LeBron Fans, I'll Just Say It for You: "Screw Michael Jordan"

Obviously, there are some people out there who don't think much of this Michael Jordan character, and who will go so far as to openly belittle his basketball legacy.

How? By continuing to suggest, despite recent events, that LeBron James is yet capable of achieving Jordan's stature.

I know you're thinking "oh great, another LeBron-bashing article," but actually the Miami hater in me (i.e. all of me) is quite satisfied with the monumental failure that has befallen them, and feels no need to rag on them further until November.

So no, I'd rather not pile on the anti-LeBron rhetoric, but his aforementioned boosters are pinching a nerve in me that I can't ignore. The MJ comparison has gone from ambitious to myopic to just plain insulting.

Doesn't anybody remember anything besides the back of this guy's playing card?

Forget about championships for a second. Take away those six rings, and you still have Jordan the warrior, Jordan the leader, Jordan the hero. Isn't that what we really respect about the man?

Isn't that why those Jordan DVD's practically direct themselves, the way he talks about his drive, and the journey, and the struggle to be the best?

Aren't the rings just icing on the greatness cake? Isn't that why Robert Horry's seven still aren't worth one of Jordan's bowel movements?

He was the guy who wanted to beat all comers. The guy who couldn't imagine not having the ball in crunch time of the Finals. The guy who not only acknowledged the possibility of defeat, but also used it to fuel his fire.

Apparently, there are those out there—many of them professing, laughably, to be legitimate journalists—who think little enough of these qualities that they are still prepared to enshrine LBJ alongside MJ as soon as the former wins some simple hardware.

They are still prepared to compare the lost, frightened man-boy we saw cave before the moment in these Finals—the guy who evidently fears failure like it will kill him—to the steely-eyed warrior who stared historic moments in the face until they caved before him.

They are still willing to place alongside Jordan, a guy who has found new and spectacular ways not to win. A guy who not only failed on a level playing field, but who continues to fail despite having the odds stacked in his favor.

A guy who handles losing with all the grace of a pissy professional wrestler...

They are saying that none of LeBron's glaring character flaws will matter once he wins a title or two. When that time comes, apparently, the door is still open for LeBron to be the G.O.A.T.

The message these people send is clear: who cares about that Jordan jerk anyway? It doesn't matter how hard he worked, how mentally tough he was, or how much he relished the pressure of big moments. All we want are some rings to kiss.

LeBron may still be one of the better players all-time based on the numbers he's produced already, and his case will benefit from a title, but we have to admit that the ceiling on his potential legacy has gone from possible to permanent.

On the court, LeBron has already given everyone ample reason to remember him as one of the great talents ever, but to make the leap to greatest ever is just silly at this point.

Because beyond the inflated stats, the awards and the eventual rings, there is no changing the fact that LeBron has put some decidedly un-legendary traits on display throughout the process.

And lately, on the biggest stage in basketball, he's shown us the exact opposite of what you would expect from a superstar player, let alone the greatest ever.

If a player can possess these flaws and still be mentioned in the same township as Michael Jordan, then what does that say about our opinion of Jordan? Apparently, all that hard work and competitive fire is for suckers.

Doesn't there come a point where a player's failures disqualify him from the conversation, regardless of the gifts he obviously possesses? Hasn't Jordan's career earned him the right not to have this kind of player compared to him?

I refuse to dignify this "debate" any further. There is simply no more G.O.A.T. in LeBron's future, and to remotely suggest otherwise is a slap in the face to the real G.O.A.T.

So either come out and say "screw Jordan" out loud, or change your tune already.