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I think it's more than fair to look at them at their respective ages .... remembering what college basketball was like back when jordan played (the NBA wasn't a fraction of what it was today) and more specifically to those UNC teams .... very important in development
He played with James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Matt Doherty, Brad Dougherty, Kenny Smith .... Coaches of Dean Smith, Bill Guthridge, Eddie Fogler & Roy Williams
In total 15 guys who played on those Jordan UNC teams were drafted into the NBA and they played real, seasoned competition of other top level talent
It's tough enough to compare throughout eras - even harder when looking at the end of one career and the early part of anothers
Think back to 26 year old jordan, very aggressive to the rim - solid midrange shot, but no deep range, tons of free throws taken .... just a different era and style of game
At this age there are things that jordan did better, things that lebron did better .... the league is a different landscape for both .... jordan played on more of an offensive team early in his career, where the cavs were more of a defensive team ... both players had things they needed to improve about their game while quickly ascending to the best player of their era
Who knows what lebrons game will look like in 5 years? - everyone knows how unstoppable jordan became with his back to the basket - lebron has that potential, but has never really been in that role
He's still in the early jordan (or better yet magic johnson) role of iso ball, creating offensive, controlling the ball, etc
I would love to see how his game would look creating mismatches on the mid post and as he ages I think that is where his game will invariably go
Will be an interesting discussion when his career is said and done though
I'll leave out all the stats for this arguement. Having watched MJ/Bryant/James for years, as it currently stands I'd have to take MJ to healm my team in a championship series. Jordan was a monster in all the big games. I think I saw one game where the Pistons shut him down, and that's about it. There have been many games Kobe seemed to have thrown in the towel. LeBron has had some bad games too but the poor kid had to much weight on his shoulder with that Cavs squad so he gets a pass. I can compare LeBron's stay with the Cavs much like Kevin Garnett's stay with the Timberwolves, no matter how great they played it just wasn't gonna be enough.
There are some games Bryant is either frustrated or who knows what and it has a terrible effect on his team. He's one of the best players of all time and his overall body of work to date far exceeds LeBron James. Right now though I feel LeBron is better than Kobe Bryant, but has a long way to go to surpass his total body of work.
LeBron James is an excellent team player and makes players better. The scariest thing about LJ is that like MJ, he's shown the ability to improve departments in which he is lacking (Kobe Bryant seemed to have a pretty fortified skill set from the beginning, very impressive). LeBron seems to be loved by his team mates and he has almost unlimited potential with his size, strength, speed, and constant refinement of his game. He seems to just keep getting better. That FG% he carries dwarfs Bryants as well. Overall Bryant, right now, James.
Old retired MJ... The reason I feel he's the best among these 3 is because in the 90's when I watched these games he was relentless. He wasn't loved as much by his teammates as James was, he was more respected by them, kinda like Bryant. The biggest issue the other teams seemed to have with him was that he was a complete pest of the nastiest form on both sides of the court for the entire game. He seemed to be immune to fatigue both mentally and physically, never let his teammates get complacent or lazy or he'd rip them apart. I know he made Kwame Brown and Horace Grant cry at 1 time by berating them, and he punched Steve Kerr in the face. LeBron James he is not in the niceness category. Guy had a serious addiction to competition and and proving he was better than you. Getting cut from his high school team struck a nerve that's for sure.
So stats aside I take them in this order for a 7 game series, Jordan-James-Bryant. Few years ago I'd take Bryant over James easy but not anymore. James proves himself more each game. And out of the 3 I think Bryants the biggest me first player by far.
Jordan - If you're gonna play with me, play to your full potential or get lost.
James - We can do this team, lean on me when it gets tough, I got your back.
Bryant - I'm carrying you guys and you're holding me back.
Nope!
He is not better than MJ!
How many rings does he have? He had to leave his team and join with a superstar to try and get his first ring. If you think he is better than MJ, please save that opinion for at least 8 years. If Jordan hadn't been devastated by his Fathers murder, he would most likely have 8 instead of 6.
Your guy has a lot of catching up to do!
Simple as that.
If he can't win one in Miami, where will he go next?
Hollywood?
Championships is no indication of how great a player is. No player has ever won a championship in the history of basketball or any other team sport. Teams win championships, not players.
Only time will tell. Lebron spent 8 years not having a great team built around him.Its possible that with the heat team he may look even better than before.
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. Shall we end this pointless BS, or do you have more to say?
