Even without Stephen Curry, LeBron James would still not be the best player in the NBA

The shift away from LeBron James being regarded as the best basketball player in the world has never been more felt, argues Jonathan Raymond.

Stehen Curry, left, up against LeBron James. Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images

Stephen Curry is the runaway MVP favourite in the NBA this year. And if there were no Curry in existence, Kawhi Leonard would be the clear-cut favourite.

After them, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have probably the best arguments for being on the podium.

And if you were rounding out a top-five of contenders, you would probably go with LeBron James.

And isn’t that kind of weird?

Curry, Westbrook and James Harden were the popular top three last year, followed by Anthony Davis. And then James.

The year before that James was beaten to the award by Kevin Durant, ending a string in which he was recognised as the best player in the NBA four out of five seasons between 2008-13.

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It has not been sudden, or even really noticeable, and that perhaps is why it feels so off putting it in starkly clear terms, but James is not the best basketball player alive.

He has not been for a couple years now, and it would stand a good chance that he will not again be.

Which is not to say that he is not among the best players. Depending on how you want to measure it he is still most likely a top three or four player, and unquestionably a top five or six player.

It is not exactly a wide range for debate. But, still, he is not the best. And, yeah, it is kind of weird.

Because James was the best for so long a time, and before that expected to become the best, his being the best had taken on a kind of tautological permanence.

James was going to be the best, he became it and he will continue to be it, because he is LeBron James, and LeBron James is the best.

Obviously.

His continued greatness felt certain and inevitable, in the same way it used to feel for Tiger Woods.

James only turned 31 on Wednesday.

He has been at or near the pinnacle of basketball for over a decade and yet even now it still feels like he should have another decade in him.

And yet, to be clear again, as great as James still is, he is not best-great.

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Remember when he signed in Miami, and talked about winning “not six, not seven ...” titles with the Heat?

It did not even feel crazy. He was 25. That was only about five-and-a-half years ago.

Even when he signed back with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2014, he was on the right side of 30 and inarguably a perennial MVP favourite.

Now, more to the rise of his rivals than an especially significant decline on his part, it’s all just a little foggy.

To be clear, James for an array of reasons can still be very, very good for a very, very long time. Tim Duncan is 39, and still among the top players in the NBA.

Not in the same way as when he was 29, but James feels like he has that same kind of adaptability.

What he has already achieved is astounding. He was the league leader in win shares for five straight seasons, a feat only Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain share.

He reached heights by that stat only matched by Jordan in modern history.

Depending on how well he ages, he may indeed even build an argument for being the best of all time. But he is no longer the best right now. And on his 31st birthday, it is a strange reality to acknowledge.

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