Lebron Vs Jordan
Who is the Greatest of All Time? Today in the NBA there is no question who the best player in the league is. Anybody in his or her right mind will say that it’s LeBron James. The small forward has dominated the league since he entered it in 2003. It is a very valid argument that LeBron could be the best player of all time, but it’s hard to tell if he will. It’s not possible to really compare their careers until LeBron first finishes his. Once LeBron is finished with his great career we can debate who is better. Thus far in LeBron’s career, however, he doesn’t compare to the shooting guard that goes by the name of Michael Jordan, not yet. One aspect that separates LeBron and Jordan as basketball players is how much they had to work for
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their greatness. LeBron, he has always been the best player on the court. He spent his early years dominating AAU league with his four best friends while winning the national AAU Championship in 6th and 8Th grade (LeBron). The Fab Four then decided to go to Saint Vincent Saint Mary High School to continue their basketball careers (LeBron). LeBron dominated every opponent, and was the first sophomore to ever win Mr. basketball (LeBron). It was widely rumored that LeBron was going to leave high school after his junior season for the NBA. He ended up staying for his High School career, ending with 2,687 points, 842 rebounds, and 515 assists (LeBron). There was no doubt that LeBron was going enter the NBA draft. He won all sorts of awards and received huge endorsement deals. He was already a superstar in the eyes of everyone. He was selected first overall by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Michael Jordan wasn’t always considered to be the greatest player on the. As a sophomore his high school varsity basketball coach cut him from the team. Jordan played his hardest in all of the JV games, receiving a lot of respect from the varsity players. Over that summer he had to work with his brother extremely hard just to make the team his junior year. That summer’s work was well worth it because Jordan received a scholarship to North Carolina to play basketball. There he played against all time greats like Patrick Ewing. Jordan still wasn’t considered to be the best player at this point. In fact Jordan was considered to be the third best player at the time after he was drafted third overall in the 1986 NBA Draft (Legends). All of Jordan’s hard work definitely paid off for him as he is now considered by most to be the greatest ever. One thing we can take from this is that Jordan had to work much harder than LeBron. It seems somewhat odd that some people base their opinion abut who is better between Jordan and LeBron based on someone else’s opinion. That would be silly; an opinion should be based on facts, not someone else’s opinion. That being said there are a few people’s opinions that are worth noting: opinions from all time great players Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. These opinions are very note worthy based on their basketball experience. Bird and Magic both used to be great players in their own right. In fact they are two of the top players to ever play the game and are both in the hall of fame. Both of these players agree that Jordan is by far the best player. Fallowing a playoff game where Jordan dropped 63 points on the Boston Celtics in just his second season, Larry Birds appraisal of the young player was that he is "God disguised as Michael Jordan” (Basketball). In an interview about what it was like to play against Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson was quoted as saying, "There 's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us"(Basketball). These are clear indicators that even legendary superstars recognized the untouchable position of Jordan.
One argument that people have against Jordan is that all he did was score.
On the surface this may seem true, but upon a second glance this is obviously wrong. First of all, Jordan was not just a talented offensive player; he won the defensive player of the year award and was on the All NBA Defensive first team nine times (Basketball). Shooting and defense are Jordan’s two best attributes. People who think LeBron is better than Jordan might say that Jordan may be a better shooter than LeBron, but he could never have been the all around player that LeBron is. They might say Jordan was a ball hog who only shot the ball and couldn’t be a floor general like LeBron. Could Michael Jordan really have piled up triple doubles (three stats with double digit units) like LeBron does? Well let 's take a look at that. In March of 1989 John Paxson was injured, so Doug Collins moved Michael Jordan to the point guard position even though he was a shooting guard (Knicks). In Michael’s first game as a point guard, he dished out 15 assists in a blowout win over the Seattle Supersonics (Knicks). In his next game, Michael recorded a triple double with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists in another blowout of the Indiana Pacers (Knicks). On March 25, Michael began a run of 10 triple doubles in 11 games, including 7 straight before missing one against the Pistons where he had 40 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds (Knicks). He would finish the season with 15 triple doubles (NBA). Michael Jordan …show more content…
always had the ball handling and passing skills to play the point guard position, and a mere month after the switch, he was already proving to be one of the elite point guards in the league. The truth of the matter is Michael Jordan understood that Scottie Pippen 's strengths were not working without the ball, Pippen was a better player with the ball in his hands so Jordan sacrificed his gift to be a triple double machine by letting Pippen run the point forward position. After a second glance we can conclude that Michael Jordan could do what LeBron does, but chose not to so that he could reach his teams ceiling. Could LeBron do what Michael Jordan did, be a scoring machine that can take over a game in anyway whenever it was need?
