Anything disturbing in those pictures?

[wiley]

Lebron is a monster.  I agree.  Great transcendent player.  But, while number of titles does not
tell the whole story, titles are hard to come by and Jordan has 6.

I can't help thinking about the Spurs blowing a 5 point lead with so little time and Miami hitting two threes off rebounds to take game 6.  In other words I can't help thinking Lebron should have only 1 title so far.  (Probably not a fair statement in the big picture.)

This discussion gets more interesting imo when Lebron gets up to 4 titles...

[D.o.s.]

Another thing that I'd add here is that Jordan and LeBron are fundamentally different players, so the comparison falters somewhat (although obviously James has been the best player the NBA has seen since Jordan), which is why Kobe/MJ remains a much more legitimate comparison.

Pressed for time here, but does anyone have any thoughts/insights into how LeBron compares to someone like Magic or Bird?

[CapnDunks]

I think it's really naive to think that PED's aren't all over every professional sport. It is what it is. They make a huge difference recovering from injuries. Three tests a year. Do you think players never get wind of when they're going to be tested? I'm not saying everyone's cycling steroids constantly, but there are millions of dollars at stake.

[Monkhouse]

Another thing that I'd add here is that Jordan and LeBron are fundamentally different players, so the comparison falters somewhat (although obviously James has been the best player the NBA has seen since Jordan), which is why Kobe/MJ remains a much more legitimate comparison.

Pressed for time here, but does anyone have any thoughts/insights into how LeBron compares to someone like Magic or Bird?

Love your Magic Johnson gif lol.

To answer your question, I think Lebron shares similarities to Magic and Oscar Roberston

[D.o.s.]

I think it's really naive to think that PED's aren't all over every professional sport. It is what it is. They make a huge difference recovering from injuries. Three tests a year. Do you think players never get wind of when they're going to be tested? I'm not saying everyone's cycling steroids constantly, but there are millions of dollars at stake.

Correct, but it seems like a waste of time to harp on it before they get caught, particularly if you're of the opinion that most of the league uses them somewhat frequently.

[Celtics4ever]

Didn't Derek Rose say the problem is a  7 out of 10 in the NBA.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Derrick-Rose-and-the-NBA-8217-s-apparent-8216?urn=nba-wp3662

The league is finally testing, so we shall see, but everyone had advance notice and had time to get clean, hence so many transformations.

[LarBrd33]

Another thing that I'd add here is that Jordan and LeBron are fundamentally different players, so the comparison falters somewhat (although obviously James has been the best player the NBA has seen since Jordan), which is why Kobe/MJ remains a much more legitimate comparison.

Pressed for time here, but does anyone have any thoughts/insights into how LeBron compares to someone like Magic or Bird?

Traditionally, size matters in this league.  Bigger players seem to make more of an impact.  LeBron is like a hybrid of Karl Malone, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.  You put him on any team in the league, and they are a playoff team.  An elite offensive and defensive player who dominates most games he plays. 

I don't blame anyone for getting sensitive towards comparing LeBron to Jordan.  Jordan is sacred.  But it's interesting that Jordan never had success without Pippen.  Pippen is a top 50 player of all time.  He mattered.  He made the all-defensive team 10 times.  He was All-NBA 7 times.  The Bulls were a below .500 team for JOrdan's first three years.  Pippen shows up and they win 50.   After Jordan's first retirement, Pippen lead the Bulls to 55 wins.  Dude doesn't get enough credit.   He spends a year on a Rockets playoff team.   The next 4 years he's a key part of 50-59 win Trailblazer contender.   Jordan's post Bulls years involved him leading a 37 win Wizard team.  But I realize that's unfair to Jordan to bring up those Wizards years...

So let's talk about someone less sacred.   Kobe is basically a poor man's Jordan.   Like Jordan, Kobe couldn't get it done on his own.     Without either Shaq or Pau, Kobe lead the Lakers to 34 wins.   Shaq made the Finals with Orlando and won a title in Miami.   Pau lead a 50 win Memphis team.  But Kobe with a weak supporting cast wins 34.   

LeBron, though... Stick LeBron with d-league talent and it probably wins 45 games.   He won 66 games with Mo WIlliams as his 2nd best player...  If there's any doubt that LeBron makes his teammates better, just look at Mo WIlliams that year.

