I
understand holding on to an all-time favorite player and defending them no
matter what (heck, I’ve been an Allen Iverson fan since his freshman year at
Georgetown), but at some point logic needs to step in. It’s impossible to put players of yesteryear
in today’s version of their sport and expect the exact same results. Let’s look at a few examples:
 |
| Ronnie Lott laying the boom |
Would
Ronnie Lott
last in today’s softened up NFL, where flags are thrown for getting near a
receiver?
Obviously
there’s no way to figure out if they would be the dominating forces they were
during their era, but it’s interesting to think about the possibilities.
While
it is easy to sit and compare baseball statistics, count championships in
football and such; it’s virtually impossible to do the same in basketball
without starting a bar-wide brawl.
Simply mention LeBron James in the same sentence as Michael Jordan and
you will receive looks, yells and taunts without even having a chance to make a
case. The funny thing is, only the
comparison to LeBron James brings this level of vitriol. Why is that?
 |
| Harold Miner in the dunk contest |
Harold Miner
was dubbed “Baby Jordan” but never came close to achieving even a modicum of
success that Jordan did. He lasted four
seasons in the NBA, with his only real legacy being that of the NBA dunk
contest champion.
Vince Carter
exploded into the league out of North Carolina, Jordan’s alma mater, with early
career comparison to His Airness. While
achieving status as an amazing leaper and dunk expert, he has come nowhere near
the success Jordan enjoyed. Carter is a
guy who has quit on a team (Toronto) and has bounced around the league
since. He’s widely regarded as a player
who had the talent to be an all-time great, but simply did not care enough to
utilize it.
Carter
is unfulfilled promise, whereas Miner was simply a catchy nickname based on the
dunk contest. I know some believe Carter
was great, and have argued them for years against that. No one will make that same case for
Miner. Regardless, neither name conjures
up the hostility as comparing James to Jordan.
There
are multiple flaws to the arguments both for and against LeBron vs Jordan, and
I’m not going to go too deep into them, but I had to touch on it a bit. However, there are a couple of things to
touch on.
I
don’t want to take too much time on the fact that some people simply don’t like
James because we wore number 23 initially.
You know, unlike every other kid that grew up in the 90’s watching
Jordan play and trying to “Be Like Mike”. Or that he has a tattoo of the phrase “Chosen
1” on his back,
despite the fact is was Sports
Illustrated that called him that. Let’s be honest, take any high school kid and
put him on the cover of the most popular sports magazine in the world with that
nickname attached. Guess what is going
to happen? We’d all run with that
nickname as long as we could. James was no
different.
The
main argument the pro-Jordan crowd mentions is all about the ring count. Jordan – 6.
James – 1. This is such a
short-sighted argument. Adam Morrison
has two championship rings. Does that
make him better than LeBron? Obviously
not.
While
a single player can make the difference in a championship run, it takes the
full team to win a title. While many
will attribute Chicago’s success solely on Jordan’s shoulders, they quickly
forget that he had a tremendous team around him. During the first three-peat he had Pippen
(top 50 player of all-time), Horace Grant (consistent double-double guy and
great defender) and players like BJ Armstrong and John Paxson who knew their
roles. During their second three-peat,
Pippen was still around and they added the best rebounder/defender in history
Dennis Rodman. Additionally, he had the
greatest three point shooter (percentage-wise) in history Steve Kerr and sixth
man of the year Toni Kukoc.
 |
| Drew Gooden on LeBron's back...hmm |
Looking
at LeBron’s run in Cleveland; he was surrounded by minimal talent. During the run to the 2007 NBA Finals he was
surrounded by Eric Snow, Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. LeBron led them to 50 wins and an NBA Finals
birth, including one of the most amazing playoff games in
history. I will venture to say that not
even Jordan himself could have won a title with the team James had this
season. Don’t believe me? Check out Chicago’s 1989-90 season. They had virtually the same team as the next
90-91 championship season, but failed to reach the finals. How easily we forget that at one point in his
career, Jordan was thought of as a guy who couldn’t win when they needed it
most.
To
me, the biggest flaw in the argument is that we are simply comparing apples to
oranges. Jordan was and will forever be
a score-first player. Jordan would
easily jack up close to 2,000 shots in a season; while LeBron’s highest were
1,823 shots in his 3rd professional season. Jordan’s development from slasher to
mid-range master is well documented.
While he was a solid passer, including two passes
that sealed NBA championships, it wasn’t his first instinct. LeBron James has a pass first mentality, but
has the ability to dominate scoring if need be.
What LeBron does read a game better than any in that he dissects the
needs of his team and adjusts accordingly.
If he needs to score 30, he does.
If he needs 10 assists, he’ll dish.
Like he showed in his masterful game 6
performance against Boston in the 2012 playoffs, he will do anything necessary
to win.
The
crux of the issue is that LeBron James is the single most dominant player in
today’s NBA; much like Michael Jordan was in his day. Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Charles Barkley,
Karl Malone and the like will win MVP’s and get recognition, but the real
basketball purist will appreciate Jordan and James as the greatest players on
the planet during their run. Due to
their greatness and dominance, we’ve found it virtually impossible to compare
them to their peers, thus we have to compare them to each other. LeBron James is in the same air as Michael
Jordan as a player. There’s no way
around it, regardless of whatever number you choose or mythical idea (the
concept of clutch) used to compare them.
The simple fact that the comparison garners such heated and passionate
debate shows that the argument has merit.
LeBron
James makes us question what we know, what we have always believed, and that
scares some. To the passionate fan, this
is similar to questioning someone’s religious beliefs or political ideology. The hostility and anger that can be bred from
such discussions is shocking, but somehow understood. Personally, I just feel lucky to have been
old enough to marvel at Michael Jordan and old enough to appreciate the
greatness of LeBron James. They don’t
have to be compared, as there will never be a definitive winner. Yet, we have to compare them because they sit
in a level of skill unto themselves.
So
to answer the question, “Who is better?”
We
all are because, simply, we get to watch their greatness.
Questions or comments? Feel free to e-mail me at: wahlscorner@gmail.com
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