http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...-mcmahon-lebron-james-john-cena-wwe-guide-nba Stern=Vince LeBron = Cena Kobe =Rock Flair Some of them are a stretch, but pretty funny none the less.
Great article. Love the Stern/McMahon and Silver/Laurinaitas parallel. I'd also add in Earl Hebner = Tim Donaghy, switch over Brandon Roy = Edge, since his retirement was so much more sudden and unexpected, and Clyde Drexler = Michael Cole, since they both make watching almost unbearable. I would love someone to run with this over the summer and make it a weekly youtube series...
A few off the top of my head... Kobe = Anderson Silva: The most decorated champion currently active, but with a growing sense that he's getting older, with young guns coming up behind him. Cursed by not having a true, iconic rivalry with another player. Both have massive egos: Spider's refusal to conduct interviews in English despite being perfectly fluent and half-assing it when he doesn't respect his opponent, Kobe forcing Shaq out, the alleged Denver rape, the general dickishness. Kevin Durant = Pre-Champion Jon Jones: The rising star, uncontroversial, no major failures so far on his record, even has his training partner that people love to hate on for not conforming to pre-established norms of how basketball/fighting is supposed to go (Westbrook = Rashad Evans), and whom everyone is just waiting to have a falling out. Plus, if OKC wins this year after going through Mavs, Lakers, Spurs, Bulls/Heat, that's about as impressive as the gauntlet Bones has gone through in his last few fights. LeBron James = BJ Penn: Absurdly talented, but often leaves you disappointed. The sport is just too easy for them, so much so that their greatest weakness is themself. Every time you think his heart is truly into it, he ends up losing. Plus, they both have a penchant for fading late. Tim Duncan = GSP: Boring, incredibly effective, always prepared, underappreciated. One of the 15 best players ever, and yet you're not at all excited to see him perform. Shaq = Chuck Liddell: THE faces of their sport; truly dominant champions who had long and memorable reigns, and were truly feared. Never in the best of shape (to put it kindly), their declines were both understandable and yet shocking; you could always talk yourself into an Iceman resurgence, or "Shaq staying healthy for the playoffs and beasting for 20 min", even long after they were both cooked. Steve Nash = Rich Franklin: Both company men to the end, willing to stick it out even with no chance at a title late in their careers. Both extremely articulate, oddballs in their respective sports. Both have their greatest accomplishments (MW title, B2B MVPs) downgraded in hindsight. Andrew Bynum = Brock Lesnar: For all the same reasons. Metta World Peace = Nick Diaz: Both are in the Tyson Zone. Dana White = Mark Cuban: Easy.
As a fan of both the NBA and the WWE, I thoroughly enjoyed the article. Kind of like having peanut butter with chocolate.
i loved wrasling as a kid, bought the cards and subscribed to the magazines, but the article does not point out the most obvious comparison. The plastics/divas getting the "superstar" call is the equivalent of the wwe ref turning the blind eye when the good guy gets hit with a chair. I would love to see stern in a general's outfit calling the draft.