[GC003332]

The Larry Bird Celtics never made the finals AGAIN without Greg Kite, that is a fact.
He was that big of a difference maker.

[celticsclay]

Another thing that I'd add here is that Jordan and LeBron are fundamentally different players, so the comparison falters somewhat (although obviously James has been the best player the NBA has seen since Jordan), which is why Kobe/MJ remains a much more legitimate comparison.

Pressed for time here, but does anyone have any thoughts/insights into how LeBron compares to someone like Magic or Bird?

Traditionally, size matters in this league.  Bigger players seem to make more of an impact.  LeBron is like a hybrid of Karl Malone, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.  You put him on any team in the league, and they are a playoff team.  An elite offensive and defensive player who dominates most games he plays. 

I don't blame anyone for getting sensitive towards comparing LeBron to Jordan.  Jordan is sacred.  But it's interesting that Jordan never had success without Pippen.  Pippen is a top 50 player of all time.  He mattered.  He made the all-defensive team 10 times.  He was All-NBA 7 times.  The Bulls were a below .500 team for JOrdan's first three years.  Pippen shows up and they win 50.   After Jordan's first retirement, Pippen lead the Bulls to 55 wins.  Dude doesn't get enough credit.   He spends a year on a Rockets playoff team.   The next 4 years he's a key part of 50-59 win Trailblazer contender.   Jordan's post Bulls years involved him leading a 37 win Wizard team.  But I realize that's unfair to Jordan to bring up those Wizards years...

So let's talk about someone less sacred.   Kobe is basically a poor man's Jordan.   Like Jordan, Kobe couldn't get it done on his own.     Without either Shaq or Pau, Kobe lead the Lakers to 34 wins.   Shaq made the Finals with Orlando and won a title in Miami.   Pau lead a 50 win Memphis team.  But Kobe with a weak supporting cast wins 34.   

LeBron, though... Stick LeBron with d-league talent and it probably wins 45 games.   He won 66 games with Mo WIlliams as his 2nd best player...  If there's any doubt that LeBron makes his teammates better, just look at Mo WIlliams that year.

I feel pretty bad grimy offering any defense of Kobe, but the losing teams he has been on have been absolutely awful. The one in 2003-2004 I had to do a double take when looking at the roster. They had Carol Butler and Odom (Odom also missed 20 games). After that it is absurd. They were starting Chris Mihm, Chucky atkins and playing Jumaine Jones, brian cook, an aging brian grant, sasha vucevic and somebody named tierre brown as a backup. I don't think even in the bad Lebron years the team had that few NBA calibar players on the team. I can't find the other year he missed playoffs playing full time, but wasn't one of them starting smush parker and Kwame Brown?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004%E2%80%9305_Los_Angeles_Lakers_season

[Beat LA]

Another thing that I'd add here is that Jordan and LeBron are fundamentally different players, so the comparison falters somewhat (although obviously James has been the best player the NBA has seen since Jordan), which is why Kobe/MJ remains a much more legitimate comparison.

Pressed for time here, but does anyone have any thoughts/insights into how LeBron compares to someone like Magic or Bird?

Traditionally, size matters in this league.  Bigger players seem to make more of an impact.  LeBron is like a hybrid of Karl Malone, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.  You put him on any team in the league, and they are a playoff team.  An elite offensive and defensive player who dominates most games he plays. 

I don't blame anyone for getting sensitive towards comparing LeBron to Jordan. Jordan is sacred.  But it's interesting that Jordan never had success without Pippen.  Pippen is a top 50 player of all time.  He mattered.  He made the all-defensive team 10 times.  He was All-NBA 7 times.  The Bulls were a below .500 team for JOrdan's first three years.  Pippen shows up and they win 50.   After Jordan's first retirement, Pippen lead the Bulls to 55 wins.  Dude doesn't get enough credit.   He spends a year on a Rockets playoff team.   The next 4 years he's a key part of 50-59 win Trailblazer contender.   Jordan's post Bulls years involved him leading a 37 win Wizard team.  But I realize that's unfair to Jordan to bring up those Wizards years...

