqs an idiot but hes not even top 20. i mean gary payton is beter that lebron peja is beter that lebron finley is better than lebron iverson better than lebron. i could go on and on you idiots.

He'll be GREAT in a few seasons!!

"Nunc aetas magna atque noua incipit." - Virgilius,4th Eclogue, the Bucolics "And now, a new, great era begins" LeBron, welcome to the NBA...

He's easily a 5...but I think hes overrated. Don't get me wrong. I'm a big LeBron fan. But $90 million? For a rookie? Overrated. But I do have to admit I think he's gonna be one of the best all-time.