Big Ben Wallace grabbed that 9th rebound -- not LeBron James

Does that whole Kobe vs LeBron debate go out the door now?

A chorus of Los Angeles Lakers fans chanted, "we told you so," to news that LeBron James was eventually credited with only nine rebounds in that infamous 52 point triple double at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. The NBA reviewed tape of the game and decided that James' ninth rebound should actually have been credited to teammate Ben Wallace, who tapped the ball to LBJ.

Should you have been locked away from the world of NBA news for the past couple of days, here is footage of the incriminating rebound, which has had over one million views on youtube:

The big question now is, does that make LeBron James' performance at MSG any less significant? Does the fact that he had 52 points, 11 assists and only nine rebounds, make his performance that night against the New York Knicks ordinary? Pedestrian? Run of the mill?

Why do we place so much emphasis on milestones?

Our society is built upon the precepts which dictate that significant numbers rule. Our 21st birthday is a major coming of age in most parts of Western society. Our 65th birthday makes us elderly. We expect a bakery to give us 13 bread rolls in a dozen. And bad things always come in threes. Our lives are surrounded by numbers. Just take a brief examination of your daily routine and you will see many of them.

It is with this same mentality that we judge sporting performances. A quality big man is doing his job if he puts together a double-double -- reporters love to mention that one. A soccer player who scores a "hat trick" is a superstar for the day. A topflite running back needs to rush for 100 yards to earn his keep.

When the NBA's almighty pen-stroke* came along and removed a rebound from LeBron James' tally on Wednesday, did they indeed rob him of a magical performance and make his game non-newsworthy? Many would say so. I would venture to say that most of the debate which has raged for the past two days about the relative merits of Bryant and James' games would not have happened if not for James making that significant milestone of the triple-double.

However, in reality, James' performance is no less now than it was 24 hours ago. He still got his team the same 107-102 victory, irrespective of whether he grabbed that rebound or Big Ben did. However, he will not be mentioned in the same light now in the history books as what he would have, had he grabbed that board.

Is this wrong?

Of course not. This is the way our society is geared and consequently this is the way that we view sports performances.

LeBron James played a great game on Wednesday night -- one of the best ever in Madison Square Garden. Was it the best ever at that venue? It once might have been -- it's not now.

* Hat tip to Carolyn of And One for alerting me to the article

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Comments (3)

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written by Scott @ WFNY, February 07, 2009

Leave it to LA fans to discredit something like this.

The unacceptable portion of this "review" comes two-fold. One, would it have happened had James only had nine boards, with the tenth coming right at the closing seconds. And two, they did not go through the rest of the game to properly credit Wallace with the rest of his tip-backs (most of which went to Wally). It's obvious that they were looking for one thing - the one thing that made history.

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written by 222, August 29, 2009

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written by sdgew, August 30, 2009

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