“Winning six championships is an elusive thing out there, and they haven’t won two yet,” Jackson said. “But he’s kinda got the smell of it and even the Olympic experience this summer, he was the granted leader of that team and was the critical player when they needed something to happen in the final games. I think he’s there. I think he’s at that position. He’s got good things ahead of him, and a lot of it depends upon if he’s gonna be healthy for the remainder of his career.
- Phil Jackson (via USA Today)
What are your thoughts on the debate? Kenny Smith made a very good point, Jordan never have a teammate that would demand a double team.
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Lol at Jordan never having another player on his team that didn’t demand a double team. He played with first ballot hall of famers… C’mon son.
All I have to say, LeBron is bigger, faster, and stronger than Jordan. And can play/defend any position. Can’t say that about MJ.
If you talk rings, bill russels got 11.
wtf does bigger, faster and stronger mean? so now we judgin the best on DNA.. u base the shit on skill, clutch, intelligence.. shit like that, with that being said Lebron has no chance in hell of ever being in the same talks as Kobe and MJ.. its just that Kobe about to retire and now the league needs another guy to hang their hat on.. simple and plain
no no no, Jordan MADE a first ballot hall of famer and already had 3 rings by the time Rodman got to the team. LeBron killed his entire argument about being better than Jordan when he joined Wade and Bosh. Kobe also did the same thing by playing with a myriad of bondafide superstars to get rings. over the course of his career. Jordan played in a league where hand checking and pushing off was allowed which made the game totally different. I’m glad I had the opportunity to see Jordan play games (during his prime) as a teenager and I get to watch LeBron now that I’m an adult. Jordan is definitely a better player than LeBron.
But I hate comparing. What I like to say is LeBron is LeBron and Jordan Is Jordan. There’s no one else like them.
THANK YOU KENNY THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER MJ EVEN IF KOBE GETS 7 AND LEBROM GETS 10 MIKE WILL ALWAYS BE #1 NO STAR FEATURES EVER STOP IT ALREADY
just stop
PEOPLE MICHAEL JORDAN HAD ONE OF THE 50 GREATEST PLAYERS PLAYING ALONG SIDE HIM SCOTTIE PIPPEN WHO WAS THERE WHEN MIKE WON ALL 6 OF HIS CHIPS HE HAD CLUTCH SHOOTERS TONI KUKOC STEVE KERR AND BJ ARMSTRONG
WHO DID LEBRON HAVE IN THOSE 7 YEARS IN CLEVLAND ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? i hope you’re playing.. Kukoc? Pippen? Kerr? BJ? which one of those guys needed a double team? which one of those guys could create offense on their own? in that case Bron had Mo williams, i would think he’s more valuable than Kerr or BJ.. Lebron had Antwan Jamison.. legit pf/sf with Range..Zydrunas who is a legit 7 ft shooter and passer.. this comment is 2 easy
WHAT IF WE SWITCH PLACES WE TAKE MICHAEL JORDAN AND PUT HIM ON THE CLEVLAND CAVS FROM 2003 TO 2010 NBA SEASONS AND LETS SEE HOW MANY CHIPS MIKE JORDAN WINS THEN WITH NO TEAM NO HELP
AND TAKE LEBRON AND PUT HIM ON THE BULLS FROM 1990 TO 1998 AND LETS SEE HOW MANY CHIPS LEBRON WINS WITH THE SUPPORTING CAST THAT MICHAEL JORDAN HAD
please see above comment.. this makes no sense
MJ had scottie pippen a top 50 player ALL TIME and rodman one of the best rebounders and defenders of ALL time
lebron had gibson and west lol
Scottie was nice, but hey, michael made the bulls. he litterally made the bulls. ask the homie wade if lebron made the heat.
Wade held the Heat down, but Shaq made the Heat.
6× NBA champion (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)
6× NBA Finals MVP (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
5× NBA Most Valuable Player (1988, 1991–1992, 1996, 1998)
14× NBA All-Star (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002–2003)
3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998)
NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988)
NBA Rookie of the Year (1985)
10× NBA scoring champion (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
3× NBA steals champion (1988, 1990, 1993)
10× All-NBA First Team (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
All-NBA Second Team (1985)
9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1988–1993, 1996–1998)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1985)
2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1987–1988)
NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
bron has to get all that plus 1 more. nuff said
Kenny makes a good point about the double team BUT…..is he forgetting that Lebron played 7 years in Cleveland with a team that was 10 times WORST than the bulls? i feel like a body of work can’t be overlooked just because he’s on the Heat for the last two years.
