Talent or Will

Sidney Crosby,Magic Johnson,Wayne Gretsky,and Lebron James are all extremely talented athletes. So fundamentally sound in every aspect of their games, these players were able to do anything and everything in their perspective sports. They have and will go on to have great careers and post many lofty statistics. All of the players above were oozing with talent, and were armed with vastly superior physical gifts. James and Johnson are players that do not have a true position, they are able to create so many different mismatches with their size and skill set. At 6'8 and 6'9, a player should not have the handle or vision of a point guard. Neither should they possess the tools to play well in the post, these two will go down as players that have reveloutionized the game. Yes there are players their size, but they are not equipped with the tools to handle these guys. In that respect they are unstoppable. Crosby and Gretsky are magicians with the puck, agile as dancers, possess supernatural vision. Crosby and Gretzky were blessed with natural skills that are rivaled by none in hockey. What they bring to the table cannot be taught, you simply hope for them to have an off night. You don't just hand out nicknames like "Magic, King, Sid the Kid, and The Great One." Only the truly deserving get names like that.

Michael Jordan, Alex Ovechkin, Dwayne Wade, and Mario Lemiuex are just as good as the players mentioned before. Jordan is arguably the greatest to ever don a pair of sneakers. "Super Mario" was as much a legend in hockey as that guy mentioned earlier. The difference here is what made them great, I don't think we knew what these guys were bringing to the table. I can't think of one person looking at a young Jordan or Lemieux saying this guy is gonna go down as one of the greatest. Obviously they were talented enough to get there, neither was "oozing" with talent. Their greatest gift and most powerful weapon in their arsenals was their will. They refused to settle, to lose, and they would impose that will on their teams as well as their opponents. They weren't physically imposing as their counter parts mentioned earlier. Jordan wasn't the greatest shooter and Lemieux wasn't the fastest skater. They are things you can work on, but not things that they were blessed with. Yet they dominated their opponents, and were capable of carrying franchises. Ovechkin is just as exciting as Crosby, although he's not blessed with the same set of skills Ovechkin has managed to win 2 MVP trophies already. Wade was picked 5th in the draft the same year as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Of the 3, he's the only one with a title. Down 3 games to none, Wade willed his team back into the series and on to victory. The Heat beat the Mavs 4-1. Wade is fresh of his first scoring title, having little to no help Wade put the Heat on his back and have them in position to make the playoffs. So a players "will" is just as great a weapon as superior talent. Which group of players do you covet more? Or which qualtiy do you covet more, talent or will?