LeBron James is arguably the best player in the NBA right now.
But some even say, he might be the best player the NBA has ever seen.
Granted that Michael Jordan is conceived as the legend of basketball, but he himself is not God.
He is not perfect.
And here to take his throne now, is the Chosen One—LeBron James.
Coming out of high school, James had been on magazine covers before he turned into an adult, and had a Nike shoe contract with him going into the 2003 draft night in New York.
At first, people had doubts on this kid.
Comments stating that he could never survive the intensity of NBA without college basketball all turned into the trash can—quite literally.
On his opening game, he showed the world why he is the Chosen One. He plays basketball the way he likes it, and no one will stop him.
Wearing the same number as Jordan, James has done almost everything Jordan has done in his entire career, except for a few notable mentions. However, you have to remember James is not even into his prime yet!
So who is better? LeBron James or Michael Jordan?
There is only one way to find out—after James retires.
But no fans can wait that long.
For now, Jordan has the edge, but James will take it away just as easily.
With a 6'8", 250-pound body frame, and a vertical leap that is almost 40 inches, James has an offensive game comparable to that of Kobe, Jordan, and Grant Hill (in his prime).
The one flaw James has in his offensive game is his free-throw shooting and at times, his jump shot. His imperfect shooting style causes him to miss free-throws, but it is consistent at around 70 percent in every season.
His jump shot might be worse than that of Kobe or Jordan, but when he is on fire, he can shoot it over just about anybody (as seen in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Finals last year).
People remember Jordan for knocking down impossible game-winning shots and 60-point games, but rarely do people remember that there are nights when Jordan shot less than 40 percent, and scored under 20 points.
What separates James from Kobe and Jordan, is his post-up game. Because of his size, he can back down his defender as good as a big-man, and finish in a variety of ways.
This is what Kobe and Jordan lack—a post game. Sure they can both post up and shoot fadeaways or drive to the hoops, but they lack the body size.
LeBron is two inches taller than both Kobe and Jordan, and this gives him the advantage.
Another plus factor for LeBron is his ability to finish. Due to his tremendous strength and vertical leap, he can dunk on people, something Jordan rarely accomplished as he got older.
Given that Jordan had the ability to finish as well, he dod it in a more athletic way, twisting his body, and hanging in midair. And this year in the NBA, James has started to show similar moves as well: draw the foul, hang in the air, and then finish the play.
For both James and Jordan, the most outstanding aspect would be their defensive aggressiveness. Jordan was selected Defensive Player of the Year many times over, and has made key stops at critical times.
But James can do it with both steals and blocks. Again, this is probably because of James' size, but blocks do not come from height, but talent.
Josh Smith is 6'9", and he can block shots better than any centers in the league. Similarly with James, he will hustle more than anybody to intercept the pass or block the shot—and as many fans have seen, most of his blocks came during the opponent's transitions.
Nevertheless, there is still one weakness in Jordan's game that James have developed over the years—three pointers. Sure enough, Michael Jordan made the critical three pointers, but he never conceived himself as a three-point shooter.
LeBron James, on the other and, has developed his three to the point that it becomes a very reliable and dependent shot for him, and due to his size, he has the ability to shoot over defenders as well.
This is one area Jordan never managed to achieve well in.
Then there are the achievements—championships, scoring champions, and slam-dunk contests. These only reflect their abilities, and thus far, LeBron James has shown promise to achieve the same, or more, than Michael Jordan.
He has led the Cavaliers to the Finals in his third year in the league; he has been in a tight race with Kobe and Allen Iverson for scoring championships; he was named youngest MVP for All-Star Game; he is competing with Jason Kidd for triple-doubles.
Is that enough for a fourth-year player out of high school?
Apparently not, because he is still improving.
Michael Jordan might be the legend of basketball, but LeBron James is the heir apparent.
He already is one of the best players ever in the NBA, and remember:
He's still only 23 years old.
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6 months ago
What you pinpoint as strengths of James and weaknesses of Jordan and Kobe are not what many experts think their strengths are.
Jordan and Kobe are considered to be the better postup players than James - although James has the size - because of pure skill. Hesitation moves, spins, fakes, footwork, etc. allow Kobe and Jordan to dominate around the basket, even though James is prototypically athletic.
Additionally, whereas LeBron has off-ball defensive aggressiveness, Kobe have both off-ball and on-ball game - Kobe less so on the former than Jordan. Kobe has never come close to leading the league in steals, but he is considered great because of his on-ball aggressiveness. Artest never led the league in steals either, and Ben Wallace is not the statistical monster Josh Smith, or hell, even Gerald Wallace, is. Same with Dennis Rodman. Although Jordan did rack up a grip of steals, his help defense and on-ball defense were good as well, and that's why LeBron isn't as good as Jordan. He is improving statistically as a defender, but is inconsistently good on that end when it comes to help defense and guarding people on-ball. He's never truly shutdown anyone - anecdotes of him "shutting down" a Kobe with a groin injury are false rumors for creating his undeserved legend.