As stated before, two of Jordan’s best attributes were defense and Scoring.
But undoubtedly his most distinguishable attribute was his clutch factor. One of the most clutch moments in sports is the game winning shot; the game is won with a make or is lost with a miss. In the playoff this shot becomes even more consequential. The league has seen no single player capitalize on more of these iconic moments than his airness Michael Jordan. Jordan is a remarkable 10-19 when it comes to taking the game winning shot in the playoffs (Michael). This is by far the most game winning shots, as well as the best percentage in this situation by any NBA player. To compare this to LeBron, he is only 4-15 when it comes to game winners (Michael). In addition to LeBron being a measly 4-15 on game winning opportunities, all four makes were during the regular season (Michael). Not only does Jordan destroy LeBron in this category, he does it in the playoffs whereas LeBron can only sometimes do it in the regular season. In order to commandeer the crown from Jordan and squeeze it over King James’s headband, he needs some historic streaks in the playoffs, not in the regular season. Jordan went to the NBA Finals six times, won them all, and was the MVP every time (Basketball). Along with double-digit scoring titles, he was also the best defensive player in the NBA (Basketball). LeBron James has the mentality of a great player: Championship or bust. LeBron is lovely. LeBron is great. The greatest?
We’ll find out in five years.
Works Cited
"The Basketball Encyclopedia." The Basketball Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2013.
<http://hoopsapedia.webs.com/lebronvsjordan.htm>.
"Knicks." CBS New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2013.
<http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/02/18/keidel-lebron-better-than-jordan-um-no/>.
"LeBron James Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 06 June 2013.
<http://www.biography.com/people/lebron-james-399748>.
"Legends Profile: Michael Jordan." NBA.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2013. <http://www.nba.com/history/legends/michael-jordan/index.html>.
"Michael Jordan Game Winning Shots." Chasing 23. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2013.
<http://chasing23.com/michael-jordan-game-winning-shots/>.
their greatness. LeBron, he has always been the best player on the court. He spent his early years dominating AAU league with his four best friends while winning the national AAU Championship in 6th and 8Th grade (LeBron). The Fab Four then decided to go to Saint Vincent Saint Mary High School to continue their basketball careers (LeBron). LeBron dominated every opponent, and was the first sophomore to ever win Mr. basketball (LeBron). It was widely rumored that LeBron was going to leave high school after his junior season for the NBA. He ended up staying for his High School career, ending with 2,687 points, 842 rebounds, and 515 assists (LeBron). There was no doubt that LeBron was going enter the NBA draft. He won all sorts of awards and received huge endorsement deals. He was already a superstar in the eyes of everyone. He was selected first overall by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Michael Jordan wasn’t always considered to be the greatest player on the. As a sophomore his high school varsity basketball coach cut him from the team. Jordan played his hardest in all of the JV games, receiving a lot of respect from the varsity players. Over that summer he had to work with his brother extremely hard just to make the team his junior year. That summer’s work was well worth it because Jordan received a scholarship to North Carolina to play basketball. There he played against all time greats like Patrick Ewing. Jordan still wasn’t considered to be the best player at this point. In fact Jordan was considered to be the third best player at the time after he was drafted third overall in the 1986 NBA Draft (Legends). All of Jordan’s hard work definitely paid off for him as he is now considered by most to be the greatest ever. One thing we can take from this is that Jordan had to work much harder than LeBron. It seems somewhat odd that some people base their opinion abut who is better between Jordan and LeBron based on someone else’s opinion. That would be silly; an opinion should be based on facts, not someone else’s opinion. That being said there are a few people’s opinions that are worth noting: opinions from all time great players Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. These opinions are very note worthy based on their basketball experience. Bird and Magic both used to be great players in their own right. In fact they are two of the top players to ever play the game and are both in the hall of fame. Both of these players agree that Jordan is by far the best player. Fallowing a playoff game where Jordan dropped 63 points on the Boston Celtics in just his second season, Larry Birds appraisal of the young player was that he is "God disguised as Michael Jordan” (Basketball). In an interview about what it was like to play against Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson was quoted as saying, "There 's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us"(Basketball). These are clear indicators that even legendary superstars recognized the untouchable position of Jordan.
