While he’s not there yet, these 2015 NBA Finals are starting to reveal just how truly special LeBron James is. Here are five big reasons.
By Robby Sabo
Despite having this group of overachieving Cleveland Cavaliers now just two-games away from the 2015 NBA Championship, which would represent his third-title overall, James has not yet reached greatest of all-time status.
Although, he’s getting pretty damn close.
Many feel this discussion about surrounding the greatest of all-time is ridiculous. They feel it’s an impossibility to compare NBA legends from the past to today’s stars.
After all, each era presented its own unique challenges and comforts.
While that sentiment is wholeheartedly true, this is the NBA way.
Since a struggling league clamped onto Larry Brid and Magic Johnson during the early 1980s, the superstar conversation has trumped the team area at every turn.
Then, when No. 23 from the Chicago Bulls came to play, this greatest of all-time convo reached epic proportions.
Speaking of Jordan, this is where the conversation gets interesting.
For some strange reason, people today act like Jordan never missed a shot. They talk about his hay-day when he marveled us with his perfection.
This is a complete fallacy.
It was Jordan’s uncanny ability to capture the moment that has led to his legend growing to previously unseen heights. From the “Double-Nickel Game” to the “Flu-Game” to “The Shot” to the “Final Shot in Utah,” MJ never failed to end the script his way.
His absurd competitiveness led to a phenomenal closing ability that allowed the entire world to name him the greatest of all-time.
The way some get offended at the notion of James being Jordan’s equal is almost laughable. People take it personally, thinking “how dare somebody try to tarnish Jordan’s legacy.”
The cold-hard truth those Jordan defenders need to understand is this: Jordan was not perfect.
He missed game-winning shots. He turned the ball over. He even made plenty of mistakes with teammates at times.
Jordan was a marketer’s dream, a guy who can successfully carry the league after Bird and Magic bowed out.
The point is, the reason his legacy is outrageous at this point is not just due to his play on the court. Jordan never left Chicago, and he never allowed fans the chance to turn on him.
Still, is Jordan the G.O.A.T.? Probably, yes. We’ve all done lists like this before, and more often than not he is the guy thrust in that prestigious spot.
I mean, let’s get real here, how could anybody argue with the highest points per game average in NBA Playoffs history (33.4)?
Well, there’s a number of reasons that can be found to easily argue it.
Here are five reasons LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan:
5. All-Around Brilliance
I understand just how beloved Michael Jordan is. He is, probably, the most revered athlete of all-time.
Nothing negative is brought up about the guy. This is even the case despite some questionable off the court moves.
Nevertheless, Jordan was not a perfect basketball player.
Jordan was the quintessential two-guard. He was a 6’6” prototype for what the position was. He played the role of a damn good scorer and the best closer in NBA history.
Did he do other things well also? Of course. His being named to the first-team All-Defensive team nine times is perfect evidence.
Despite all the brilliance, LeBron James is a much better overall player.
The only thing LeBron cannot do as well as Jordan is shoot the ball with consistency from the outside. LeBron’s basketball IQ, defense, court vision and facilitating trumps Jordan’s in every way.
The numbers don’t lie either.
Despite Jordan being the better shooter, both guys are almost identical when field goal percentage is concerned (MJ: .497, LBJ: .496). This is the stat that gives us a glimpse into how efficient they are with each shot they take, and it’s a wash.
Considering shooting is a wash, LeBron takes the all-around title over MJ based on everything else he brings to the table.
The man is a legitimate 6’9” 260 lbs. He can play every position on the floor and fill any role needed. This is something Jordan could never do.
Scoring and the “last shot” is not everything in basketball. Although it does make for some great theater. LeBron’s “theater” is now starting to come furiously at us.
4. Lack Of Great Coaching
Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant had Phil Jackson. Bill Russell had Red Auerbach. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had Pat Riley. Tim Duncan has Gregg Popovich.
Who exactly has LeBron had?
Right now David Blatt is the coach of the Cavs. Hardly a comparison to some championship winning coaches.
James plays a style that has the role “player-coach” written all over it. The only problem is in today’s day and age it is an impossibility to name a player-coach.
Could you imagine how much better James might be if he had the benefit of a Riley or Jackson as his guy?
3. Responsibilities
Hitchhiking off of the all-around brilliance James brings to the table, the difference in responsibilities between Cleveland’s No. 23 and Chicago’s No. 23 is astounding.