So let's talk about someone less sacred.   Kobe is basically a poor man's Jordan.   Like Jordan, Kobe couldn't get it done on his own.     Without either Shaq or Pau, Kobe lead the Lakers to 34 wins.   Shaq made the Finals with Orlando and won a title in Miami.   Pau lead a 50 win Memphis team.  But Kobe with a weak supporting cast wins 34.   

LeBron, though... Stick LeBron with d-league talent and it probably wins 45 games.   He won 66 games with Mo WIlliams as his 2nd best player...  If there's any doubt that LeBron makes his teammates better, just look at Mo WIlliams that year.

Lol at Jordan being 'sacred' . Yeah, okay , and Pippen is not one of the 50 greatest players of all time.  Dominique Wilkins got snubbed from that list, as did Bob McAdoo, Bernard King, and Rodman, etc..  How did Pippen ever make it over Nique? *facepalm* Sorry, I just think the whole thing is ridiculous.

I do agree with your assessment of Jordan never winning without Pippen, except for one thing - Scottie never had that killer instinct, which is one of the top reasons why the 2000 Blazers lost to the Lakers in the WCF.  Pippen had the killer instinct, defensively, sure, but when the game was on the line he always seemed to settle for jumpers instead of posting up or taking it to the basket, and he was never a good shooter, so that only made his decision to stay out on the perimeter even worse.  He played with so much more confidence with Jordan, but not without him, imo, especially down the stretch.

That aside, both guys benefited from the triangle, especially Pippen, Grant, Cartwright, Paxson, Armstrong, etc., because without it, Jordan never passed any of them the ball.  Ever.  No matter how many players were guarding him.  Even more amazingly, it took MJ 4 YEARS to figure out that the Bulls needed many more contributions if they were ever going to beat the Pistons.  4 YEARS.  Wow, that's amazing, and it's almost as stunning as when the league changed the rules for him, made him god (which they really did from the first moment he stepped onto an NBA court), put his friends and butt sniffers on the sidelines during games after they switched from CBS to NBC, and had the refs in his back pocket.  The guy also played in a watered down era, as the expansion teams pretty much diluted the talent across the league, and most importantly, he never had a rival like Bird did with Magic, Dr. J, Isiah, Kareem, Moncrief, Bernard King, Dominique Wilkins, etc.  If anything, Jordan is the luckiest player of all time, but he's certainly not the greatest - not even close - and neither is Lebron.  Sorry.

[Beat LA]

Another thing that I'd add here is that Jordan and LeBron are fundamentally different players, so the comparison falters somewhat (although obviously James has been the best player the NBA has seen since Jordan), which is why Kobe/MJ remains a much more legitimate comparison.

Pressed for time here, but does anyone have any thoughts/insights into how LeBron compares to someone like Magic or Bird?

Traditionally, size matters in this league.  Bigger players seem to make more of an impact.  LeBron is like a hybrid of Karl Malone, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.  You put him on any team in the league, and they are a playoff team.  An elite offensive and defensive player who dominates most games he plays. 

I don't blame anyone for getting sensitive towards comparing LeBron to Jordan.  Jordan is sacred.  But it's interesting that Jordan never had success without Pippen.  Pippen is a top 50 player of all time.  He mattered.  He made the all-defensive team 10 times.  He was All-NBA 7 times.  The Bulls were a below .500 team for JOrdan's first three years.  Pippen shows up and they win 50.   After Jordan's first retirement, Pippen lead the Bulls to 55 wins.  Dude doesn't get enough credit.   He spends a year on a Rockets playoff team.   The next 4 years he's a key part of 50-59 win Trailblazer contender.   Jordan's post Bulls years involved him leading a 37 win Wizard team.  But I realize that's unfair to Jordan to bring up those Wizards years...

So let's talk about someone less sacred.   Kobe is basically a poor man's Jordan.   Like Jordan, Kobe couldn't get it done on his own.     Without either Shaq or Pau, Kobe lead the Lakers to 34 wins.   Shaq made the Finals with Orlando and won a title in Miami.   Pau lead a 50 win Memphis team.  But Kobe with a weak supporting cast wins 34.   

