Do people honestly think that Micheal Jordan is better than LeBron James?

To original poster:

Doesn't Lebron wear "Air Jordans"?

Jordan played with a deeper pool of athletes (Lakers, Pistons, Celtics at their prime....dynasties).

Jordan transformed sports...he was the first to be totally marketted (is it the shoes? is it the shoes?) and made hundreds of millions from endorsement. He changed sports marketting completely and forever. Every endorsement Lebron has gotten, he gets because Jordan was amazing and made endorsements like that commonplace.

OP. You probably weren't born yet when he played. He was...transcendent. (and as a Pistons fan I hated him...ohhh if only the "jordan rules" had worked better...)

abejar82 wrote:

Jordan played with a deeper pool of athletes (Lakers, Pistons, Celtics at their prime....dynasties).

Ignoring the rest of your post this part is just plan wrong and uninformed. Think about the talent pool today in the NBA. They are not just drawing athletes from America they are drawing athletes from around the world. Sure some foreigns played in Jordans time but not like today. The talent pool is way way deeper today than every before.

No one is arguing that Jordan did not change the sport and how it is MARKETED. People are arguing that if you put Jordan and Labron at their primes against each other Labron is the better player.

He is playing against way more athletic individuals and a deeper international and American talent pool.

and Yes I did grow up in the Jordan area. I have seen him play live. Once in college and once in the NBA. He was great just not as good as Labron.

James Naismith, Jr. wrote:

What an amazing coincidence that first person with the talent to make him a global star came to promises at the same time the world became truly globalized? What a crazy twist of fate!

Do you really believe globalization didn't occur until 1990? Come on, man, go back to econ class and learn a few things.

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were great. Kareem Abdul Jabar was great. Kobe was great. Olajuwon was great. Lebron is great. Jordan was the greatest. Time may change that, but Lebron has yet to prove himself as "greatest." Adapting his game is a step forward, but time will tell.

fdfsdfslfkj wrote:

Do you really believe globalization didn't occur until 1990? Come on, man, go back to econ class and learn a few things.

Obviously globalization was a process and didn't start at one time. But for widespread commercialism using video footage...1990 is a pretty good benchmark...

abejar82 wrote:

Jordan played with a deeper pool of athletes (Lakers, Pistons, Celtics at their prime....dynasties).

As a Celtic fan, I wouldn't count the early 90s as the prime of the Celtics dynasty. Larry Bird was crippled. I don't think Lakers fans would considered a post-HIV Magic Johnson Lakers to be the prime of that franchise either.

oldfart87 wrote:

I remember getting excited when the Bulls were coming on tv...Jordan had a desire and passion that could be seen in his playing. He had a personality like Tiger or Lance in his prime, simply to win nothing else at all cost. Even if you didnt like Lance watching him attack was just beautiful, or Tiger just dominating a tournament when you knew he was not going to lose. When 20 seconds were left in the game and Jordan had the ball down by 1 I would literally get excited because you knew not only would he make it but he was about to do something special.

I have the same problem with Lebron as I did with Shaq...he is just a freak. Lebron should dunk on everyone

Greet post.

To me, when I heard people first talking about Jordan vs. LeBron, I laughed. Now when I hear the stats (Colin Cowherd talks about this all the time), I contemplate it.

I'm on the Jordan side of this one. That being said,I think LeBron is better at taking an awful team and making it good. Look at those Cleveland teams. He is a FREAK and a supreme physical talent.

But it comes down to winning titles.

But when it's all said and done, in ten years, even if Lebron may have more titles than Jordan but he'll never be Jordan in many people's eyes - even if Lebron ends up being a better player.

When it came down to the end of the game, Jordan was THE MAN. When it came to desire, he was ruthless. He never quit and Lebron did. He never choked and Lebron did. When Lebron played my mavs, it was like he was scared to touch the ball, "averaging only 3 points in fourth quarters in the series. His scoring average of 17.8 points per game signified an 8.9-point drop from the regular season, the lowest such drop-off in league history."

Yes, at that age, Jordan wasn't even in the finals.Still, anyone who saw LeBron shrink will have a hard time getting that out of their system.

Yes, Jordan couldn't win without Pippen and crew. But Lebron couldn't win without Dwayde and Bosh. Dwade won a title by himself. Bosh - the guy is a superstar - they just beat San Antonio with only bosh.

Plus, i know it's a different era and guys go where the talent is but Lebron doing it on national tv was HUGE mistake.

re: "Do people honestly think that Micheal Jordan is better than LeBron James?"

S/b be people honestly think that Micheal Jordan 'WAS' better than LeBron James? - The last time I checked MJ is retired.

Although, I am not sure MJ was the greatest, it is debatable when you add Wilt to the conversation. With that said, MJ accomplished everything you can in a career, NCAA championships, Olympics, multiple NBA MVP, all-star MVP, scoring & defense titles, Championships, career stats, etc. LeBron is an incredible player, but he has a ways to go, he might get there, but by all objective measures, he is not there yet. Also, Jordon accomplished what he did in what most people would consider to be the NBA greatest era. The heart of Jordan's career, the mid-80s to the mid-90s has produced more HOFs than any other period. Right now, the NBA only has about a half dozen legit big men and the play is less physical...that's a fact.

Check out:

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/hall_of_fame/2010/08/13/hof_2010_dream_team_broadband_only.nba/

rojo wrote:

Dwade won a title by himself.

