In guiding the Miami Heat to their third successive NBA finals, Lebron James drew many comparisons to the stars of previous generations, most noteably a certain Michael Jordan, pre and post his 2 season “retirement”. If this is desired or not is unclear, certainly there were some interesting exchanges between the two when the Heat took on Jordan’s now re-branded Charlotte Hornets earlier in the season.
The question of who is the greatest of all time, will always throw up different names from different generations, names like Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird are rightly in the conversation, but the one name that is always in the mix is that of Jordan.
So does James fit into this mix, how does he compare to number 23? Since he came into the league with Cleveland, James has had the weight of opinion thrust upon him, dragging the struggling franchise into the play-offs but never quite finding a title. To have a chance of that, James has left for the warmer shores of Miami to join Dwayne Wade, Ray Allen, etc…. James has enjoyed much success with the Heat, and is probably the mist dominate player in the league right now. Apologies to Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant fans, but as an overall body of work you would need to be an extreme anti James supporter to deny him the current plaudits he has received.
But against Jordan, how does that stack up. Drafted as the third selection of the draft that year, Jordan went to a stuggling Chicago Bulls franchise, along with perennial All-Star Scottie Pippen turned the team around to go from nowhere to 6 titles in 8 years, or 6 in 6 for Jordan himself. Along the way, Jordan took the NBA outside of the USA in terms of the games appeal, and Jordan’s fame transcended Sport. Indeed rappers of that era, told us how everybody wants to be like Mike, also witness the continuing success of the Air Jordan sneakers brand.
So Jordan has won the title three times in a row twice, James won two in a row and had now lost in the attempt for 3 in a row, as Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs avenged last years defeat in the finals to take down the Heat.
I am not trying to talk down what the Spurs have achieved in winning their 5th Championship but in winning the Championship this year, San Antonio have shown that good as he is, James is still no Jordan.
In the Bulls championship years, there were many teams looking to challenge the Bulls but put quite simply, Michael would just not let that happen. The saying is When the going gets tough, the tough get going and when the Bulls needed him, really needed him, the Bulls could rely on Jordan to impose his will on his team-mates, the opposition and it appeared just about anyone else in attendance. He simply refused to be beaten.
Now, true the Bulls team did have Phil Jackson as coach, one of the greatest Coaches in any sports history when you look at Titles etc… So Jordan’s Bulls have a large advantage over James’s Heat in that regard. But player for player the Heat are probably better than the Bulls championship team.
So, Lebron and Michael both can take over a game at will it would seem, both names belong in the Greatest conversation, but when you break it down, when you really get into it, Lebron you are great, but your still not like Mike. Advantage Jordan!
Don’t forget to check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert for the latest in sports injuries.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter –@LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
