Hmm, not sure...yeah the handchecking is squashed but you can play a zone everywhere except in the paint and even that is easy to get around (step in and out for a second). Different rules, isolations are tougher to get and the spacing is harder to get...don't get me wrong Jordan would still be incredible, but the rules aren't going to make him better...he'd probably be about the same I'd say.
You can't. Best two-way big man of all time. Anchored second best defense of all time. Kareem 6 rings, 6 MVP's, all time scoring leader. Better rebounder, more efficient scorer(higher TS%), interior presence(interior presence>perimeter defense).
Why not? Is he not a four-time Champion? Isn't he 2-time MVP? Only two of his career years NOT an all-star, and that's because he was injured. I'd say Duncan is extremely good. Do you dismiss him because he's not controversial and isn't arrogant and a loudmouth like LeBron and Kobe and is the epitome of the fundamentals of the game?
Funny. I would probably give 3 to Shaq, 1 to Kobe, and 1 to Gasol (true Finals MVPs don't go 6-24 in Game 7 and have the broadcasters making frequent references to John Starks).
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199606160CHI.html http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199606120SEA.html No they shoot 41% for whole series and get glorified.
The eastern conference was pathetic when Bron got to the Finals as a CAV. Wouldn't doubt Jordan could do it. Kobe maybe not. Bron will finish as high as 3-5th best all time imo. I only consider modern basketball players though. So more late 70's and up. I don't doubt Wilt and Russel would be good players in modern day ball, but it's silly to think they could dominate and grab like 30 boards a gameand avg 50 points or something dumb like that. Russel too small to play Center. Wilt would probably be a legit superstar with his size, athletic ability and crazy LENGTH. That's why they get their own list of players who played in the old days imo. But, modern day: 1.MJ . . . . 2.Kareem . 3.Bron
Michael Jordan is the most overrated professional athlete in the history of all professional sports. That being said, I have mad respect for him. His competitive fire was legendary. However, Lebron has surpassed him in nearly all facets and aspects. I used to feel that Kobe was better than Lebron but at this point it is no contest. Lebron is better than Jordan and can be strongly considered the GOAT. MJ is starting to feel the pressure to defend his cause, which none of you should complain about. Ultimately, you would do the same. If you look at sheer domination, Chamberlain is the GOAT. If you look at championships, Russel is the GOAT. With the championship logic, Adam Morrision is better than Barkley. Honestly guys, it's all relative to various factors. Time changes all things. The NBA athlete has evolved by decade and the game has as well. It's kinda how like the 3 point line was introduced in the 60's and revolutionized the game. It's also like how the prehistoric game didn't keep records of blocked shots. What if you go prior to the ABA merger? There are sooo many loopholes and factors that it is nearly impossible to legitimately pick the greatest of all time. You would have to consider by era, by position. Alot of stuff. In my opinion, in part to favoritism, I would pick Lebron over Jordan any day of the week and I feel he is superior to Jordan. And I am leaving it at that.
Jordan may be overrated, but he is far from "the most overrated" in basketball, let alone all professional sports. In fact, I'd argue that Bill Russell is more overrated. That said, I agree that Jordan is neither the most dominant of all time, nor has won the most championships. So why is he crowned GOAT? (And saying he is "by far" or "hands down" the best player ever is just beyond me.) What objective criteria should we use to measure greatness across different eras? I have always argued that there is no objective measurement, and therefore there is no such thing as GOAT.
Yes, that was a fine exaggeration on my part, but finally I have found someone that agrees with me. Even remotely.
Lebron is far behind Kobe, let alone Jordan. Playing weak eastern teams 4 times each saved his energy and boosted his performance.
In my lifetime, I've only seen prime Kobe and prime Bron. So I'm gonna go with my generation and say Bron will proabably go down as the best ever when its all said and done. Kobe is gonna be 3rd but right now, he is ahead of Bron due to longer time in the league and he has achieved some great great things like the most field goals missed in the Nba all time.. thats commendable.
This has to be a joke. Kobe has 5 rings but 3 came when he playing with the most dominant big man in the modern era. Shaq made Deke look so bad that teams waved him. The other 2 came with Gasol, Bynum, and Odom. Kobe's teams have been stacked. You stick Lebron with a prime Shaq, and they would have been going after MJ's single season record. I think Lebron is pretty close with Jordan. Lebron is a better basketball player, MJ is a more cut-throat competitor.
For the 'real rings', I think you have to win the title and be the MVP. So MJ has 6, Shaq has 3, Kobe has 2. Lebron has 1 in a shortened season. By this criteria, the nonsense of mentioning Horry, Barkley, Ewing... can put to rest.
How about young Kobe playing with Wade and Bosh? Lebron has the phisical appearance of domination, but his phisical nature indicates a fast decline in production in the future. I highly doubt he can eventually won more than 3 titles as the #1 guy.
LOL...a year ago today nobody would have even come close to saying Lebron was ahead of Jordan. Now it's apparently the trendy thing to do. Jordan is overrated in my mind, as I'm sure he is in many others, but it's insane to say that Lebron's ahead of Jordan at this point. I know rings aren't EVERYTHING, but they are without a doubt something, and he's got 1. Let him win at least like 3-4 before we start comparing him to Jordan... I could understand an argument in terms of skill level and giftedness, taking Lebron over Jordan. I probably would too. But in terms of legacy....Jordan is far and away ahead of Lebron at this point. Lebron still has much more work to do.
Replace Kobe with the current Lebron on any Lakers team, and they are so much better it really isn't funny. The only thing Kobe is better at than Lebron is the mid range game, which is the most inefficient shot in basketball, no matter who is shooting it.
An argument can be made for Kareem as G.O.A.T. I would even go so far to say that he is underrated as far as legends go. However Duncan is not the best two -way big man. Being that it's a Rockets fan site, it is in excuasable to overlook Hakeem.
It's about Lebron vs Kobe. MJ is way ahead of both, and it's not debatable. I think Kobe clearly has a better career so far, and Lebron has a chance to be on par or better in the future. Lebron playing great in regular season doesn't prove anything, and if he fail to win title this season... When they join forces, Wade is the #2 star in the league. This never happens in NBA history - you can have over 30 years old Boston 'big 3', or very young Kobe with Prime Shaq, or Prime Kobe with another allstar Gasol, but I don't remember any Prime top superstars joining forces(let alone Bosh) before. Imagine what Jordan's number will be if he has Hakeem and another allstar on the same team to take away defensive attention! With Kobe's competitiveness, He would very likely win title over Dallas with Wade and Bosh in their first year(if he's at the same age as Lebron then).
