His Airness vs. The King: The Michael Jordan Lebron James Debate
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 12:05AM Joe Simmons 
No matter how much basketball fans want to spark up controversy about who is great, you always get the argument of dominance by certain individuals. There is no mistaking the legacy of Michael Jordan but there appears to be a disconnect about the player and his supporting cast. Regardless of whom you ask there will always be a perception of the greatness of Jordan. You will hear things like “Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player to ever live.” There is a truth to this but if we break down the complete game of Michael Jordan and not just look at the scoring, a few guys may have a legitimate argument of being as good as Jordan in a few categories.
Scottie Pippen recently said that James has the ability to be the greatest basketball player ever. Immediately people chastised him and be raided him as bitter that he couldn’t do anything without Jordan. Let us not forget, had the officials made the right call, Pippen and the Bulls would have beaten my New York Knicks and probably won the NBA championship over the Houston Rockets.
When you break down the two players, they have a lot of similarities and a lot of differences. Jordan probably has more of a repertoire of offensive game as he can beat you inside and out. Lebron’s offensive game is maturing but it’s not as seasoned as Mike’s was. However if you look at their careers at age 26, Lebron may be further ahead offensively than Jordan was.
Lets run the Tale of the Tape:
Three Point Shot – Advantage Lebron
Mid Range Jumper – Advantage Jordan
Post Game – Advantage Jordan
Free Throw Shooting – Advantage Jordan
Passing – Advantage Lebron
Ball Handling – Advantage Lebron
Man to Man Defense – Advantage Jordan
Off the Ball Defense – Advantage Jordan
Shot Blocking – Advantage Lebron
Rebounding – Advantage Lebron
When you finish looking at the tale of the tape, it is a lot closer than you think. The difference would be the difference in advantages. For example Lebron may have a slight edge over Jordan in the three point shot, but Jordan’s post game is light years ahead of Lebrons. Jordan’s free throw shooting may only be slightly better than Lebron’s but Lebron’s passing ability is much better than Jordan’s.
Keeping these things in perspective you can argue for now that Jordan is a significantly better player. Jordan has that killer instinct. Lebron has yet to develop it to the point that he will not take his foot off your throat as Mike so often demonstrated. However if Lebron continues to improve his post game and defensive game, you can see where Scottie Pippen was coming from. Needless to say, in some peoples eyes, James can’t ever be a winner. It’s too bad too that we are letting a talent get chastised for doing things his way. It’s a shame but in our society, if you aren’t Dudley Do Right, you get ostracized.
Stay Breezy ~ I’m Out!
Reader Comments (6)
You nailed it. James has talent but he doesn't have that killer instinct. When he does show signs of a killer instinct, he lets up. Jordan went for blood any chance he could.
Totally agree on the killer instinct, the lack of which showed up last night. I think that something that needs to be tied in with the killer instinct is defense. Lebron is not a great defensive player (very good, not great). Jordan is arguably in the top 5 defenders EVER. Second all-time in steals and would lock down whoever he had to. Lebron showed that he could put clamps on D-rose when he wanted to, then on other occasions (paul pierce usually) he would get blasted. Until James decides to defend every possession like its his last, he isn't in the same sentence as Jordan (bird, magic, etc.). p.s. MJ had more BPG, only .8 less REB, and ast/to ratios only separated by .2. Great article, first one I've seen that doesn't inject nostalgic feelings of Jordan or defiant support of Lebron.
Good stuff, it's clear that LeBron is getting to be in Jordan's realm but has a lot of work to do. He is more of a 'team' mate than Jordan in respect to passing (not to say that Jordan didn't deserve the ball every single possession). You nailed it though, the killer instinct and the heart to win is something that LeBron doesn't have enough of yet. Jordan and James may be of the same talent level, but Jordan was a winner a thousand times more than James is now. He has to learn that when he's not feeling it he can get it done on the defensive end and contribute to the effort. He is quickly becoming one of the best perimeter defenders in the league is LeBron; despite last night. Good article Simmons!
LeBron does have a killer instinct (Boston, Game 5 or Detroit Game 7 when he was with the Cavs), but just don't know how to control it yet.
i think the main problem on this part would be that jordans teammates accepted the role they played. pippen didnt cry or wave a flag for himself. he knew his role and he knew jordan was #1......its not like that in miami..bosh and the others may, but wade dosent want to be the #2 man, he wants to be #1 just like james wants....that could post a problem in the future.....if the heat lose to dallas, the heat may rebound and get better next season to try and win it...however, if miami wins the series, it could spark future problems for those two in the future just like we saw with the kobe vs shaq soap opera..............of course all us fans can do iz stay tuned to see what unfolds.......................
Im definitely a Bron Bron fan but no way!! Soon as this talk even hit the press all of a sudden he wiltered!! All the talent in the world here!! But no killer instinct!! Lebron plays well Miami sweeps Dallas!! now they are in danger of losing the championship! He frustrated me because he has the tools to be the "best ever" but I dont know if he will ever get there...