Dave Portnoy Posed A Question - Who Is Lebron's Team For His Overall Career ? When Do We Start Asking The Same About Kevin Durant ?

Charles Krupa. Shutterstock Images.

On Yesterday's Rundown , Dave posed the question … "He's maybe the best player that when you think of his name you don't think team. Jordan Bulls.  Bird Celtics. Magic Lakers." 

It's a fair question to look at. It obviously could have been Cleveland if he stayed there start to finish, but the Decision really broke a lot of hearts. He saved face by bringing them a title in one of the most dramatic ways possible, coming back from down 3-1 and beating a team who broke the all time wins record. I don't know if he was in Miami long enough to associate him as a member of the Heat , although that's where he had the most success. Now The Lakers where he won a bubble ring , and the rest has basically been a disaster. And the looming elephant in the room of his son potentially coming into the league in the next few years which is the worst kept secret in the world that all he cares about is playing with him . So when Minnesota or Atlanta drafts Bronny Jr, Lebron will likely don another jersey. One that will look super weird, one that he shouldn't have ever donned, and one that we'll likely forget down the road. And most importantly … one that will again not be the defining jersey shown at his inevitable Hall Of Fame induction. 

The days of "lifer" for one team are long gone. Lebron is a product of that. I guess you can say it's his fault, but it's also the way the league goes now. The days of Ewing having pride in his team, Reggie Miller and Larry Bird retiring before they ever joined a "super team" they couldn't beat are done. Everyone is friends, everyone wants the clout, the rivalries aren't as fierce etc. It's sad but it's just the changing of the times. 

Now while this is an extremely fair question for Lebron , after the news of Durant's trade to Phoenix …when do we start asking that question about him ?

He started in Seattle for a year and moved to OKC when the team moved there. So that's 100% not his fault of moving locations, but it is very funny now that his career has played out that he wore 2 different jerseys in his first 2 years of the league. He played in OKC for 8 years and made and lost 1 NBA Finals. Is that the spot we think of him for his career ? I don't know if I do because of where he ended up next. The Super Team in Golden State. 3 Years … 2 titles. Is that long enough to be considered a "Warrior legend" ? Would you put him in the same discussion as Steph , Mullin or Tim Hardaway , or Klay for that matter ? I don't know if you can. Then he bails on Golden State for Brooklyn which turned into a disaster. Now he's onto Phoenix. Which of these stops was "his team" or which of these teams would you associate his career with like you would Bird and Jordan ? 

In the long run does any of this matter ? Are we worrying about who's "team" is someone's because we're hanging onto the past too much ? Or should we just accept times have changed and adapt. Either way, it's insane to me that maybe the 2 best players (both top 5 for sure) of the last 10-15  years are both essentially nomads for their careers. Maybe in a past life we would have enjoyed Cavs-Thunder Finals every year or every other year, but this is the reality. The stars …are nomads. It's a shame. 

Final thought … Kevin Durant is still the best natural scorer I have ever seen.