People live in the moment.
As the years & decades pass, memories fade & they forget how dominant he was.
His array of moves is/was beyond compare.
Most beautiful in my opinion being the post up which could turn into a jumper, fadeaway, or turn & drive..
That's what makes people like Brady and LBJ and even a Trout the Goats, or why people start comparing QB's that played in like 8 games to HOF guys
We do live in the moment more so than not
Jordan was pretty badass. Jordan is easily a better shooting guard than Lebron. Jordan had more offensive talents.
But Lebron is an overall better athlete (and Jordan was probably the best athlete in his time) and has skills aren't too shabby. Lebron wins 1 on 1 and Lebron will make any team better more than Jordan will just based on how much Lebron makes everyone around him better. Jordan did the same but not to this level.
But Lebron is an overall better athlete (and Jordan was probably the best athlete in his time) and has skills aren't too shabby. Lebron wins 1 on 1 and Lebron will make any team better more than Jordan will just based on how much Lebron makes everyone around him better. Jordan did the same but not to this level.
It's close.
One could argue that Russell Westbrook is a better all-around player than Lebron James because he averages more points, more rebounds, more assists, and a triple double 2yrs straight.
But is he a BETTER player period?
No, he isn't.
Same goes for MJ vs LeBron
MJ is the goat.
But is he a BETTER player period?
No, he isn't.
Same goes for MJ vs LeBron
MJ is the goat.
With all due respect, that's a lazy argument. Those are volume stats, and don't factor in efficiency. LeBron puts up nearly the same in terms of volume, and light years more efficient than guys like Russ and Harden. Russ won MVP shooting 42-fucking-percent. 42! That's a joke.
I think the biggest difference between the truly all-time great players and the stat-sheet stuffers is their ability to seemingly fit in anywhere. Harden and Russ both put up crazy stats, but can you imagine those guys playing together? It'd be a disaster. You could say that about a lot of combos of players throughout NBA players with great stats.
Not with LeBron. LeBron could fit anywhere, and could play with anyone. That's why he's an all-time great. There's literally nowhere where he wouldn't fit in due to chemistry. That's what makes him different than those stat stuffers.
Exactly
And the reasons you stated come into play in determining why MJ is better than LeBron.
LeBron would likely beat him 3 out of 5 one on one but obviously because he's going to rely on exactly what he has his entire career & use his size to get to the hole.
But there's players who could beat LeBron one on one as well so obviously that means nothing as most of us know.
Good points Willie.
Some ppl do make decisions with blinders on.
But not myself.
I used to think Montana was the greatest QB.
Now I believe it's Brady.
Watching Jordan his entire career, I used to think he is the greatest.
And after all these years I've seen nothing to change my mind.
Not one player has come along to change my opinion on that, such as Brady did with Montana, for example.
And as an Orlando Magic fan I used to despise this guy because he was standing in the way of us owning the East.
Is LeBron great?
Of course he is.
But so is Kobe who has probably had closer to the killer instinct that MJ had than LeBron even comes close to.
If you put every possible method on the table as to how to judge & gauge a basketball player, as Pats mentioned above, then is LeBron even better than Larry Bird, much less Jordan???
Most interesting to me is that LBJ just keeps rising
Career FG% MJ .497 LBJ .504 ThreePt MJ .327 LBJ .344
But if we allow James to be graded on past six seasons, his overall jumps to .545 and his 3P is right about .360
Somewhat akin to Tom Brady who until maybe age 35 was in argument with Montana, Big Ben, Brees....his past five years just locked down his GOAT status and most interesting, we are still wondering when he 'slows down'
MJ primary (and worthy) claim is "6 Rings" while LBJ so far with just two off of nine Conference titles.
But a decent portion of those yards leading to the six rings were him being guarded by guys who literally worked construction jobs in the offseason
Career FG% MJ .497 LBJ .504 ThreePt MJ .327 LBJ .344
But if we allow James to be graded on past six seasons, his overall jumps to .545 and his 3P is right about .360
Somewhat akin to Tom Brady who until maybe age 35 was in argument with Montana, Big Ben, Brees....his past five years just locked down his GOAT status and most interesting, we are still wondering when he 'slows down'
MJ primary (and worthy) claim is "6 Rings" while LBJ so far with just two off of nine Conference titles.
But a decent portion of those yards leading to the six rings were him being guarded by guys who literally worked construction jobs in the offseason
Sam actually I think in basketball a good player is going to succeed anywhere, unlike in football where he might still need to fit into the right system or coaching situation.
But I definitely agree with you about Harden, Westbrook, a others.
Those are guys I would call Stars.
The only Superstars in the league are LeBron & Durant.
Possibly Anthony Davis.
Not even sure I'd consider Curry a superstar.
Superstars are the elite who can turn a franchise around almost single-handedly.
I have a post somewhere a few years old talking about how the superstars were dwindling in the league & that after Shaq & Kobe retired, it would only leave Durant & LeBron.
Here we are years later and it still appears they are the only 2 left.
There's some very good looking young players but are any of them really on that level??