One argument that people have against Jordan is that all he did was score.
On the surface this may seem true, but upon a second glance this is obviously wrong. First of all, Jordan was not just a talented offensive player; he won the defensive player of the year award and was on the All NBA Defensive first team nine times (Basketball). Shooting and defense are Jordan’s two best attributes. People who think LeBron is better than Jordan might say that Jordan may be a better shooter than LeBron, but he could never have been the all around player that LeBron is. They might say Jordan was a ball hog who only shot the ball and couldn’t be a floor general like LeBron. Could Michael Jordan really have piled up triple doubles (three stats with double digit units) like LeBron does? Well let 's take a look at that. In March of 1989 John Paxson was injured, so Doug Collins moved Michael Jordan to the point guard position even though he was a shooting guard (Knicks). In Michael’s first game as a point guard, he dished out 15 assists in a blowout win over the Seattle Supersonics (Knicks). In his next game, Michael recorded a triple double with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists in another blowout of the Indiana Pacers (Knicks). On March 25, Michael began a run of 10 triple doubles in 11 games, including 7 straight before missing one against the Pistons where he had 40 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds (Knicks). He would finish the season with 15 triple doubles (NBA). Michael Jordan …show more content…
always had the ball handling and passing skills to play the point guard position, and a mere month after the switch, he was already proving to be one of the elite point guards in the league. The truth of the matter is Michael Jordan understood that Scottie Pippen 's strengths were not working without the ball, Pippen was a better player with the ball in his hands so Jordan sacrificed his gift to be a triple double machine by letting Pippen run the point forward position. After a second glance we can conclude that Michael Jordan could do what LeBron does, but chose not to so that he could reach his teams ceiling. Could LeBron do what Michael Jordan did, be a scoring machine that can take over a game in anyway whenever it was need?
As stated before, two of Jordan’s best attributes were defense and Scoring.
But undoubtedly his most distinguishable attribute was his clutch factor. One of the most clutch moments in sports is the game winning shot; the game is won with a make or is lost with a miss. In the playoff this shot becomes even more consequential. The league has seen no single player capitalize on more of these iconic moments than his airness Michael Jordan. Jordan is a remarkable 10-19 when it comes to taking the game winning shot in the playoffs (Michael). This is by far the most game winning shots, as well as the best percentage in this situation by any NBA player. To compare this to LeBron, he is only 4-15 when it comes to game winners (Michael). In addition to LeBron being a measly 4-15 on game winning opportunities, all four makes were during the regular season (Michael). Not only does Jordan destroy LeBron in this category, he does it in the playoffs whereas LeBron can only sometimes do it in the regular season. In order to commandeer the crown from Jordan and squeeze it over King James’s headband, he needs some historic streaks in the playoffs, not in the regular season. Jordan went to the NBA Finals six times, won them all, and was the MVP every time (Basketball). Along with double-digit scoring titles, he was also the best defensive player in the NBA (Basketball). LeBron James has the mentality of a great player: Championship or bust. LeBron is lovely. LeBron is great. The greatest?
We’ll find out in five years.
Works Cited
"The Basketball Encyclopedia." The Basketball Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2013.
<http://hoopsapedia.webs.com/lebronvsjordan.htm>.
"Knicks." CBS New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2013.
<http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/02/18/keidel-lebron-better-than-jordan-um-no/>.
"LeBron James Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 06 June 2013.
<http://www.biography.com/people/lebron-james-399748>.
"Legends Profile: Michael Jordan." NBA.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2013. <http://www.nba.com/history/legends/michael-jordan/index.html>.
"Michael Jordan Game Winning Shots." Chasing 23. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2013.
<http://chasing23.com/michael-jordan-game-winning-shots/>.