LeBron, though... Stick LeBron with d-league talent and it probably wins 45 games.   He won 66 games with Mo WIlliams as his 2nd best player...  If there's any doubt that LeBron makes his teammates better, just look at Mo WIlliams that year.

I feel pretty bad grimy offering any defense of Kobe, but the losing teams he has been on have been absolutely awful. The one in 2003-2004 I had to do a double take when looking at the roster. They had Carol Butler and Odom (Odom also missed 20 games). After that it is absurd. They were starting Chris Mihm, Chucky atkins and playing Jumaine Jones, brian cook, an aging brian grant, sasha vucevic and somebody named tierre brown as a backup. I don't think even in the bad Lebron years the team had that few NBA calibar players on the team. I can't find the other year he missed playoffs playing full time, but wasn't one of them starting smush parker and Kwame Brown?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004%E2%80%9305_Los_Angeles_Lakers_season

Lol .

[littleteapot]

I think based on LarBrd33's criteria, Kevin Garnett is arguably better than Michael Jordan.

[GratefulCs]

Another thing that I'd add here is that Jordan and LeBron are fundamentally different players, so the comparison falters somewhat (although obviously James has been the best player the NBA has seen since Jordan), which is why Kobe/MJ remains a much more legitimate comparison.

Pressed for time here, but does anyone have any thoughts/insights into how LeBron compares to someone like Magic or Bird?

i would argue that tim duncan has been the best player since jordan

[GratefulCs]

Another thing that I'd add here is that Jordan and LeBron are fundamentally different players, so the comparison falters somewhat (although obviously James has been the best player the NBA has seen since Jordan), which is why Kobe/MJ remains a much more legitimate comparison.

Pressed for time here, but does anyone have any thoughts/insights into how LeBron compares to someone like Magic or Bird?

Traditionally, size matters in this league.  Bigger players seem to make more of an impact.  LeBron is like a hybrid of Karl Malone, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.  You put him on any team in the league, and they are a playoff team.  An elite offensive and defensive player who dominates most games he plays. 

I don't blame anyone for getting sensitive towards comparing LeBron to Jordan.  Jordan is sacred.  But it's interesting that Jordan never had success without Pippen.  Pippen is a top 50 player of all time.  He mattered.  He made the all-defensive team 10 times.  He was All-NBA 7 times.  The Bulls were a below .500 team for JOrdan's first three years.  Pippen shows up and they win 50.   After Jordan's first retirement, Pippen lead the Bulls to 55 wins.  Dude doesn't get enough credit.   He spends a year on a Rockets playoff team.   The next 4 years he's a key part of 50-59 win Trailblazer contender.   Jordan's post Bulls years involved him leading a 37 win Wizard team.  But I realize that's unfair to Jordan to bring up those Wizards years...

So let's talk about someone less sacred.   Kobe is basically a poor man's Jordan.   Like Jordan, Kobe couldn't get it done on his own.     Without either Shaq or Pau, Kobe lead the Lakers to 34 wins.   Shaq made the Finals with Orlando and won a title in Miami.   Pau lead a 50 win Memphis team.  But Kobe with a weak supporting cast wins 34.   

LeBron, though... Stick LeBron with d-league talent and it probably wins 45 games.   He won 66 games with Mo WIlliams as his 2nd best player...  If there's any doubt that LeBron makes his teammates better, just look at Mo WIlliams that year.

I feel pretty bad grimy offering any defense of Kobe, but the losing teams he has been on have been absolutely awful. The one in 2003-2004 I had to do a double take when looking at the roster. They had Carol Butler and Odom (Odom also missed 20 games). After that it is absurd. They were starting Chris Mihm, Chucky atkins and playing Jumaine Jones, brian cook, an aging brian grant, sasha vucevic and somebody named tierre brown as a backup. I don't think even in the bad Lebron years the team had that few NBA calibar players on the team. I can't find the other year he missed playoffs playing full time, but wasn't one of them starting smush parker and Kwame Brown?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004%E2%80%9305_Los_Angeles_Lakers_season

Lol .

hey, carol butler was pretty good! She had a sweet stroke 

[LarBrd33]

I think based on LarBrd33's criteria, Kevin Garnett is arguably better than Michael Jordan.

no...  Though I think kg may have been better than Duncan when both were in their prime.