LeBron James Discusses Playing Michael Jordan 1-on-1, Charity Work

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James announced an initiative this week to help more than 1,000 students go to college for free. He discussed the plan with Willie Geist of Today, who also managed to sneak in some questions about Michael Jordan and Space Jam.  

The LeBron James Family Foundation is working with other companies to help cover the tuition costs of the University of Akron, which is in James' hometown. Based on the number of students currently in James' program, the total amount could approach $42 million, per Scott Stump of Today.

"At this rate, we've got 1,100 kids in our program, and if I can put 1,100 kids into college free, that means I'll have done something, (and) the University of Akron, JPMorgan and Chase and my foundation have done something great to give back," James said.

It's the type of commitment that can change the lives of a lot of families, and James said he's happy to help whenever possible.

"These kids are everything," he said

As the focus shifted to more lighthearted topics, his seemingly friendly rivalry with Jordan took center stage.

Earlier this week, Patrick Dorsey of ESPN.com relayed comments Jordan made during a basketball camp in California. When the topic of facing James one-on-one in their respective primes came up, the Chicago Bulls legend had a simple response about whether he would win: "No question."

James isn't backing down, either. He admitted to Geist there would probably be plenty of blood, sweat and tears on the court before it was over, though.

"Oh, I take myself,'' James said. "For sure. I mean, I'm gonna take myself versus anybody. I'll tell you one thing—they're gonna have to have a few wheelchairs and a couple ambulances there to get us off the floor."

It's unfortunate they will never face each other at their athletic peaks, because the competitive fire on the court would be incredible.

Evan Agostini/Associated Press

The two stars are also linked through the iconic basketball movie Space Jam. Jordan starred in the original, and now, there are rumblings James could carry the torch to a new generation of kids by taking the lead role in a sequel after teaming up with Warner Bros. He wouldn't tip his hand to Geist, however.

"We're definitely missing Bugs and Daffy and Tasmanian Devil and and every last one of them, so hopefully we can do some great things,'' James said.

Of course, there are two sides of the Space Jam debate. Some fans of the original want to leave it on a pedestal by itself until the end of time. Others want to see the legacy continue with another movie—perhaps even continue to pass it down to the main star of each era.

The biggest takeaway here is the important work James' foundation is doing for students, but it's always going to make headlines when he talks MJ or Space Jam.