I don't care what LeBron finishes with, whether it's his 3 or passes Jordan with 7, I can't see how he's held in the same regard as MJ.
Jordan played 3 years in college (where he won a championship), retired at the top of his game athletically, and then again after winning MVP and Finals MVP.
LeBron is clearly one of the greatest ever. Top 10 for sure and when all is said and done, he's in the top 5 (somewhere with Bird/Magic). But for all his accolades, he's no MJ. The 6/6 in the Finals, the countless big shots, and his cultural significance makes his the best that ever played the game. he changed the game and the way kids who watched him played. We all practiced his moves. What can kids practice now, flopping and whining?
LeBron's great. Nobody is denying that. But Jordan is still the GOAT.
You also bring up a great point regarding their basketball character. I'm generally opposed to making a blanket statement that a certain pro athlete or celebrity is a great person, because none of us knows these people. Both James and Jordan could have been amazing people off the court, or the complete opposite could be true, but we'll never know.
However, on the court and/or in the context of basketball activities, there are a lot of things about James that I can't stand. I think one major factor in who he's become as a player, teammate and de facto coach/GM is how coddled he's been by everyone since he was a sophomore in high school. SI covers, $100 million Nike deals, no one ever telling him no, the Cavs front office doing everything possible to keep him happy, etc - he never really had to overcome or earn anything in his basketball career. I realize he eventually had to perform in the playoffs, but all of the fame and money was already in his back pocket before he really did anything to substantiate it. With that in mind, I think he's had an extremely distorted view of reality for much of his career.
When the Cavs lost to Orlando in the ECF in '09 and he left the court without shaking hands, his excuse was that he's too much of a competitor to stay and shake hands. Whether in football or basketball, you see future hall of famers stay on the field/court to congratulate the opponent even after a heartbreaking defeat, but apparently LeBron is more competitive than all of those people. Again, entitled and immature.
I fully realize the refs catered to MJ for much of his career. Not only does James get at least as much preferential treatment, but what frustrates me most about that is that his teammates have gotten it as well for the vast majority of his career. And as I alluded to in the previous paragraph, I don't think he even has any idea that he or his teammates has ever received preferential treatment from the refs. He grew up with that in his NBA career, so play or game where he doesn't get his way, he whines about it. And for James to ever whine about the officiating, to me, is absurd.
James also has a habit of complaining about his career and how things are so hard for him. There are billions of people in this world that would give anything to live one day with that much money and fame, let alone 12+ years. He's lived an unbelievably charmed life, and to complain about it is ridiculous.
It also completely baffles me how quickly and easily the Cavs fans embraced his return. His marketing team wrote a powerful letter to Sports Illustrated, so all is well? He was completely reviled throughout Ohio when he left, and now he's absolutely adored again. That alone made me lose any respect I had for that fan base. If I knew for a fact that the Wizards would beat the Cavs and we wouldn't in the ECF, I'd rather us lose to the Wizards and have the Cavs get knocked out than for us to advance and lose to the Cavs.
Much of what Dan Gilbert said about James when he initially left was, and still is, true. He's been a self-entitled spoiled brat for much of his career, and never won anything until he had Wade and Bosh by his side. He was impressive in the Finals last year, but I don't think Cleveland wins Game 7 without Irving's shot (no way James takes or makes that shot, by the way), and I don't think Cleveland even gets it to six games - let alone wins the series - if Draymond Green isn't suspended for Game 5. Just some food for thought: any chance Draymond Green gets suspended for Game 5 if the Warriors are playing Toronto instead of Cleveland? I doubt it. The league wanted to keep LeBron's team alive as long as possible.
One thing people gloss over way too easily is that during his first stint in Cleveland, those same role players that LeBron (and the media) indirectly blasted every chance he got regularly carried that team. James would disappear for long stretches with the game on the line, and someone like Donyell Marshall, Ilgauskas, Boobie Gibson, Mo Williams, Varejao or Sasha Pavlovic would come up huge. Then LeBron would just take all the credit and/or complain that he needed more help.
I'll also never forget his on-court interview after hitting that amazing game-winner in Game 2 of the ECF against Orlando in 2009. He said in the interview that he made a great shot. I've never heard a star player praise himself like that in such a situation. The usual protocol is to deflect the praise to your teammates there or talk about how great of a win it was.
For much of his career, he's also routinely referred to his teammates as his "supporting cast," which has always rubbed me the wrong way. We all know he is - and always has been - the star, but using that language implies that he's above everyone else. Most other star athletes would never say something like that.
None of this takes away from the athletic freak that he is or that he's at the very least a top 10 player of all time, but I felt like this was a good thread to discuss these things.
Topic: LeBron will likely pass Jordan this playoffs (Read 23164 times)