The GOAT conversation is very interesting because you not only have to weigh things like player skill set but also style of play old vs new, and the idea in today's NBA of players assembling their own teams to win, etc. In new school NBA: Would you wanna build a team around "in his Prime" Lebron or "in his Prime" MJ? Would "IHP" MJ dominate today's NBA with the emphasis on scoring and no hand checking? In old school NBA: Would Lebron excel the way he does in the new school NBA? There are hundreds of questions you would need to ask and answer but for my money living in and watching both NBA's MJ is still the GOAT in my book. I put Lebron at 2 with a slight edge over Kobe/Magic/Russell/Robertson/Jabbar/Chamberlain and that is the elite of the elite! Talk amongst yourselves.
What a fragile ego... https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...g-zero-votes-nba-best-player-offseason-survey LeBron James reacts to amassing zero votes for NBA's best player in offseason survey Lebron...Time is undefeated. Chances are, you're not going to get better.
In a lot of ways I think LeBron would have been better had he come up in the 90's instead of nowadays. Many of his bad habits and stupid comments wouldn't have happened back then, and he probably would have let the front office build around him instead of building the superteam, which forever tarnished his legacy in the GOAT conversation. In terms of talent and skill LeBron is the best player ever, and I don't think it's close. Would being raised in a tougher era have gotten him closer to Jordans (bordering on unhealthy) desire to win, or would he have simply carried his current traits to the 90's with him. As is, LeBron is more concerned with path of least resistance and his "empire" than he is with wanting to destroy everybody in front of him, which still puts Jordan on a different level from LeBron, and everybody else.
Ariza is a better comparison for MJ, Houston had the chip next year and let it go because Tilman is cheap....
He would never have had the social media platform to *insert fuel pump emoji* and stroke his fragile ego back in the 90s. And for that reason I wish he was around back then and not today.
LeBron doesn't seem like the type to have the "and then I took it personally" attitude. I'm not sure how genuine his reactions are or if they are calculated to protect his brand or whatever.
I have seen Michael Jordan play when I lived overseas, when I moved to Houston I thought Hakeem Olajuwon is way better than Michael Jordan. In a One on One Matchup Michael Jordan VS Hakeem Olajuwon who would win easily. Hakeem Wins easily. Hakeem Speed, Athleticism, Shot Blocking easy Post Ups over Jordan.
It’s hard to say who the best ever is especially when you start going across multiple eras. There’s a number of guys who if you took #1 overall in an all time draft you wouldn’t be wrong. Lebron is in that group. Hakeem too.
Lots of things MJ were even more messed up, just watch Last Dance. MJ was lucky he lived in the 90s where socmed didnt exist cuz a lot of those **** wouldnt fly today. It allowed him to smile and be white washed by Looney Tunes even as he was bullying his teammates. https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/b...ce-bulls-teammates-were-afraid-michael-jordan At the end of the day we are a product of our times. Lebron is the way he is because the era today people are more civil and quick to point out BS. But he is Karl Malone with Kobe's quickness and speed, in the 90s Lebron would've been Shaq before Shaq and destroyed everyone in the handcheck era. Lebron would be more dominant in the 90s than he is today's era imo.
You can see the bias here lol when Lebron posts his "I took it personally" tweets its him being pathetic and washed but when MJ did it thats him being ultra competitive and having take no prisoners attitude. Not really directed at you just some observations on this thread.
lol I grant you Lebron might give you flash backs or thoughts that he could play in that era because he's literally the leagues best all around defender. So was Jordan in his time too though. lol That's just it though if the players are a product of their era like you said then this Lebron wouldn't be able to. He's used to no hand checking. The lanes are not as open as they are now. 3 were a factor but not like there are now. At 18 he would have been bullied out of the tendencies that make him great. Same with Steph if he play in that era.