As for dunking over people, third problems with that argument. First, LeBron does have physical limitations too and when they clog the lane, he can't dunk over people. That's why the finesse game of Kobe and Jordan puts them on the same level or higher than James as finishers; as James' strength diminishes, he will have to rely on finesse, just as Kobe and Jordan got less athletic. Second, you're just wrong about Kobe or Jordan, who also had their fair share of dunks OVER people. Think Jordan over Shaq, over Mutumbo, over Robinson. Think Kobe over Dwight Howard, over Yao Ming. LeBron has his share of moments, but there is hardly evidence to support the assertion Jordan or Kobe had any less of an ability to. But, thirdly, I wouldn't really think of it as a point of distinction either. Eventually, Wade suffered nerve damage and knee problems from dunking over people. I don't think LeBron's game is about crashing into people, but if it were, as you say, then he is just going to limit his career. Jordan and Kobe surely have dunked over people, but if they did so less, it was to avoid contact and prolong their career.
Overall, this is a really, really dumb article. I'm sorry, but I have no really positive words for it.
6 months ago
Where do I begin? Let's start with a few of my favorite lines from your article....
"For both James and Jordan, the most outstanding aspect would be their defensive aggressiveness. Jordan was selected Defensive Player of the Year honours before, and has made key stops at critical times. That all came from steals mainly."
Steals, blocks and most importantly, locking down Chicago's opponents best offensive players was what MJ did best. Jordan has always been known as a lock-down defender and Lebron hasn't learned "the art" yet. You must play on both ends of the floor to be a great player.
"Another plus factor for LeBron is his ability to finish. Due to his tremendous strength and vertical leap, he can dunk on people, something Jordan rarely accomplished."
Are you NUTS?! Jordan is considered as one of the best dunkers of ALL-TIME, have you not seen the countless Youtube videos and highlights of MJ's illustrious career. Give the man some respect, saying he can't throw it down on someone is completely stupid.
One more thing about hitting game-winning shots, to his credit, Lebron has made 2-of-19 game-tying or game-winning shots entering his 5th season in the NBA. In comparison, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas nailed six similar shots tying or winning the game last season.
So before we start mentioning Lebron with MJ, let's wait till the King has 6 rings, 6 MVP of the NBA Finals Awards, 9 times NBA Defense First Team, 10 Scoring tites, 5 MVP Awards and a pair of Slam Dunk Competition titles.
"Michael Jordan might be the legend of basketball, but LeBron James is the living legend of basketball."
I found this line hilarious, as if MJ is long gone or something. We've obviously seen MJ at 40 with the Wizards still score 20 points per game, albeit a little slower. But c'mon, Lebron is not a living legend right now. Maybe this article should have been about Kobe Bryant not James.
I hope you edit your article accordingly. No hard feelings, but please, don't compare Lebron's accomplishments to MJ . . . yet.
6 months ago
you got this article wrong, totally wrong, david.
we all know MJ is the best player of all time, and its virtually undisputed. Lebron James, a hot propspect, is good, but he simply cannot be compared to the legend.
Yet, in this article, you have drawn direct comparison between the two. We can only draw conclusions when LeBron finishes his career, and see through his stats and plays.
g'luck.
6 months ago
Yea I agree with Felix.
6 months ago
Yes, let's wait til Lebron's career is done before we make the call. But we CAN compare Lebron at 23 and Mike at 23. Who is the better player? LBJ, hands down.
6 months ago
LeBron James is a physical specimen, I'll give you that, he's bigger than Jordan or Kobe, I'll give you that too and that's where it ends. Does LeBron make the people around him better, no. Does LeBron win games for his team, no. Look at that Cavs team today, he's playing but they are still losing and like the other comments read, he's still young yet. Jordan was on some terrible teams early in his career and it wasn't until he was matured, surrounded by better talent and had the right coach until he fully blossomed. But he always was clutch (i.e 1982 NCAA finals), was always creative in his game (i.e 1988 dunk championship), and could really light it up (1986 vs Boston when he had 63 points, but he lost that game), so keep all of this in mind and then try this again in 10 years or so.
6 months ago
This article doesn't have much merit. I appreciate the fact that you were trying to take a stand, but that stand should not have been LeBron is better than Mike, or even that LeBron might be better than Mike.
One of the (many) statements I had a problem with in your article was "but rarely do people remember that there are nights when Jordan shot less than 40 percent, and scored under 20 points."
Not counting Mike's 2 seasons with Washington, he played in 930 games. In those 930 games, he only had 81 games, in which he scored less than 20 points. And, only 8 times did he do that in back-to-back games. That comes to a once in every 11.5 games average.
