LeBron James is Not Michael Jordan Great
/
With his exceptional play in these NBA playoffs, the talk of "is LeBron better than MJ" has started up again. I'm here today to put a stop to this nonsense as best I can.
First off, I never thought I'd say this, listen to what Scottie Pippen has been saying. These guys are 2 different types of players in 2 different eras of the NBA, so they cannot be compared favorably. If we had done this in the past, why not bring guys like Bill Russell, George Mikan, Kareem Abdul Jabaar and Oscar Robertson, just to name a few legends, into the debate. Those guys are never brought up because of the eras they played in. So, like Pippen says, this whole MJ vs LeBron debate is moot. LeBron plays in a much softer, score as many points as you can and lets all be friendly era of basketball. Jordan played in a rough, gritty, knock you down and make sure you are hurt era of basketball. While I like the current NBA more than the 80's or 90's, I think there is no question that the 80's or 90's was tougher, with better players. Names from that era include Jordan, Pippen, Ewing, Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Magic and Bird, Karl Malone and John Stockton and Reggie Miller. If I'm not mistaken, all of those guys are in the Hall of Fame. And while there are great players now, Steph, LeBron, KD, Westbrook, Dwayne Wade and Tim Duncan, they do not hold the same weight, not yet, as the guys I mentioned from the 80's and 90's. They are, without question, better players. And while the current guys can become great, none of them, and that includes LeBron, hold the same aura as these guys from the 20th century. I'd rather have any of those guys on my team than anyone from the 21st century of NBA basketball. Yeah, I said it. So we can throw the eras out of the conversation immediately. Also, if prime MJ played in this current age of the NBA, he would average anywhere between 50 and 60 points a game, easily. Imagine MJ, with all the restrictions on defense, and his will to get better, adding the three point shot to his game, how much he would dominate. He would absolutely be a killer right now in the NBA. No question about it.
When I sit down and really think about it, really hard, there is no way that LeBron is a better basketball player than MJ. I love LeBron. I think he is great. He is definitely top 5 of all time NBA players. He has had a monstrous, and highly successful career. He has molded his game and gotten better every year. He is like a fine wine, except better. The things he is doing right now, after 15 years in the league, is undoubtedly one of the best things I have ever witnessed. So yes, I realize his greatness, but he is no MJ. LeBron has gotten fat off of horrific competition. When you look at the "toughest" teams he has had to face, teams like the Pacers, led by Roy Hibbert, before Paul George was great, or the Celtics with the rotting corpses of KG and Paul Pierce, or a super young, not yet ready Thunder team, when they had Westbrook, KD and Harden, are all over it. This isn't nearly the competition that MJ had to face. He had Starks and Ewing and the Knicks led by Pat Riley. Or, earlier in his career, the Bad Boy Pistons led by Thomas and Dumars. Or the Lakers with Magic and Kareem and Byron Scott. He faced the likes of Barkley in the Finals with the Suns. He dominated the Jazz, led by Stockton and Malone. He had to beat up on the Trailblazers when people thought that Clyde Drexler was as good as him. He dominated the Sonics led by Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton. I mean come on, the competition is not even close. Jordan had the much stiffer players and teams he had to beat, and he not only beat them, he dominated them.
Which leads me to another reason why this isn't even a debate. LeBron is friends with every other current star. Sure, he may play tough when he blocked one of Steph's shots 2 years ago, but off the court, they are buddies. This I am sure of. He has also openly admitted that some of his best friends are Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. In fact, I think the only guy he doesn't like is Dan Gilbert, and that is for good reason. I bet you he even thinks Lance Stephenson is an okay dude. MJ hated everyone, including his teammates. You may read that and think, well that makes him a miserable person. I see it differently. He expected the same amount of greatness out of his teammates, which was impossible, and not only wanted to beat his opponents, he wanted to embarrass them. He was a killer on the court through and through. He wasn't friends with Ewing or Malone. People say he and Charles Barkley were friends. I just think they gambled together. People say he was friends with Charles Oakley. No way. He just needed a body guard. Case in point of his need to embarrass players, look at the Dream Team, and what he did to Toni Kukoc in the 92 Olympics. Kukoc was the Bulls new guy that would usher in a new era of Bulls basketball, and not only did Jordan take this personally, but he convinced Pippen to as well. And boy oh boy did they dominate and frustrate Kukoc in the one meeting. It is a thing of beauty. So, while LeBron wants to befriend everyone, Jordan just wanted to win. I'll take the winner over the friendly guy any day.
Finally, back to the Pippen thing, they are 2 different types of players. LeBron wants to involve teammates and only take over when it is absolutely needed. LeBron also only goes hard on defense when there is an opportunity for a highlight play. LeBron whines a bunch, just like most other modern players, constantly to the refs. And LeBron, I say again, I think he is one of the greatest, might be the most uncoachable player in the history of the NBA. LeBron is more Magic, but a better, and much, much bigger scorer. Jordan took over from the start. Jordan did everything on the floor. Jordan was a bulldog defender. Jordan, while he veered from time to time, holds Phil Jackson and Doug Collins in high regard. But most importantly, Jordan never lost when it mattered the most. He was undefeated in the Finals. He won those Finals for the Bulls. He was the guy they went to when they needed it most. He never took games, let alone plays, off. Jordan was the perfect basketball player.
This is a pointless debate started for pointless reasons. We all want to say that we saw the best, so we will hold onto anyone at the current moment that we might think is the best. Hell, I hear people now saying that Mike Trout is the greatest baseball player ever. Slow down on that. I also hear that LeVeon Bell is the best running back ever in the NFL. Or even crazier, back to basketball, that Steph or Westbrook are the greatest point guards ever. That is all nonsense. Maybe my kids will look back and think that LeBron was the best ever, but I know that Jordan is, was and always will be the best NBA player ever. There is no debating this.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on all the internet. He also does think it is awesome how LeBron handled the MAGA hat wearing douche in his last game.
Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.
SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.