Shaq was definitely beginning his decline, but the '05/'06 season was perhaps the last year that Shaq was a championship piece. DWade didn't win that title by himself. He had Shaq. Now, Shaq didn't carry DWade the way he carried Kobe, but Wade doesn't win that title without the Shaq-Attack. And if the super-teams never came into existence (Celtics/Lakers) in the late 2000s, Lebron conceivably wins at least one title alone. Lebron took the Cavs to the finals as a 22 year old, and lost to what is perhaps the best franchise of the era (Spurs).

You guys see LeBron do the Jordan mid air hand switch? Except Lebron switched hands mid air, bounced it off the back board, and then caught it and threw it down for a dunk all without touching the ground. Truly transcendent and it's a privilege to watch.

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[quote]rojo wrote:

He never quit and Lebron did. He never choked and Lebron did. When Lebron played my mavs, it was like he was scared to touch the ball, "averaging only 3 points in fourth quarters in the series. His scoring average of 17.8 points per game signified an 8.9-point drop from the regular season, the lowest such drop-off in league history."

quote]

Most casual fans don't understand that all the plays were coming from the bench and Spoelstra wanted Wade to make the plays with a washed up Mike Bibby and a too young Mario Chalmers starting the offense. They would run the same sets time after time and Lebron never touched the ball until about 8 seconds on the shot clock. By that time, there was no way they were going to get up a good shot. Lebron even talked in an interview during the Philadelphia series about how he was being used as a "decoy". Obviously Spoelstra and Pat Riley saw how ignorant that decision was and the following year Lebron took over the team and played virtually identical to how he did in Cleveland. That's how they won the title.

Have you noticed this year that Lebron is controlling the offense the majority of the time? That's why both Bosh and Wade are shooting their best FG percentage ever and 4 other guys are at 40% or better for threes (Battier,Allen, Chalmers, Miller) because they are open all the time.

It still boggles my mind how stupid Spoelstra coached that first year they had Lebron but even listening to the Miami Heat announcers on the NBA package, they had no clue how good Lebron is. I went down to Miami about the middle of the season that year to watch a couple games and was shocked talking to Heat fans that they didn't think Lebron was as good as Wade and they thought he was overhyped.

To say Lebron doesn't want to win as much as Jordan or anybody else is beyond ignorant. You don't work as hard and get as good as Lebron is so you can come in second all the time.

I watched Jordan all the time for years and the difference between him and Lebron is that Jordan would wait to see how his teammates were playing and if they got behind, he would take over the scoring by himself. Lebron takes over the game not only by scoring, but by setting up his teammates for a lot of wide open shots. Lebron has more the mindset of Magic than Jordan in how they go about the game. That is why it is impossible to compare them. I would have loved to see Lebron have more of a scoring mindset at times just because he would be able to put up silly offensive numbers if he did. I have no doubt in my mind that he could average 45-50 a game if he wanted to. If you watch many of his games it is pretty obvious he only looks to score about half the time and is looking to get his teammates involved the other half.

Lebron bringing the heat back from 27 down at cleveland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3cmqhZn8kw

Detroit 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1Px-jPm_TU

Here is a game I drove up to Milwaukee to watch where Lebron had one of the greatest few minutes of basketball I have ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGowrwFLU4o

The league allowed hand checking and a lot more physicality during the Jordan era. It seems that since rules changed in 2001 or 2002, it is much easier offensively in this league.

OP is obviously a kid who didn't get to witness the glory of MJ. Too bad kiddo, you missed a lot.

Chicago Native wrote:

OP is obviously a kid who didn't get to witness the glory of MJ. Too bad kiddo, you missed a lot.

No, I'm in my 50s. I've watched basketball for decades. Your obvious a youngster who grew up in the 90s idolizing Jordan. And your handle suggest you might be a bit biased. I'm a Celtics fan so I hated what LeBron has done to us with both the Cavs and the Heat, but I can acknowledge greatness when I see it.

jordan came first, and that will make it difficult for lebron to ever supplant him. besides, it's opinion.

i grew up in the jordan era, hated jordan, but couldn't deny he was the greatest of the time. watched way more basketball then than now.

jordan had an intensity that i don't think has ever been matched in the league, and yes, a fluid brilliance that made it so pretty. lebron has so much power that you sometimes miss his beauty.

will there be a day when we can have the virtual reality/clone battle of lebron and jordan? it seems likely. but even then, there will be debate, because it's not the real thing.

you'll always favor the guy in your era, and the guy you knew first, even when every shred of evidence goes against it. a little loyalty now and then doesn't hurt.

I would not call someone with a career FT% of lower than 75% anywhere near the greatest player ever. He had a season under 70% - that's just unacceptable.

And yes, that includes Wilt and Shaq, IMHO.

James Naismith, Jr. wrote:

Chicago Native wrote:

OP is obviously a kid who didn't get to witness the glory of MJ. Too bad kiddo, you missed a lot.

No, I'm in my 50s. I've watched basketball for decades. Your obvious a youngster who grew up in the 90s idolizing Jordan. And your handle suggest you might be a bit biased. I'm a Celtics fan so I hated what LeBron has done to us with both the Cavs and the Heat, but I can acknowledge greatness when I see it.

You and Bill Simmons should get together and talk about how much you love the Celtics but also want to fornicate with Lebron.

kanny wrote:

I would not call someone with a career FT% of lower than 75% anywhere near the greatest player ever. He had a season under 70% - that's just unacceptable.

I would not call anyone with an assist per game average under 5.5 the greatest ever. Jordan had a season with less than 3 assist per game - that's just unacceptable

And yes, that includes Kobe, IMHO