What Jordan did was plentiful. He was a fierce leader, a scorer and a closer.
However, he rarely guarded the best defender on the other team. He had a guy by the name of Scottie Pippen to take that responsibility.
Furthermore, Jordan never was put in position to be a rebounder or a guy who ran the offense. He had guys like Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman grabbing boards while Pippen, B.J. Armstrong and John Paxson played the role of facilitator.
James, on the other hand, literally does everything for his squad.
He’s talented and smart enough to pull off wearing these many hats, and is doing so right now during the 2015 NBA Finals out of necessity.
Ask any hardened hoops fan or player. When a scorer doesn’t have to expend his energy guarding the opponent’s best player, he enjoys a tremendous leg up on the offensive end of the floor.
Check out the turnover percentage between both of these guys for their career.
Jordan finished with a 9.3 mark. This means he turned the ball over 9.3 times per 100 possessions. LeBron currently sports a 12.5 number.
That number is incredibly close considering how much more James handles the ball than Jordan did.
Not only that, but we all know James’ 6.9 assists per game trumps Jordan’s 5.3.
2. Surrounding Talent
Let’s get down to the real issue surrounding these 2015 NBA Finals: LeBron James has nobody who’s worth a lick to play with.
With Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving gone, James remarkably has this rag-tag squad two-games away from immortality.
His only two championships, which came in Miami with the Heat, came because he formed with two other superstars in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Despite how wrong it felt that LeBron “took his talents to South Beach,” that Heat team more closely resembled Jordan’s Bulls teams than what he’s working with now.
The 2015 and 2007 Cavs both portray groups that specifically showcase LeBron’s brilliance.
1. He’s On Track
LeBron James is currently 30-years old. For how much the media has gotten on him about his lack of championships and clutch play in the past, he’ll have three-NBA Championships should he finish off Curry and the Warriors.
When Michael Jordan won his third championship – in 1993 as he took out NBA MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns – he was exactly 30-years old.
This means James will actually be further ahead than Jordan in terms of winning success by the time each hit the 30-year old mark. At this point in their careers, MJ was three for three in The Finals, while LeBron would be three for six (should he get the job done).
This is simply amazing to think about.
Regardless of who frowned at LeBron for leaving his city so inappropriately in 2010, nobody can deny his greatness.
Look up some of Jordan’s early days as he battled the Boston Celtics and the Bad Boys of Detroit. Try to remember those days when he struggled to get through the Eastern Conference as a burgeoning star.
It wasn’t until Pippen and Jackson arrived – and the Bad Boys and Larry Bird dwindled – that Jordan climbed that mountaintop.
The end result is quite simple for why most believe LeBron cannot touch MJ.
Jordan’s greatest gift was “capturing that moment” on the biggest of stages, while LeBron has suffered through a couple of bad moments on the biggest stage.
If only LeBron didn’t have to deal with Social Media pressure and had captured a few more moments along the way, this conversation between he and Jordan would become much more of a reality.
For now, though, he’ll have to keep working hard until the day of legitimate “greatest of all-time” talk starts to come.
wrong all wrong
1. Lebron is 2-4 in the finals while Jordan is 6-0
2. 2007 Cavs faced two teams that had a 41-41 record then beat a Pistons team with no Ben Wallace or their old HOF coach. Then Lebron got outscored by Tony Parker in the finals.
D Wade - Lead his team and Won a championship and finals MVP before teaming up with Lebron
Bosh - had his best seasons and was a franchise player.
3. Jordan shut down Isiah Thomas, Clyde Drexler, Reggie Miller, Kevin Johnson, John Stockton. Lebron cant even lockdown SF`s like Durant or Melo, he doesnt have that mentality. Also Lebron plays in a system where it evolves around him making a pass, Jordan played in a system where everyone was making passes. Jordan would average 6-7 apg easy if he played in a system Lebron does.
4. Lebron assist numbers would drop if he played in the triangle because the triangle offense involves everyone being a play maker while Lebron`s system is all about him making a pass to open 3 point shooters
5. Lebron`s best defense came in 2013 where he helped put Tony Parker on 44% shooting and Parker STILL hit clutch shots in his face. Jordan won DOPY at the guard position, Lebron is at the foward position and cant lock down the perimeter or the paint
BONUS:
Lebron plays in the weakest Basketball era since the 60`s. Jordan played against better defenses and better rim protectors than Lebron will ever play in his entire life.