Jordan & not even close.
Michael was double & triple teamed on a nightly basis when playing in an NBA which lived & prided itself on defense., yet he STILL put up ridiculous stats.
Would love to see LeBron driving to lane back then & watch guys like Charles Oakley, Bill Laimbeer, Anthony Mason, Dennis Rodman, and so many more like those guys, put Lebron on the floor.
Bottom line... just because Lebron James is an outstanding all around player, doesn't put him on Jordan's level.
And as a matter of fact im not even sure LeBron is as great as a Kobe Bryant in his prime...
Michael was double & triple teamed on a nightly basis when playing in an NBA which lived & prided itself on defense., yet he STILL put up ridiculous stats.
Would love to see LeBron driving to lane back then & watch guys like Charles Oakley, Bill Laimbeer, Anthony Mason, Dennis Rodman, and so many more like those guys, put Lebron on the floor.
Bottom line... just because Lebron James is an outstanding all around player, doesn't put him on Jordan's level.
And as a matter of fact im not even sure LeBron is as great as a Kobe Bryant in his prime...
Lebron has the most all around game of all time - he is a somewhere in the top 10 of all time - but Jordan is better than him and it's not close
Look at it like this - the Cavs are all tied with GS and it's their last possession - they call time - they design a play for the best chance to win - then the coach looks Kyrie in the eye and tells him don't u fucken dare give the ball to Lebron - team isolates Kyrie and Lebron might as well sit in the first row and watch - now, did Lebron also win the game with that block? of course - that's why he's so great but he will never be the best of all time - never
Look at it like this - the Cavs are all tied with GS and it's their last possession - they call time - they design a play for the best chance to win - then the coach looks Kyrie in the eye and tells him don't u fucken dare give the ball to Lebron - team isolates Kyrie and Lebron might as well sit in the first row and watch - now, did Lebron also win the game with that block? of course - that's why he's so great but he will never be the best of all time - never
i have the unpopular opinion and think lebron is the best that this game has seen. i think players and the sport evolve to become better and that lebron is the best player since shaq.
defenses today play real defense. they've been trained to move their feet with perfect execution to stay in front of opponents legitimately. give lebron the opportunity to grab and hold like they did in the 80s and i bet he'd lock anyone down. also, he's built far stronger and faster than anyone in the 80s.
skill wise, he is positionless. he has shown he can dominate the paint but he is also shooting 3's at almost 40%. the trade off of being a better 3 point shooter is that he is worse at free throws.
everyone will cite the fact that jordan has never lost in the finals. both times bulls lost to the pistons in the ecf, pistons went on to win the championship. in fact, they won in 4 and 5 games both times. the finals was merely a formality as the west didn't really have any contenders up to par. a fair reverse comparison would be the shaq kobe lakers trouncing miller, iverson then jkidd (jkidd ended up losing back to back finals as he faced the spurs the following year). i would argue that the kings, trailblazers, or spurs would have won each of those finals.
i think the double team argument is moot at this point. why? the league shoots wide open jumpers at a far better clip than ever before. and nobody in the 80s hit 3s like they do today. the old "perception" is that today's players are less skilled, but it is not reflected by the #s that all indicate they are supreme shooters from distance. oh and lets throw in the part where they moved the 3 point line back (94-97 they made the three point line shorter lol).
the debate can go on and on, but it's better to celebrate great careers of each player rather than to nitpick at the details in attempt to minimize their successes.
defenses today play real defense. they've been trained to move their feet with perfect execution to stay in front of opponents legitimately. give lebron the opportunity to grab and hold like they did in the 80s and i bet he'd lock anyone down. also, he's built far stronger and faster than anyone in the 80s.
skill wise, he is positionless. he has shown he can dominate the paint but he is also shooting 3's at almost 40%. the trade off of being a better 3 point shooter is that he is worse at free throws.
everyone will cite the fact that jordan has never lost in the finals. both times bulls lost to the pistons in the ecf, pistons went on to win the championship. in fact, they won in 4 and 5 games both times. the finals was merely a formality as the west didn't really have any contenders up to par. a fair reverse comparison would be the shaq kobe lakers trouncing miller, iverson then jkidd (jkidd ended up losing back to back finals as he faced the spurs the following year). i would argue that the kings, trailblazers, or spurs would have won each of those finals.
i think the double team argument is moot at this point. why? the league shoots wide open jumpers at a far better clip than ever before. and nobody in the 80s hit 3s like they do today. the old "perception" is that today's players are less skilled, but it is not reflected by the #s that all indicate they are supreme shooters from distance. oh and lets throw in the part where they moved the 3 point line back (94-97 they made the three point line shorter lol).
the debate can go on and on, but it's better to celebrate great careers of each player rather than to nitpick at the details in attempt to minimize their successes.
If LeBitch played in the west he wouldn`t have 1 ring.
Pussy plays in the east by design.
Michael is the G.O.A.T.
It's very close.
Look at what each team did the year after they left. Jordan's team made the playoffs and a run at the east. Cavs won about 20 games.
Lebron and Jordan are 1 and 1a
jordan had some woeful playoff games. And of course the cavs coach didn't say " don't pass it to lebron". Seymour is out of his mind.
If I recall.....Paxson and Kerr hit some pretty big shots with Jordan on the floor in crunch time. Lebron is a special player.....right at the top for best ever.
Look at what each team did the year after they left. Jordan's team made the playoffs and a run at the east. Cavs won about 20 games.
Lebron and Jordan are 1 and 1a
jordan had some woeful playoff games. And of course the cavs coach didn't say " don't pass it to lebron". Seymour is out of his mind.
If I recall.....Paxson and Kerr hit some pretty big shots with Jordan on the floor in crunch time. Lebron is a special player.....right at the top for best ever.
