Rodman: Lebron would be just an average player in Jordan's era

[NocturnalRebel]

I only wish he did play in tha era just to see how he would fair against Jordan. He probably had tha most mental strength of any player in his time and he was notorious for breaking players down. Jordan had a tongue like no other and would trash talk you to death. He would make you play him and still score on you.

If he were to play in tha Jordan era I don't know if he'll have tha same effect as he does today because 1 - tha game was much more physical. What's being called "flagrants" today were personal fouls back then. There was a point in time where fights broke out and everyone could continue playing and i'm not sure if LeBron is mentally tough enough to handle what that era would throw at him every game. Despite his "greatness" he can still be broken down. Look at tha Chicago game that ended their streak. Look at how Kobe was playing him at tha All Star Game. 2 - everyone was pretty much true to size. There were real true centers (that would actually pack tha paint) and forwards. LeBron would be going against much bigger and tougher players and it wouldn't be so easy for him to bulldoze his way through to tha paint. LeBron isn't as super human as advertised and it would really show in tha Jordan era.


We'll never know how LeBron will fair in tha 80s and 90s vs now. I think by what we see of him in this today's NBA some think he'll still be dominant. But you have to look at both tha Jordan era and today's. Today's NBA is much softer than it was in tha 80s and 90s so it's easy for LeBron to dominate as many games as he does on a consistent basis. I'm not denying LeBron's talent but there's only a select few of players and teams today that will get physical with LeBron and tha Heat vs more than a handful of them from tha 80s and 90s that will. His job would be harder against tha likes of Rodman, Barkley, Bird, Mchale, Pippen, Oakley, Wilkins, etc. Again, I'm not denying LeBron's talent but Rodman may be right.

[CelticConcourse]

Can't tell if this is just romanticizing the past or what.

[LilRip]

Let's not get carried away. Lebron would still be an all-star and MVP candidate. If the game gets more physical, i don't think Lebron would shrink away. He'll adapt.

imo, it's Wade who would look average. With hand-checking back in the game, and players being allowed to play more physical, he'd get less calls and his drives would be less effective. He'll be a good player but i don't know if he'll be an all-star. He'll also likely be even more injury prone.

[syfy9]

Let's not get carried away. Lebron would still be an all-star and MVP candidate. If the game gets more physical, i don't think Lebron would shrink away. He'll adapt.

imo, it's Wade who would look average. With hand-checking back in the game, and players being allowed to play more physical, he'd get less calls and his drives would be less effective. He'll be a good player but i don't know if he'll be an all-star. He'll also likely be even more injury prone.

Wade is one of the best slashers this game has ever seen. He might've seen a slight decrease, but his speed and creativity is what will give him the upper hand against any players in any given era.

He'd be an all-star for sure, imo. Hall of Famer, I dunno.

[LilRip]

Let's not get carried away. Lebron would still be an all-star and MVP candidate. If the game gets more physical, i don't think Lebron would shrink away. He'll adapt.

imo, it's Wade who would look average. With hand-checking back in the game, and players being allowed to play more physical, he'd get less calls and his drives would be less effective. He'll be a good player but i don't know if he'll be an all-star. He'll also likely be even more injury prone.

Wade is one of the best slashers this game has ever seen. He might've seen a slight decrease, but his speed and creativity is what will give him the upper hand against any players in any given era.

He'd be an all-star for sure, imo. Hall of Famer, I dunno.

he has a great handle, but the removal of hand checking is what really helped his game. you put that back in and defenders can steer him better and push him off his spot. plus, wade gets a lot of points from the FT line, which will take a hit imo. a good player, definitely starter-quality, but probably not an all-star.

[Celtics17]

Lebron is great in any era. That being said, if there ever was a player who could make him look closer to average then it would be Ro[dang]. It's a given that Rodman is a nut but it should be equally a given that he was possibly the best non-center defender of the last 20 years and he is undooubtedly the best rebounder of the last 20 or so.

[eugen]

If Lebron would NBA an average player? How about Rodman?

[JBcat]

In the 80s they weren't as many very good defensive small forwards it seems.  You have several guys that could score very well like English, Aguire, King, Wilkins, Dantley, Worthy, Mullin, and of course Bird.  Lebron wouldn't have a problem putting his numbers up on any of them.  The bad boys and Dennis Rodman himself could probably slow him down some.  Going into the 90s it seemed like there were more defensive small forwards with guys like Mckey, Hill before his injuries, Schempf, Elliot, Horry, with Pippen leading the way.  You had some big scorers too like Glen Robinson, Rice, and Mashburn.  He might have been slowed down a little but not much at all in my mind.