I don't dispute this not one bit, and this is coming from an NBA legend.
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Lebron James is better than Michael Jordan
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Damn that about to murk your ass 
He's accomplish more in his 7yrs then some of the top 50 list and he isn't even done yet..
Statistically? Sure. However, that is a given for a HOF talent with uncontested domination of the ball.
Not many TOP 50 dudes can say they're as talented as Lebron. That's why he is being compared to the guy he's being compared to.
I should add, though - Lebron's all-around statistical output is a preference in style, more so than it is a thing unique to him. Every LEGENDARY talent can do more, but it's a matter of why do that when you have teammates to lighten the load?
I've seen, for instance, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant increase their scoring, rebounds, and assists CONSIDERABLY when asked to. They simply preferred to play the game the way they played it. In short: Both have Alpha-Alpha make-ups, and prefer to score the ball to anything else. Lebron is a beta with alpha tendencies(or vice versa), which causes him to want to be the man, but also share the wealth with teammates.
Magic Johnson, for instance, could have scored more, but he preferred to play the way he did. All-around statistical output isn't ALWAYS a good thing, though. Doing it ALL can cause teammates to become over-reliant on you, ultimately weakening their confidence.
I've seen dudes not go for the rebound because they saw Lebron. Triple-dipping can actually be considered ball-hogging even more so than just chucking a bunch of shots at the basket.
As for winning?
No need to even go there with that one.
When LBJ wins 6 rings, let me know and we can have the discussion then.
So, do rings matter or not?! If Kobe win two more, is he better than Jordan? I agree with Big O. I think 'ol LeBron would shit on Mike 1on1.... Ok, maybe not shit on 'em, but pound 4 pound, he's a better all around player. And this coming from a guy who can't stand LeBronze.
He's accomplish more in his 7yrs then some of the top 50 list and he isn't even done yet..
And now he is going to bury his legacy under the shadow of Dwyane Wade... what a shame.
What the fuck has that nigga done to be compared to MJ???
He has talent. but not enough! Win something nigga!
He ran to the Heat to increase his chances of getting a title, no more.
How dare Oscar say some bullshit like that!
He has talent. but not enough! Win something nigga!
He ran to the Heat to increase his chances of getting a title, no more.
How dare Oscar say some bullshit like that!
Jordan's best all-around year: 32.5ppg, 8.0rbs, 8.0asst. He shot 53.8% that year.
Lebron's BEST all-around year?
29.7ppg, 7.3rb, 8.6 asst. He shot 50.3%.
Is he REALLY a better all-around player, or did Jordan simply do what he NEEDED to do for his team that year?
Oscar said it best: All players are in a class of their own.
In my opinion, no one will be better than Jordan.
fuck Charles Barkley........
I got $100 on Lebron.... 1 on 1 with any muthafucka on this planet......
I agree with Big O......
LBJ is a beast, and will dominate anyone 1 on 1.
What the fuck has that nigga done to be compared to MJ???
He has talent. but not enough! Win something nigga!
He ran to the Heat to increase his chances of getting a title, no more.
How dare Oscar say some bullshit like that!
Oscar was speaking more about the hate towards Lebron.
No argument there. But LeBronz is better to me cause he reminds of a more athletic Magic, who to me, is the G.O.A.T.
Nasty
Dude, I could make a case for any top ten TALENT as the G.O.A.T. Things aren't as cut and dry as the media and fans make them out to be.
If you look at Dream's out-put offensively AND defensively, he has a strong case for himself to be ranked A LOT higher than he is.
I could go on and on, because circumstances are all too often the reason for WHY certain legendary talents do or don't do better numbers.
That's funny. Tell LJ to win 3 in a row with Heat..... Retire for a year and half (play Pro Tennis or something)...then come back to the Heat and win 3 in a row again. Then we might, might have a discussion..Looks like you forgot to take your meds this morning...
Lebron is the most talented player I've ever seen. That doesn't mean he is the best. But he can be.
Cats need to stop the premature comparison to Jordan though.
Cats need to stop the premature comparison to Jordan though.
He's the second most physically GIFTED player I've ever seen. The first is Shaq. Lebron is definitely second, though. His combo of height, strength, speed, and leaping ability is unfair.
However, I don't think he's necessarily the most talented BASKETBALL player.
the pace of games was way higher then and they played less defense. this is not my opinion its a fact. jordans #s would be lower today, there are less shots / game available.
teams today use videotape to break things down a LOT more. jordans numbers benefited from playing in the 80s / early 90s game. would he be a 30ppg scorer? clearly. would he have the same assists number? doubtful.
Dont get it twisted. The scoring was better because players actually shot the ball better. Mid range game...free throwing shooting,etc. The defensive play was much better in the 80s and 90s..especially team defense. The rules have been changed to make it easier for fundamentally-challenged players to score now. Think about that.
I would love to see how much crying players would do now dealing with a Harper Handcheck.
A player like Jordan would add 5-6 more free throws per game with the way the game is called now. That is why I smh @ players balling out the defense with horrible pull up jump shots when the defensive player gets called for a foul as soon as he puts a firm hand on you.
Dont get it twisted. The scorer was better because players actually shot the ball better. Mid range game...free throwing shooting,etc. The defensive play was much better in the 80s and 90s..especially team defense. The rules have been changed to make it easier for fundamentally-challenged players to score now. Think about that.
I would love to see how much crying players would do now dealing with a Harper Handcheck.