You have too be insane to think any1 is on JORDAN level first before you compare any1 you have too compare the era JORDAN played in a era and dominated when the game was dominated by the BIG man NOW IT’S FULL OF OVERSEAS PLAYER’S THAT HAS ZERO DEFENSE AND ZONE DEFENSE. AND THEY FINING THEM FOR FLIPPING plus too jwade who mentioned scottie pippen as a 50 greatest player you wouldn’t know pippen if it wasn’t for JORDAN
Kenny Smith schooled them fools!
Let Jordan Alone! GOAT! Period!
You guys naming scottie lets me know 2 things you are very young or didn’t watch NBA back then Scottish pippen did not make JORDAN let’s make that clear pippen should not have been 50 greatest to begin with . JORDAN was putting up 50 and 60 pts before Scottish even came in the NBA . PiPPEN never had his own team even when Jordan left he showed you he wasn’t the man. Go pull his stats and compare them to dominique who also was a small forward and had his own team but didn’t make top 50 and tell me who was better scottie or dominique wilkins
Kenny’s point was that Jordan had to carry the load offensively for his whole career and play great defense, hit clutch shots etc etc……Pippen was a great player but never demanded a double team cause his strength was not scoring….His strength was defense…..Lebron may have the edge physically but Jordan has a huge edge in skill and mental toughness…..Jordan NEVER checked out of a game or backed down to any player/team……I say don’t compare the two……Jordan played his best when the game was on the line or in pressure situations….Lebron is just now learning to do that but in no way has he gotten close to Jordans level…….I’m a big Lebron fan and love his game….No need to compare him to the GOAT
Lebron took a scrub ass team in cleveland to the finals. What team did Jordan lead to the finals? Not a scrub one i’ll tell you that. Jordan had a hall of fame coach and players with him. Remember that Jordan needed help getting passed the Pistons. He didnt do it all himself.
This pedistal that people put MJ on is a bit ludicrous. Like your telling me that NOBODY can surpass him? fuck outta here. Lebron is just as smart if not smarter than MJ on a basketball level. Hes way more physically talented than MJ was. Real talk if you dont see those things then your ignorant. MJ was great but that doesnt make him untouchable. He had his flaws just like everyone else. Theres an emotional attatchment to what MJ did in this league but that was 15 years ago people. Time to give it up.
The reason the bulls weren’t scrubs is because he was on the team. Let’s talk about 2011 when the Heat were favored to sweep the Mavs. The got they ass whooped and LeBron scored 4 points in 4 straight 4th quarters. MJ would never do some bum shit like that. He never lost in the finals/.
Smarter the MJ? What are you smoking? When Jordan started to lose a step he retooled his game to stay on top. He didn’t rely on god given talent. LeBron is a physical beast but when he starts to lose a step and the spring in his jump is gone we’ll see how great he truly is.
yea ur silly..ur basically calling Allen Iverson the greatest of all time!! he’s the only one who carried his team right 2 the finals with no help whatsoever.. think about it
And as far as Kobe being on the same level as Jordan thats false. Nobody thinks that Kobes greater than MJ nor is he even on the same island as him. Lebron has always been the topic of convo when talking who can be better than MJ. For whatever reason they never really talk about Kobe and MJ. Maybe its cuz Kobes too hungry to surpass MJ and Lebrons just doing him. idk.
People always say that Kobe is the closest thing we have had to MJ.
im starting to think this guy doesnt even watch basketball smh
kobe shouldn’t even be put in this category, nigga got his first 3 rings cuz of Shaq. Who was Finals MVP the first 3 rings??? Shaq!!!!! Jordan got 6 rings and 6 Finals MVP, so far Lebron got 1 and 1.
So in my eyes kobe got 2 rings, he just got extra like Derek Fisher and Robert Horry got their rings, just by being part of the team.
Kobe’s stats during the three peat run:
2000: 28 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.5 apg
2001: 25 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.5 apg
2002: 30 ppg, 6 rpg, 6 apg
You act like Kobe was just sitting on the bench. Shut the fuck up and get your facts straight. Kobe was putting in work. Kobe is the second greates shooting guard EVER. And he’ll go down as a top 10 player of all time.
all those stats but who was the MVP of the finals all three times….. shaq! Kobe gets an asteric next to his name to you consider him the second greatest shooting guard ever. thats questionable
The only people who think LeBron is better than Jordan either never saw Jordan play, played in Jordan’s shadow, or couldn’t succeed because Jordan was in their way. Jordan played in the golden era. He had to go through Bird, the bad boys, magic, barkley, gary payton, Clyde Drexler, Shaq in Orlando, Karl Malone, and john stockton. Look at all those hall of famers I just listed. Shit is crazy. Then he made Pippen into a hall of famer. Plus hand checking and physical play were not only legal , they were encouraged.
