he needs to sign with the houston rockets in free agency, and win 3 nba rings in a row to be considered the greatest
to me MJ played in the best era of basketball and not the weak league we have now. Seriously what teams can realistically beat the Heat big 3 currently? Also LBJ leaving and joining forces with Wade and Bosh will always be a factor in some people's mind as him taking the easy way out and hurt his cause for best ever. I think later in the future when people didn't get to see Jordan play live, and they did see LBJ, that's when LBJ will be elevated to the GOAT status IMO.
I already consider him the most gifter player of all time. But watching Jordan, Kobe, and now LeBron all in their prime, there was just something about Jordan. You know LeBron can be beat. People compete against LeBron. I have seen the look of defeat in the eyes of grown men when playing Jordan (Cliff Robinson). I have seen coaches publicly wave the white flag (Paul Westfall), even with the league MVP on their roster (Barkley). If LeBron was 85% as competitive as Jordan, and had 80% as much heart and determination as Jordan, there would be nor argument. LeBron would be better. Phil Jackson once said that Kobe was more skilled than Jordan, but Jordan got the most out of the skill he had. LeBron is definitely more gifted than Jordan. But Jordan got the most out of what he had. He never quit on any team. And one feat for me that I have always found impressive, I would like LeBron to accomplish. 1. Average 35ppg 2. Win the MVP Award 3. All NBA First Team 4. All NBA First Team Defense 5. Lead the league in Scoring 6. Lead the league in Steals 7. Score 40 points 18 times in one season (His most in one season is 10) 8. Win DPoY 9. Win All Star Game MVP 9. Win the Slam Dunk Contest Oh, and the be the GOAT, HE HAS TO DO IT ALL IN THE SAME YEAR Wrap your brain around that for a second.
In 200 years, the only thing they will remember is # of championships. Since Jordan is currently the GOAT, if he can get 7 and a few 3-4peats, he might be considered the greatest.
Poll choices are terrible. He needs to win a lot more rings to be considered the greatest not one or two+. I'd say he needs 8 and as great as he is I doubt that's happening.
If Jason Terry called out Jordan in a finals he would have got smashed. Jordan had a competitive fire in him that remains unmatched. Lebron crumbled with 2 other stars on his team as Terry made good on his promise torching him for 27 in the clincher. That's the biggest difference not talent.
He needs to get atleast 5 rings and be the main player along the way. Also it wouldn't hurt to add a collection of clutch or game winning shots in the post season along the way. Right now he hasn't proven to do that yet and that was his biggest knock.
The all-time greats (Ruth, Ali, Gretzky, Jordan) transcend the game by making it richer/more popular and redefining the game (or at least their position) itself. Culture and game. LBJ is well on the way to covering the latter. I'm not sure he can do the former.
This.... times 100. The argument such as rule changes etc has been made ad-nauseum but the fact that Jordan dominated in an era that produced SO many hall of famers and all time greats is just plain ridiculous. I know you can't necessarily hold that against LeBron but it speaks volumes about Jordans greatness.
Jordan won 5 MVPs, 6 rings, 6 finals MVP, 1 DPOY. Remember the guy "retired" for the first time during basically his prime years that basically resulted in two lost seasons, and who knows what might have happened during those 2 seasons if he didn't retire.
LeBron can win 13 straight titles and he still won't be better than Jordan in many people eyes, a lot of those who never even watched Jordan play.
Thats really unfair though. Jordan, Pippen, and Grant grew together as players. Jordan did not team up with another MVP caliber player and a pretty dang good power forward. Its tough to compare how long it took MJ to win his first championship with Pippen and Grant, because a young Pippen and Grant are no where comparable to how good Wade and Bosh were when Lebron teamed up with them. Also, MJ faced the Celtics in his first two appearances in the playoffs. I think its fair to say those Celtics teams were better than any team Lebron has ever faced......
Beat Jordan in every category INCLUDING rings. Even then, he still has Finals losses (MJ is undefeated in the Finals) regardless of team comparisons etc. whatever excuses LBJ nuthuggers throw out there. He can pass Kobe with a 1+ more championships but it's a long road to MJ. That is all.
I don't think he will be classified as the greatest ever even though his is athletically gifted and is a championship. A factor of a "greatest ever" is the ability to take the game, as a whole, beyond what it is in current times, not just on the court, but off the court as well. He needs to be the driving force to redefine the game and make it richer for everyone. BTW, the poll choices are rly biased. The first two sound like, "you're with me on the fact that he's the greatest and will be recognized soon". The next three sound like, "I'm a diehard fan of someone else and won't recognize him to be anywhere close. Ever." The last sounds like, "idk who you're talking about bc I just started watching basketball yesterday and have to choose this because I'm new to everything basketball." Choices should be more like, "3 rings, 4 rings, 5 rings, get a quadruple double, win that 7th ring, etc".
Quit basketball and try out another sport. I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say seeing him do what he's been training for since 4, with a perfect basketball body and no obstacles, is fairly one dimensional and mundane. If he stayed in Cleveland, I would have given him MJ respect but the guy just doesn't have that panache to him. He can't magically earn it only playing basketball on a super team beating up weak teams. There comes a time in every great man's life where he needs to challenge himself. For leBron, that time is now.