Eewwll, I think players are not necessarily less skilled - but players are more athletic nowadays.
Almost everyone nowadays is strong, fast, and jumping hig. Not to mention the league has gotten a lot taller. Now ...
...I am open to the notion that the SKILL level has declined some, but that, to me, is a direct result of the athletic ability going up.
Would Kobe feel the need to develop a million moves if he was as gifted as Lebron athletically?
There is a trade-off to me, it seems.
Dont get it twisted. The scoring was better because players actually shot the ball better. Mid range game...free throwing shooting,etc. The defensive play was much better in the 80s and 90s..especially team defense. The rules have been changed to make it easier for fundamentally-challenged players to score now. Think about that.
I would love to see how much crying players would do now dealing with a Harper Handcheck.
A player like Jordan would add 5-6 more free throws per game with the way the game is called now. That is why I smh @ players balling out the defense with horrible pull up jump shots when the defensive player gets called for a foul as soon as he puts a firm hand on you.
I mean the stats back up what I'm saying. you can speculate but I don't see how you can deny statistical proof. the difference in my opinion is that teams use videotape to break down guys game a LOT more. you can see it when some guy comes in from the D-League, gets hot for a few games then after a week it ceases. the tape breakdown showed EXACTLY what his weakness is and oppponents stop him from doing what he wants.
anyway the pace is slower now. jordan had more shots available. you think lebron wouldn't be getting more points, rebs, and assists / game if you put him in the 80s/90s game? really?
That is always relative. I dont like that argument for that reason. Those players were the most athletic of their day. It is not that players now are better physical specimens, they just have more equipment, technology, nutrition, etc available to them now. If Magic Johnson played in this era, his physical makeup would probably have been a lot different... more muscular, etc. It is just a natural progressive for the most part.
So I cant claim that players cant make the mid-range shot now because they are more athletic. The athleticism is directly make their shooting percentage go down nor is the athleticism making them take more difficult shots.
It would cancel out. If players are quicker and cover more distance effective on the defensvie end, the offensive player is also quicker and can create space more effectively....so...it cancels out..all relative.
I think he has more to do with players not learning the fundamentals of the game because the slash and drive or pull up long shot has become the default go to play. Players dont practice the mid range game, back to the basket game, bank shot.etc.....that is why Duncan is considered a throw-back player as as Shaq calls him...Big Fundamentals.
In regards to Kobe... He is pretty damn athletically gifted...actually something that is overlooked with kobe is his fucking FOOTWORK...which probably came from him playing soccer as a kid.... and that is something that is difficult to learn at a late age....i dont think that is something that lebron can easily pickup.... that was another reason by The Dream was so sick in the post..natural footwork..also from playing soccer..
and yeah.. Lebron being so physicaly gifted does handicap his progress somewhat....he should be working on a low post game..smh
That is not proof of your claim. That is confusing correlation with causation. Was the scorer higher because the defense was bad or was the scoring higher because fundamentally players were better shooters?
What evidence do you have to support that is was solely bad defense that led to higher scoring games?
Could it have been that players were more offensively gifted? That it was common for even the center to be able to knock down the 18 foot shot with a problem?
Pierce is a mid-range specialist but back in the day, all forwards could make that mid-range shot consistently. His game would not have been special in the 80s.
Just like people are in awe of Duncan banking in shots off the glass..but in previous eras, players knew how to use the glass.
Players now may be more athletically-gifted (which is just a product of their era) but not definitely better basketball players.
It is back to my argument. Fundamentally, the game has deteriorated. Howard is often considered the best center in the league. He would not start as center in the 80s and 90s...at best he would be a power forward and most likely he would come off the bench.
Centers in the 80s and 90s, for the most part, could shoot easily outside of the paint. If you left them open from 16 feet, they would hit the spot up shot. I dont think ive ever seen Howard make a 16 foot shot and he has ZERO post moves.
He also cant use both hands.
In previous eras.....even big men could hit open jump shots, shoot free throws, and use the glass effectively.
Even going back to Bill Russell...he even know that when you blocked a shot..the point was to gain possession so he would block the ball to his teammate if possible....now these knuckleheads just swat the shit out of bounds.
Yes, the athleticism has skyrocketed, but the fundamentals have deteriorated.
There are lots of top athletically gifted players who would not have survived in previous eras. Howard would have been a defensively specialist and that is it.
IMO Jordan would prob beat Lebron just like Kobe would in a 1 on 1 situation because they rely on the jumper (pullup jumper) to spark the rest of their offensive arsenal.
All of those guys are very athletic. Lebron is def leading the line with that. That's where the skills separate them. When Lebron starts to become a guard that can really kill you knockin down jumpers and pullup jumpers then it's a different ballgame (no pun intended). But until then, Jordan got Lebron hands down.
Some way, somehow I just know this thread is going to turn into a you-know-who bashing session.
As Phil Jackson said, Jordan would average 40 points a game in this era. No way you could keep that man from the basket in the way the rules are constructed now.
Lebron is a freak of nature.... but his athleticism is rare...he doesnt apply to all current players. He has the gifts to probably start a fucking tightend in the NFL right now.
With that being said, I think players in previous eras,would be much smarter in the way that they defend him in terms of keeping him on the perimeter and forcing him to be a jump shooter as much as possible.
Players from previous eras may not be as athletic as the current era but they were much more intelligent in the way they played the game.
However, Lebron is going to average close to a triple double in any era...he is mad athletic and has a high ass basketball IQ.
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