Who did LeBron have to go through? An injured Bulls team? A old Celtics squad? Plus there’s no handchecking allowed in basketball and if you breathe on LeBron he’s taking free throws. He had great teams in Cleveland and couldn’t get over the hump so he tucked his tail in between his legs and ran to south beach. Put this Heat team in the Jordan era and they don’t even get out of the first round.
LeBron is good and will go down as one of the greats. But drop the Jordan comparisons. They don’t belong in the same sentence, the same page, the same book, or even the same damn library. Dead that shit.
jordan is one of the greatest no fucking doubt about dat but keep in mind b4 pippen and coach jackson mj never got out da first round but wen mj retired to play baseball pippen was one game away from da eastren finals even tho pippen was a bitch on game 5 for not going enterin da game cus da play wasnt for him smh
bigger stronger faster lmaoo ill name you 50 guys that are bigger stronger and faster then mj that doesn’t mean their better then him. But dw the medias especially espn is gonna try their best to make bron look good, he ONLY has 3 of the top 10 players on his team.
and your telling me Scottie and Rodman werent part of the top ten players in the 90′s playing with jordan? lol
NOBODY IS UNTOUCHABLE! JORDAN IS NOT GONNA BE THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME 15 YEARS FROM NOW. ITS A GENERATIONAL THING. ONCE ALL THE PEOPLE WHO SAY JORDAN PLAY FADE AWAY, THE PEOPLE WHO SAW LEBRON PLAY WILL SAY HE IS THE GREATEST. AND SO ON.
that being said, Lebron is great and he makes his team better as did Jordan. And to the guy that said Lebron hasnt improved his game over the years… well as of the last two years he has improved his post presence, shot more efficiently, worked on his free throws, and is now working on that hook shot. All of that while he hasnt “lost a astep” as you liked to phrase it. Jordan waited to change his game till he HAD to change it. Lebrons changing it because he can and wants to be better all around now so when he HAS to use it it will already have been worked on. Thats SMARTER.
@Prestigious
“He had great teams in Cleveland and couldn’t get over the hump so he tucked his tail in between his legs and ran to south beach. Put this Heat team in the Jordan era and they don’t even get out of the first round.”
That whole statement is the most ignorant shit i have ever read. Just stop, no need to speak anymore after this.
-Back to back 60 win seasons is garbage?
- LeBron did run to south beach after failing in cleveland
- Miami wouldn’t get out of the first round in the 90s
Those are facts. I’m done arguing with a dude who obviously knows nothing about basketball. I should have known better when I saw that heat logo as your pic. Shit ain’t worth it.
@Prestigious
-Back to back 60 win seasons is garbage?
- LeBron did run to south beach after failing in cleveland
- Miami wouldn’t get out of the first round in the 90s
first one isn’t a fact, thats a question.. and no thats no garbage.
second one, Lebron tried to recruit bosh to celeveland as well aware but they declined… who the fuck wants to play for that shitty organization?
third one, Miami would be a great team as contracted now in the 90′s. You talk about Wade, Bosh, and Lebron as hall of famers but then say that they won’t get passed the first round in the 90′s? get the fuck outta here. It would have been the Bulls v Heat ECF for years.
Just because I’ve been a heat fan all my life and have it as my profile pic doesn’t make me un educated in basketball.
this @prestigious dude is really going hard lol
but i love the convo even taking place with legends. nobody talking bout kobe at all. all those rings u got kobe, scoring 81 in a single game. all that shit is meaningless cuz everybody believes its
jordan
lebron
kobe and thats great fuck kobe no matter how many rings he gets we all know he aint fucking wit mike or lebron.
lebron got 1 ring and they have a convo about mj, kobe got 5 and nobody cares
Simple as this. And why this argument gets irrelevent in the end.
Jordan. Played in the era of defensiveness. But who really gave him competition as a SG.? He was famous for being dirty, hand checking, and doing the elbow hook spin move. You can even see him push the Utah Jazz player for his last shot of that season. And tell me, where was the talks from 1985-1990 of Jordan being so great? BUT you cant take away from his titles, work ethic, and skills. Great player, but you can’t put someone so high on a pedestal forever.
Kobe. Molded his game from Jordan, along with many other legends. Always played with a tough big man. Took him less amount of time to get rings. Now his stats arent as good as Jordans, but they arent far. I dont think ANYONE could argue that Kobe is the modern day Jordan. You can see that even as Father Time is approaching, he’s adjusted his game, especially with his footwork. In the draft that Kobe was in or near his draft time, the only players talked about are KG, Ray Allen, Nash and Pierce. Kobe is in his own league separated from them. He also has 5 rings and is still an offensive threat. And not to forget, Kobe is the ONLY player out of these talks to play thru injuries within the season. Broken Nose, Broken/No Ligaments in Wrist, Bad Knees, Broken Fingers, and this is only in the last 4 seasons.
