I dont think everyone will compare him to Jordan. I think it would be a construct of the national media mostly...and then you might see local media act like they have to do it too because the national media is doing it.
As far as the fans are concerned though, I dont think anyone expects him to be Jordan. I think to a lot of people this will allow Lebron be Lebron. If there are Jordan comparisons here, then theyre anywhere he would play. People need to get off the small minded stuff theyve been spoonfed by the media and just get behind the idea that its OK to have mulitple great players in our franchise history. I dont see New Yorkers and New York media eating their own over whether Ruth was better than DiMaggio.
And who is to say that he sees it as competing with Jordan? He grew up watching him and idolizing him like a lot of us. Perhaps he has the same reverance for Jordan that we do? In a weird way, LeBron is kind of one of us.
Id kind of like to have a Hall of Heroes that includes Jordan, James, Rose, and Pippen when its all said and done. That would make a nice Mt Rushmore. Just think about it. We could have possibly the best 2 and 3 in the history of basketball. What other franchise can match that? I guess thats too much for some people because they buy into everything theyve been spoonfed by the media.
Thankfully though, Ive started seeing more and more articles questioning the idea that Jordans shadow is too intimidating. Who wouldnt want to play for their favorite team growing up? Its possible that James is no different from the rest of us, aside from the fact that he's awesome at basketball and we're not.
BTW, has anyone had enough foresight to see a possible narrative ahead? It goes like this: Kobe might win a 5th ring this year, which would mean he's working on #6 next year. We all know the Kobe-MJ comparisons are bogus but that doesnt mean the Laker fans and all the media cowtowing to the Laker fans wont indulge in nonsensical comparisons. Wouldnt it be perfect if a kid who grew up idolizing Jordan (James) and a Chicago kid (Rose) were to be the team that denied Kobe his 6th ring...and in the process added to the Bulls lore which Jordan started. I think if LeBron were to deny Kobe his 6th ring as a member of the Bulls, our hearts would grow enough to include LeBron really fast.
