Sports Then and Now

King James, The Chosen One, Greatest of All Time – these are just a few of the names that LeBron James has been known for his entire career. Indeed, the last one may seem contentious and is the source of constant dispute, but there’s no denying that he belongs in that conversation.

After winning the 2020 NBA Championship, LeBron has once again proven that he is one of the best basketball players in the world, if not the absolute and undisputed greatest player today.

At the age of 35, LeBron continues to dominate the competition which is unprecedented for someone who’s already spent 17 straight years playing in the NBA at the highest possible level. People remain wondering when Father Time will catch up to him, but that’s beside the point.

In his already historic career, LeBron has served as an inspiration not just for the young players in the league today, but also for regular people around the world. But it would be wrong to say that he was merely destined for this greatness. Much like other people, LeBron has had his fair share of struggles. A look back at his life and journey to the NBA into becoming one of the greatest athletes of all time is something that will truly motivate and inspire anyone, basketball fan or not.

LeBron’s Childhood

LeBron Raymone James Sr. was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio. His mother, Gloria Marie James, was 16 at the time. LeBron’s father did not have a presence in his life, and it was only him and his mother since day one.

The early years of LeBron’s life were filled with constant movement from home to home. His mother struggled to find steady employment. He struggled to make friends in school, and he found it difficult to focus on his studies due to his situation. He fortunately found an outlet for himself by playing sports. He mainly played basketball and football.

He began playing organized basketball when he was in the fifth grade, and later on joined the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars in the Amateur Athletic Union. This was where the seeds of greatness were planted.

A Star Athlete

LeBron went to high school in St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, where he played for the school’s football and basketball teams.

He immediately made an impact in the school’s basketball program. During his freshman year, he led the Fighting Irish to a perfect 27-0 record. He remained stellar throughout his high school playing days, being named Ohio Mr. Basketball and getting selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team consistently.

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has been named the highest paid athlete in the world for the first time. He earned $ 127 million last year.

As betindex.bet mentions, basketball and football dominate the Top 100 highest paid in the sport in the ranking of Forbes magazine, with a wide variety of nationalities among the participants. Forbes calculates the income of athletes by collecting the amounts of their salaries, salaries and sponsorship agreements between June 2018 and June 2019.

In the list of the top 100 after Messi come two other football superstars – Cristiano Ronaldo ($ 109 million) and Neymar ($ 105 million) – the first players ranked as the first three players.

Last year’s highest paid athlete, boxer Floyd Mayweather, dropped off the list altogether.

Tennis star Serena Williams is the only woman in the Top 100, ranking 63rd. There were no women on last year’s list.

Competitors from 10 sports enter the Top 100, with the most NBA stars. Thirty-five basketball players are included in the rankings, led by LeBron James with revenues of $ 89 million.

Stephen Curry ($ 79.8 million) and Kevin Durant ($ 65.4 million) are also in the Top 10.

No Australian is on the list, but New Zealand basketball player Stephen Adams is in 78th place.

To enter the Top 100, athletes had to earn a minimum of $ 25 million.

The only cricketer on the list, Indian Virat Koli, is in 100th place, earning exactly $ 25 million.

In general, the best athletes are from 25 countries – compared to 22 last year.

With the 2019/20 NBA season well underway, it is time to focus on one of the most debated topics each season: the Most Valuable Player trophy. While the NBA awards several trophies every year, none is as fiercely contested and coveted as the MVP. So, let’s take a look at its history and how it all works, and more importantly, at our 2019/20 favorites.  

What‘s the MVP trophy?

The MVP trophy has existed since 1956 and the coronation of Bob Pettit, then a leading player for the Saint-Louis Hawks. It rewards the player who, both individually and collectively, has achieved the most solid season. Rewarded each year, it has allowed many players to build their respective legends. 

Thus, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar (formerly Lewis Alcindor) was appointed MVP six times during his extensive career. That is the record. A record that, let’s be sure, is not about to be equaled. Behind Jabbar are Bill Russell and Michael Jordan, who have each lifted the Maurice Podoloff trophy five times. Finally, there are Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James, with four titles. 

With the NBA season nearly a month old it seems safe to say that after nearly a decade of struggles the Los Angeles Lakers are back on top of the NBA and the Western Conference. Of course, adding Anthony Davis to a squad that already included one of the all-time greats in LeBron James certainly helped hasten their rebuilding.

Currently 17-3, the Lakers are clearly among the betting favorites and you can get your list of all betting offers to back them up. Other betting sites are anticipating the Lakers to win the playoffs at 3/1 in average, meaning stakes are high. You could use this fact to your early advantage and place a bet now on the LA Lakers.

In many ways, the start of this season is a reminder of how quickly things can change in professional sports.

After being the dominant team in the NBA over the last five years, the Golden State Warriors have been devastated by injury and are off to a league worst 4-18 start. With Klay Thompson likely out for the season and Stephen Curry expected to be sidelined for at least three months with a broken hand, their chances of returning to the playoffs is very doubtful and bookies are giving them odds as low as -450.

In a complete contrast, the Lakers were 37-45 last year and haven’t made the playoffs since the 2012-2013 season. However, their off-season acquisition of Davis has paid immediate dividends.

LeBron James will become the 20th out of the top 83 scorers in NBA history to play for the Lakers.

If you are surprised by NBA superstar LeBron James signing with the Los Angeles Lakers then you obviously are not much of a follower of basketball history.

Once LeBron officially takes the court for the Lakers, he will become the sixth of the top eight scorers in NBA history to wear the purple and gold for the Lakers. Currently the seventh leading scorer in league history, James will join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (first), Karl Malone (second), Kobe Bryant (third), Wilt Chamberlain (fifth) and Shaquille O’Neal (eighth). Only Michael Jordan (fourth) and Dirk Nowitzki (sixth) among the top eight never player in Los Angeles.

But looking at career scoring really only scratches the surface in terms of how normal it is for NBA greats to play for the Lakers.

Though not in the top 10 in all-time scoring, Jerry West (21st), Elgin Baylor (29th), Magic Johnson (77th) and James Worthy (102nd) all were all-time greats who spent their entire careers playing for the Lakers. Of course we also cannot forget the first great NBA player, George Mikan, who led the Minneapolis Lakers to five NBA titles in six years and won three scoring titles during his seven year career.

Others from among the top 100 scorers of all-time who spent at least a portion of their career with the Lakers include Adrian Dantley (28th), Gary Payton (32nd), Pau Gasol (39th), Mitch Richmond (41st), Antawn Jamison (44th), Gail Goodrich (52nd), Bob McAdoo (61st), Glen Rice (68th), Dwight Howard (70th), Lou Hudson (73rd) and Steve Nash (83rd). Read the rest of this entry →

It wasn’t easy or conventional, but the NBA Finals that most experts expected when the 2017-2018 NBA season started has finally come to fruition. Though after rough seven-game conference finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors look a bit more like fight survivors than great champions.

Proving that the NBA regular season is really little more than a long warm-up, neither the Cavaliers nor Warriors had the best record in their conference during the regular season. In fact, the Cavaliers had the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference.

However, this is the final that most fans wanted to see and has odds-makers excited. You can check out the latest odds on this site. Read the rest of this entry →