LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan Revisited: Why His Airness Remains Heirless

There has been a good deal of speculation about LeBron James' ability to take games over in clutch situations. First, they said he couldn’t do it. Now, in light of his recent playoff performance, some would say that he’s reached a turning point.

Maybe he has and maybe he hasn’t. What’s of more interest is now that LeBron James and the Miami Heat have reached the NBA finals—not to mention Scottie Pippen’s rabble-rousing comments late last week—analysts and sports junkies alike seem poised to reignite an old discussion: Is LeBron James the next Michael Jordan? Is he even better than MJ?

Short answer: no, he’s not. For a long time, people said James had the potential to be better than Jordan, but individual in-game stats aside—we could argue over those endlessly—Jordan was better because of the simple fact that he won championships. James hasn’t won any. Case closed. Jordan is better.

But now that James is on the brink of, or at least has a decent shot at winning his first title, and the fact that he’s still young enough to go on to win many more, it seems likely that winning one championship might reopen that case, which as of now, should stay closed.

LeBron combines raw, almost absurd athleticism with court vision to rival that of Steve Nash. He has almost all the intangibles that mark the greatest the game has ever seen. But what does he lack that "His Airness" (that fabled Michael of yesteryear’s highlight reels, and more recent debutant of undershirts and man-panties) dealt in spades?

Motivation? Good guess, and in a way that’s sort of close, but no, because when you get right down to it, motivation is nothing but a vehicle of aspiration. LeBron certainly aspires to win himself some championships and has taken some steps toward that dream; otherwise, why the move to Miami?

The thing that really separates Jordan from James, "His Airness" from the heir that would-be King, is one simple concept that many players of lesser stature have attained in their quest not to be the greatest of all time, but simply for a chance to keep a seat warm for players like LeBron and Jordan. It’s called discipline, and yes, if you want to get nit-picky, you could say that’s a form of motivation.

Discipline is about putting in the time and effort to achieve improvement and success. Discipline is about tapping the depths of potential and wringing every last drop. It's not about taking the easy way out. It's not about using others as a crutch to chase down dreams. It's not about teaming up with two other All-Stars because you haven't been able to win an NBA championship on your own.

Before you decide whether there’s something to the claim that discipline is the defining difference between Jordan and James, let me explain why I think such a difference exists at all. As all-around amazing as Jordan was, James, as a purely physical and athletic specimen, might be superior. If nothing else, James was certainly more precocious in the parlance of ballin’—in sprint, spin, drive, leap and slam.

Jordan was cut from his high school team his sophomore year. In James’ sophomore year of high school, the national media began touting him as a soon-to-be NBA superstar. After getting cut from his varsity team, Jordan used the disappointment as motivation to refine his game, improving in every aspect.  Despite that, Jordan garnered interest from only a short list of colleges, and he began his college career as a relatively undistinguished player.

James was so talented he went straight to the NBA and onto the short list of the game’s best. Starting to see the pattern? Jordan was a late bloomer (relatively speaking) and James wasn’t. As a result, the young Jordan had to work and work hard for everything he achieved on the basketball court, and in so doing, developed a work ethic (aka discipline) totally unknown to—not to mention unnecessary—for someone as naturally and wildly talented as LeBron James.

If this is starting to sound like a case for why James has already surpassed Jordan, rest assured, it is not. It is an explanation of why LeBron has the potential to be better than Jordan, but because he lacks discipline, he’ll never realize that potential, and essentially plateau at his current level of play.

LeBron James is undoubtedly one of the game’s best, but he’s not as good as he could be, and he probably won’t ever be much better than he is now. If you doubt that claim, just take a look at James’ jump shot. Even when open, he has a strong and almost constant tendency to fade-away, like a kid in a school-yard pick-up game trying to show off for wide-eyed onlookers clutching the chain links in adoration.

Why not square up and shoot a jumper with good form and increase that shooting percentage? Or a better question might be, how has this seemingly easy route to colossal improvement gone unaddressed in an NBA career that now spans nearly eight years? For the same reason LeBron James isn’t on par with Michael Jordan: lack of discipline. But then again, who knows, maybe James is a better shooter when he fades away.

Never mind the fact that James had the highest shooting percentage of his career this season at 51 percent. Dwyane Wade also had the highest shooting percentage of his career this season. The two superstars, along with Chris Bosh, open each other up for better and easier shot selection.

LeBron, with the help and encouragement of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, quite literally built a team. A dream team. Is that really so bad? No, and there’s even precedent for it. It’s the same formula the Celtics employed a few years back to create a championship caliber team when they recruited KG and Ray Allen to come play alongside Paul Pierce.  But KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, magnates of the game and perennial All-Stars though they may be, have never been compared to His Airness.

Oh, and as a side note: KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce have all had the highest shooting percentages of their careers since teaming up in 2007. It doesn’t seem like mere coincidence that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are experiencing similar statistical padding. 

Sure nay-sayers and inspirational speakers alike love to point out that Jordan never won a championship until Pippen came along. Yeah, maybe Jordan did need that 1-2 punch, but he waited around, he stuck it out, and he delivered that double whammy in Chicago. He waited for a team capable of being his vehicle of aspiration and then he revved that engine like a Delorean striving for 86 MPH (or a kid fleeing the teenage version of his one-thing-on-the-mind mother—whichever you think is faster).

LeBron didn’t stick around. He fled Cleveland for sunny shores, first-class burritos, and most importantly, the easy road to ring-land—or so he hoped, at least. Did people respect that decision? Look up the proposed alternate definitions for the phrase “I’m taking my talents to South Beach” LeBron so infamously uttered on his personal telecast announcing his move to Miami and I think you’ll have your answer.

If you’re a bit miffed over that, here’s a hint: it has a lot more to do with anatomical South Beach than geographical South Beach, and these talents aren’t the sort you’ll want to showcase for your friends.

LeBron James lacks Jordan’s discipline because he never experienced the youthful disappointments necessary to spawn it. Accordingly, James also lacks Jordan’s drive for individual accomplishment, demonstrated by his move Miami. At the same age, Jordan had yet to win his first championship, but he wanted to win on his own, so he stayed in Chicago.

The only thing capable of bolstering James to Jordanesque levels of greatness was living a hard-knock life, or as close to one as can be had for a young man who can buy anything he wants up-front with cash. And the closest thing to a hard-knock life was in Cleveland, where stardom was a soloist act, and where you’re more likely to be burned by the polluted river catching fire than the sun.

If you’re a die-hard LeBron James fan, I’d like to leave you with one last consideration, and this is by no means a new morsel to chew on, only the regurgitated wisdom of countless others: even if James goes on to win six or even seven championships with the Miami Heat he won’t be on par with Jordan. As long as Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are wearing jerseys to match his own he can never be on par with Jordan, and will never be remembered as the player he is still capable of becoming.

James’ first season playing on a team as part of a trio of All-stars is coming to a close. James’ first season sporting a jersey without the No. 23 emblazoned across the back is also coming to a close and that seems fitting—for now at least.