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Does success determine greatness?

Lance Franklin and the Swans are at the wrong end of the ladder. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Roar Rookie
8th June, 2017
17

Greatness is defined in the dictionary as: an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above average. But how is that portrayed in the sporting world?

Does an athlete need success, premierships or gold medals to be regarded as an all-time great?

It is the age-old question that has divided barbecue conversations for years now.

Some of the biggest names in AFL history played their entire careers without a flag, yet are widely regarded as some of the greatest players of all time.

Look no further than Gary Ablett Snr who is arguably the greatest AFL player in the modern game, Tony Lockett who holds the AFL record for most goals kicked in a career – a whopping 1,360 at an average of almost five goals a game over 281 career games – or perhaps Nathan Buckley who without a doubt will go down as one of Collingwood’s best players.

Yet someone such as Liam Shiels, who at just 24 years of age became a three time AFL Premiership player, will never, ever be considered in the same breath as these players.

Perhaps you may need some NRL players who have also gone an entire career without premiership success. One of the biggest names to ever play the game, Wally ‘The King’ Lewis, surely tops that list.

To be fair rugby league is a slightly different kettle of fish, Lewis did have major success outside of the club scene where he was captain for 30 of his 31 games for the Queensland Maroons and an eight time ‘man of the match’ awardee. It was this feat plus his Australian representative honours which saw Wally Lewis named as an immortal. But as a clubman of Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Wally Lewis never got the chance to lift the Premiership trophy above his head on grand final day.

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This argument does not take place just in Australia either. Take a look at the NBA this season for example.

We have just witnessed two of the statistically greatest seasons ever put together in James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Yet these spectacular seasons have been marred by the fact that neither of these franchises made it past the second round of the playoffs.

Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook

(Wikipedia Commons)

Russell Westbrook will be in the record books for a very long time for the most triple-doubles in a season (unless he breaks it himself next season) yet he won’t be remembered as one of the greatest players to ever play the game.

Yet when we look at the definition at the start of this article, he more than fits into that category?

Evidently, the answer to the aforementioned question is no.

In a time where society is demanding nothing more than success from their clubs, no you do not need success to become an ‘All-Time Great’.

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However, success immediately elevates someone above the rest of the pack.

The biggest key to greatness, seems to be consistency to the public eye.

The players mentioned above were some of the greatest players of their time, for a very long time. Every time you watched them play, you knew they were going to do something special and lift the team around them.

Of course there is always going to be arguments as to who fits the ‘All-Time Great’ category in all sports, but that is the great thing about sport is the opinions that everyone can share.

For me, a few players from different leagues who are well on their way to greatness, if they have not already achieved it are:

  • Patrick Dangerfield
  • Luke Hodge
  • Cameron Smith
  • Johnathan Thurston
  • LeBron James
  • Kawhi Leonard
  • Jordan Spieth
  • Steve Smith

I would love to hear who else you think is well on their way to greatness.

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