The problem here....is he waits to get under superteam to be competitive. He should have kept that same energy when he was with Cleveland and people would respect it a little more. Same with Harden. When Jordan said he was gong to do something he did it. He didn't hide behind Rodman, Pippen, Kukoc or Kerr.
I didn't like MJ, but didn't hate MJ. Can't stand Lebron. Allowed me to be petty for a min. Fock Lebron's brand. F his tweets. F his super teams. F his agent and klutch sports. He's old and moldy and won't go away. Let the next gen of NBA stars take over please.
Uh what? Jordan won his 6 rings after 7 years of 1st round exit. He only won after Krause assembled a power team around him with Rodman, Pippen, PJ et al. Every single ring MJ had he had it with Pippen and Phil Jackson so I dunno what you mean by saying MJ never hid behind Pippen etc. MJ never won anything without his super team. Just like MJ Lebron also spent around 7 yrs in Cleveland trying to win a ring in Cleveland but guess what he didnt have Jerry Krause he had a dumb GM who gave him Darius Miles and old Shaq. It's the same thing the difference is Lebron made his own power team whereas MJ waited for a handout from his GM. Not sure why a GM making things easier for you without having to do anything is worth more respect. I mean when Kobe forced his way to LA West already had Shaq, Fisher and Horry ready is that supposed to be more challenging than moving to a different team and getting people togetjer to win a ring? I dont get it.
Lebron has Karl Malone's body with Kobe's quickness he is better suited to 90s era than MJ. If he played in 90s Lebron would never have any need to develop a 3 pt shot he would just play in the paint full time as a PF.
Generally speaking, MJ is way above LBJ in the GOAT convo. That is not to say that MJ is a better player than LBJ. Who is good/best at basketball is a different convo than GOAT. Best Of All Time (BOAT) is a convo about players with incredible basketball skills and talents and this would include guys like Wilt, Kareem, and KD. MJ and certainly Russell would not be at the very top of that list. So if basketball was art these would also be the GOAT conversation. However basketball is a game, a sport, it's not art so winning matters the most. That's why the top is MJ and Russell when we talk about GOAT and not BOAT. The two questions that you need to ask are: 1. How much did you win? 2. How important were for the win, i.e. how much help did you have. That's it. So let's see for MJ vs LBJ. On Q1: 6 > 4. Simple math. Period. Q2: Hands down MJ won with weaker teams. Hands down! Pippen was a very good player, but nowhere near D.Wade. I saw him in Houston, I saw him in Portland, a nice secondary player at best. Rodman is nowhere near Chris Bosh. Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis are more talented than anyone MJ played with. True, they are both very inconsistent, however for LeBron's 2016 and 2020 titles they were absolutely instrumental. Then, in 2013 LBJ is not winning either, without Hall of Famer All-Time shooter Ray Allen. MJ had... Steve Kerr and Paxson... So MJ won more and with less help and that's it. What about all the Finals appearances, don't they count? No, not really. Some people erroneously think that getting to the Finals means that you were the second best team in the NBA. That's not true at all! All it means is that you won the other conference. So at a time with a sever conference imbalance, you can get to the Finals with the 5th, 6th best team, for example. 2018 Cavs were the second best team? Please! All of these Finals were total beatdowns. All of them. San Antonio, Dallas, GSW, all just beat him solidly. None of them had the smoke and mirrors of LeBron's 2013 and 2016 titles. Falling outta bounds threes, coming back from 3-1... None of that. What about longevity? Well, first I am not giving you credit for skipping college and for the advancements in nutrition, physical therapy, etc. Second, and more importantly, LBJ had the chaser advantage. We all know that he's chasing Micheal and that's why he'll play until he needs hip replacement or maybe even after that. Michael chased Bird and Magic. In 1993, at the trophy presentation first thing he said was: I got three in a row, which neither Larry nor Magic could do. Then he thought, "that's it, I am going to play baseball".... It's easier to have somebody to chase and keep chugging than to just pad-up yur count. So MJ over LBJ, hands down.
