I'm sorry to ruin sports analysts' and commentators' fun, but let's put this LeBron James. vs. Michael Jordan debate to rest for the time being. Based on the two players' resumes, there's really no comparison to be made. While LeBron James has always been a very exciting player, who has improved from good to great status the past couple years, he's not even in the same ballpark (well, court) as Michael Jordan right now.
In the seven NBA seasons between 1990-91 and 1997-98, Michael Jordan led his Chicago Bulls to six championships, where he won the MVP Award in each. For his career, Jordan's Bulls were 6-0 in the NBA Finals.
LeBron James, meanwhile, has led his teams (Cleveland and Miami) to a 2-2 record in the NBA Finals, where he was awarded the MVP Award twice.
James is still young, so it's possible he could win multiple more championships and be the face of the NBA for years to come, where at career's end, a legitimate argument could be made that he was as good, if not better than Jordan. However, at 28 years old, four rings short of Jordan's total, with already two more Finals losses than the Bulls' great, that "legitimate" argument can't be made at this point time, regardless of how much ESPN and the like try. LeBron James is a great NBA basketball player, but he's Michael Jordan, at least not yet (no, not literally).
Also, while Jordan's Bulls were comprised of solid role players, he didn't need to leave Chicago to be joined with two other Hall-of-Fame players and form a super-team to win his first title. While it's true that James has two championships to this point in his career and those can't be taken away from him, he didn't lead his first team to a title like Jordan did with his Bulls. While it could be debated that LeBron James is a better athlete now than Michael Jordan ever was, Jordan was a greater leader and with that, a better player - as that 6-0 record in the NBA Finals and six Finals MVP Awards illustrates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James
In the seven NBA seasons between 1990-91 and 1997-98, Michael Jordan led his Chicago Bulls to six championships, where he won the MVP Award in each. For his career, Jordan's Bulls were 6-0 in the NBA Finals.
LeBron James, meanwhile, has led his teams (Cleveland and Miami) to a 2-2 record in the NBA Finals, where he was awarded the MVP Award twice.
James is still young, so it's possible he could win multiple more championships and be the face of the NBA for years to come, where at career's end, a legitimate argument could be made that he was as good, if not better than Jordan. However, at 28 years old, four rings short of Jordan's total, with already two more Finals losses than the Bulls' great, that "legitimate" argument can't be made at this point time, regardless of how much ESPN and the like try. LeBron James is a great NBA basketball player, but he's Michael Jordan, at least not yet (no, not literally).
Also, while Jordan's Bulls were comprised of solid role players, he didn't need to leave Chicago to be joined with two other Hall-of-Fame players and form a super-team to win his first title. While it's true that James has two championships to this point in his career and those can't be taken away from him, he didn't lead his first team to a title like Jordan did with his Bulls. While it could be debated that LeBron James is a better athlete now than Michael Jordan ever was, Jordan was a greater leader and with that, a better player - as that 6-0 record in the NBA Finals and six Finals MVP Awards illustrates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James
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