LeBron, on the other hand, has only played 316 career games, and already has 73 games where he has scored under 20 points. And, 14 times he has done it in back-to-back games. That comes to a once in every 5.1 games. Also, he's had 8 career games where he has scored less than 10 points, compared to Mike's 1 game, in his first 930.
This comparison might be able to be made a few years from now (I doubt it), but not right now.
6 months ago
very stupid assertions .... this author! LOLZ!
Should've made more research before you even blurted out hilarious statements comparing the robotic and often awkward lebron james to the living legend and silky smooth Air Jordan! Their names shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath .. you lebron sucker!
skill for skill, the aesthetics of their game, the dominance on both ends of the court .... not even close! Air Jordan hands down.
6 months ago
man, for goodness sake. stop embarrasing yourself.
6 months ago
I am with you David Wang, one day they niave people will see. He just scored 51 points tonight, and he's getting better and better, and he's seems to be on his way to his first scoring title, which will probaly give him more credientials for the MVP award. Man he's only 23, imagine if he plays until he is 40 like Jordan. Hands down he is the best all around player in the NBA right now, so to me that means he is the hier to jordans crown, the next generation super star. So i am not being bias, I think he needs some championships to over take the the minds of people who doubt him. Its not hard to see that he is the best player in the NBA, and i find it hard to beleive so many people can not see that.
5 months ago
"What separates James from Kobe and Jordan, is his post-up game. Because of his size, he can back down his defender as good as a big-man, and finish in a variety of ways."
Wrong in so many ways. Yes Lebron has more size than Kobe and Jordan but that doesnt equate to better in the post. All he does is muscle his way in, if he tried that on Ron artest in the post then i doubt that would work, whereas Kobe and Jordan have the variety of post moves you speak of. Being a good post player is not predicated on size, sure It is a key factor but im not having the Lebron is better than Jordan or Kobe in the post, no way.
Can u tell me what happended to Lebron against the Spurs in the finals? You say his jumper "might" be worse than jordan and Kobe? are you nuts, ask Bruce Bowen if he would give Kobe and Jordan the room he gave Lebron to shoot that off key jumper in the finals.
You say Jordan rarely dunked on people when he got older, you better be talking about the Wizards Jordan or i dont know what you talking about, also i would like to see Lebron dunk over people like he does now when he is 32 plus.
And please, you cant compare Kob and Jordans Defence to Lebron. Jordan D speaks for itself with his multiple Defensive player of the year award and everyone knows what Kobe can do on that end. You saw on team U.S.A what he did on the defensive end if he doesnt have to contribute so much on scoring the ball. Leborn D is avarage at best, i think you need ot realise defense is not about how many block or steals you get (larry hughes manages about 2 a game).
Lebron obviously is one of the best players in the league today but right now Kobe is ahead of him and in so many facets of the game. When his finshed Lebron MAY be able to talk but right now he has acheived nothing. Prime Jordan cant be compared to anyone, have this diccussion when he improves his jumper, ft, post game, defense and has some championships then we will talk if he is on Kobes Level, let alone Jordan
4 months ago
I go with Anonymous up there because, Kobe is the better player around the basket. And kobe wouldn't be getting scored on if he wasn't garding him. And the only reason why he scores on kobe is because body weight. Kobe overall better scorer. But no lie Lebron is now fit for a king. But the king could get bitten right back from Black Mamba's aka (Kobe Bryant) venom and be back on top. James cannot be copared to Michael Jordan. Why? because jodan handed the torch to Kobe when he played him basically one-on-one, shot after shot. And when he realized hey, this guy has what it takes to be the best, and that is just what he said. Lebron james dosn't have enough history to compare to Jordan or Kobe. Micheal did not hand the torch to Lebron, he dosn't even know Lebron. Oh and one thing is Jason Richardson wears No.#23 you don't see him saying "I'm the next Jordan", neither is Kobe but, he dosn't say that he hates being compared he wants to be better. Maaaaan! glad I got that off my chest. Kobe is better no doubt.
4 months ago
What is up there I wrote. My name is Jabbarri King aka King Pin Jr.
4 months ago
Thank you what a dumbass, who ever scott is. This guy right here Gilbert, is the real deal. Man is'nt that guy a real ignorant person about basketball.
4 months ago
YO WAIT MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!
2 months ago
Their is no way Leborn James is better than MJ aka the best player to play in the NBA. MJ is a legend and Lebron isn't. MJ as won 7 championships (witch 5 were in a row) and I don't know how many championships Lebron has won. MJ as 9 MVP awards and I don't know how many Lebron has won. I'm getting sick of people commparing MJ with other people I mean everyone should know that MJ is the best player to play in the NBA and no one is better than him! He's better than Kobe and Lebron and anyone that they ask if their better than MJ!!
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