Title: A toast to Lebron James
Specific Purpose: To commemorate his amazing career so far
Audience: Lebron James fans and haters
Type of speech: Ceremonial
I. Introduction:
A. Gain audience's attention with fact, question, or profound statement
Did you know in the last 49 years, there has only been 1 player to go to 5 consecutive NBA finals? That man is Lebron James. Just a little history, this has only been accomplished by 10 players in the history of the NBA and 8 of them were on the same Boston Celtic team in the 1960s.
B. Thesis Statement
Even though Lebron James doesn’t have as many NBA Championship rings as Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant does this mean he isn’t one of the greatest players of all time? Statistically, Lebron James is one of the greatest players in history but still doesn't get the credit that is deserved. People often say that Kobe Bryant is better than Lebron James but statistics say differently, and he is always compared to Michael Jordan, who he has surpassed on many levels.
C. Appeal to the Audience
Let’s go over why Lebron James should be considered one of the greatest players of all time.
D. Preview the body
Transition: Now growing up, there was one man that ruled that NBA court and no matter what you said you wouldn’t have been able to change my opinion.
II. Body:
A. Main Point #1
Now, in many peoples eyes, Michael Jordan is considered one of the greatest players to ever step foot on the court. But lets look over some numbers and accomplishments.
1. Subpoint
It took Michael Jordan 13 seasons, 926 games to reach 20,000 points and 5,000 assist. It took Lebron James 200 fewer games and only 10 seasons to reach this goal.
2. Subpoint
The highest points scored in regulation by either Michael and Lebron are both 61, with Jordan shooting 62%, 33% from the 3 point line and scoring 21 points from free throws. That is 30% of his points came from free throws. Lebron shoot 66% and 80% from the 3 point line and score only 9 points from free throws.
a. Sub-subpoint
Now, a lot of people will say that Jordan was a better shooter than Lebron, but did you know Jordan averaged 32 points per game with over 2000 attempts. Lebrons averages 27 points per game with only 1100 shot attempts. Imagine how many points Lebron would average if he took an additional 900 shots a season.
b. Sub-subpoint
Lebron James is ranked 2nd all time for the most games in nba playoff history with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Michael Jordan has only done this once in his career while Lebron has done this 7 times with the all time leader Oscar Robertson being at 8.
Transition: Now anytime you find a Kobe Bryant fan, you also just found yourself the biggest Lebron James hater.
B. Main Point #2
Now a lot of people say Kobe Bryant is a better player than Lebron James and they always throw up 2 facts to back up there case. One being that Kobe has 5 championships and Lebron only has 2, and the second being that Kobe scored 81 points. Yes, Kobe does have 5 rings and scored 81 points, but did Lebron have the help on the court like Kobe did when he played with Shaq? Now according to ESPN.com when Shaq played for the Lakers he averaged 26.9 points a game with 11.78 rebounds, when he went to Cleveland he average 12 points per game and 6.7 rebounds. That’s a huge discrepancy in terms of help on the court.
1. Subpoint
So this one game Kobe Bryant made 81 points. This is a fact. This some how makes peoples argument that Kobe is a better shooter than Lebron James. Now out of there first 11 seasons playing in the NBA Kobe Bryant only had a better 3 point shooting percentage than Lebron James twice, and one of those times is when the NBA shortened the 3 point line.
2. Subpoint
Now, if it came do to who is a more clutch player, in the final 5 seconds of a game when it came down to game tying or game winning shots, Kobe Bryant is 1 for 10 shooting at 10%. Lebron James is 5 for 10