Lebron. He has a beast’s body, with the speed of a PG, and can play against the best of them. But remember, it took him 7 years to get his title, with having a supertime ( at the time ). Now dont get me wrong, The Lakers are a monster team on paper as well. I can’t take much away from him on that. But we have atleast 6 years to witness him grow and develop. He’s only improving thru the seasons, with points, assists, defensive awareness, you name it. Still, has a long way to go.
P.S. County Of Kings. You must not know basketball at all to say something as hideous as that rant you went on about Kobe. Stick to your ESPN highlights and Youtube Videos. Your opinion is truly irrelevent.
my dude we can see who really knows they stats if u really wanna do this to yourself. dont make me start pulling kobe stats on the lack of success he had when he had his own team, wit no shaq or gasol.
niggas wanna talk that talk. shaq led lakers to 3peat, then they went to finals wit malone and payton and lost. after that everybody left kobe alone including phil jackson.
so what did kobe do wit his 1 man team? cuz when lebron was a 1man team he went to the FINALS, got swept yes, but atleast he made it somewhere. kobe had 3yrs in between having the BEST CENTER IN THE LEAGUE, and THE BEST PF IN THE LEAGUE. in those 3 yrs, 1st yr didnt make playoffs 04-05, 2nd and 3rd yr bumped in 1st rd by steve nash. he couldnt even get out of the 1st rd witout all star talent. thats is not jordan level, that is not lebron level.
so dont tell me what u do when u have the best position player in the league, (cuz that was gasol at the time of the trade) on your team, tell me what u do when u have nobody on your team. cuz again lebron went to finals wit no allstar talent. and now that he plays wit another great player he’s not nice, but kobe could get shaq, gasol, artest who kinda fell off these days, now get dwight and nash? foh
@WhatTheHeck
What are you talking about? Kenny hit the nail on the coffin……Jordan played with one hall of farmer in Pippen and he still didn’t get double team!!!!! LeBron is playing with two of the top 10 players, two future hall of famers and a player in Wade who already won a ring!!! Not only did Wade win a ring but he put on the best finals performance from a shooting guard since MJ ’93 finals run. And while Kobe did play with Shaq who was constantly double teamed he went to three straight finals and won two with Lamar, Gasol and a injured Bynum??????
ThaT’s just stupid thinking that LBJ won’t pass Mike. Talking about hand checking etc. U see you guys don’t understand shit about basketball. Do you forget Illegal defense? Imma com again ILLEGAL DEFENSE you remember back in the days if a defense tends to become a zone the would call that because the defense always has to stay man 2 man defense. That’s why in those highlights you watch countless time of MJ the double team is always late because it starts as man 2 man then when Jordan blows bye then the double team may come having said that. Who ‘s going to stop MJ 1 on 1? HAVINGS said that who is smarter LBJ or MJ? and the point about Pippen. You mean 2 say that Wade is a better player then Pippen? and he haid Shaq payton antwon walker jason williams alonzo mornig when he won all thos championships – Get the fuck outta here with that nonsense. LBJ wil pass MJ and that’s a fact sit back and enjoy the Ride Haters!!!!!
Let’s be real here fellas… Lebron will never even sniff Jordan’s jock strap.
so becuz lebron gets his FIRST ring niggas over looking kobe?…smh no respect….and kenny better chill i guess he forgot jordan was 1-9 in playoffs, swept twice before pippen
Kobe the greatest ever niggas forget what he did late n early 2000′s
*late 90′s
LOL at this argument. First off Kenny need to sit down. MJ couldn’t even make it past the Pistons without help. People love bringing up the fact that Jordan is 6-0 in the finals forgetting to mention that nigga couldn’t even make it TO the finals without Pippen and those boys. LeBron made it pretty much by himself when he was in Cleveland.
I in no way consider LeBron on Jordan’s level, and unless LeBron wins like 8 rings I don’t think I ever will. BUT, I hate how Jordan is seen as some superhuman basketball player that won by himself. He was great, no doubt about it….maybe the best we’ve ever seen, but he was not alone. He had TWO Hall of Famers on his team and a bunch of other skilled secondary players.
well said keepin it funky cause thats the same way wade got his first ring too SHAQQQQ and 2nd BRONNNNNNN
kobe kobe kobe kobe kobe kobe 6
Jordan has nicerr kixx,, enuff said aha