Dwyane Wade Comments on LeBron James' Pursuit of Michael Jordan
This summer, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James opened up on his desire to surpass Michael Jordan's "ghost" as the best basketball player in history, per Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins.
According to former teammate Dwyane Wade, who's heading into his first season with the Chicago Bulls, his friend will likely never accomplish that goal.
"No, it's not possible. It's not possible," Wade told Nick Friedell of ESPN.com on Thursday. "The only thing you can do is tie it. There's no 19th hole."
Wade also used a golf reference when discussing James' and Jordan's legacies in a 2012 interview with Friedell.
"I don't know if [James] has the ability to surpass [Jordan] or not," Wade said. "That's yet to be seen. My version as LeBron being on par with Michael is this: They're both on the golf course. Michael's on the 18th hole; LeBron is somewhere on like the fourth hole. He's got a long way to go, but he's on par to get to the 18th hole."
James has been to six straight NBA Finals, going to the last two with Cleveland after pairing with Wade for four straight trips with the Miami Heat. He's the first player to pull off the feat since members of the Boston Celtics did so in the 1950s through 1960s.
While James has brought home titles in only three of those appearances—and Jordan won six NBA titles in his career—he took down the 73-win Golden State Warriors after coming back from a 3-1 deficit last summer.
"I think last year—not only in my eyes, but in a lot of people's eyes—really put him...he's on the 15th hole right now," Wade said, per Friedell. "And he's on his way, for sure."
The Cavaliers' championship was Cleveland's first in any of the four major professional sports in more than five decades. It was also the first ever in Cavaliers history. The franchise had never made it past the conference finals before James' arrival.
While James told Jenkins he was chasing Jordan's ghost, he pointed out the difference in their career paths:
"My career is totally different than Michael Jordan’s. What I’ve gone through is totally different than what he went through. What he did was unbelievable, and I watched it unfold. I looked up to him so much. I think it’s cool to put myself in position to be one of those great players, but if I can ever put myself in position to be the greatest player, that would be something extraordinary.
"
James is one of the half-dozen greatest basketball players ever. Where he ranks among the all-time greats is an exercise in subjectivity—one that would be unfair, given that his career is far from over. At 31 years old, he could have four or five more good seasons left in the tank—although flashes of transcendence may now be limited to playoff bursts.
With James already sitting with four regular-season and three Finals MVP awards on his mantle, the main thing that can bring him closer to Jordan is championship rings (MJ has five regular-season and six Finals MVP awards). Taking down another Golden State superteam in 2016-17 would go a long way toward reaching the proverbial 18th tee.
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