Where does LeBron rank...

[Payton34Sayers40]

Lebron is 6'8 and 250 pounds. He is the better athlete at every age. Lebron is the most perfect genetically engineered athlete ever.

Lebron could not stay with MJ though. MJ was faster, quicker and could jump higher. And do not underestimate Jordan‘s wiry strength.

Jordan played in an era when football was allowed... and heavy hand checking. The guy would easily average 50 today. Book it!

 

[redgrange19]

I look at matchups where even Kobe got the better of Lebron. Jordan was a better defender, mental intimidator and athlete than Kobe. If Draymond and DeShawn Stevenson can get into the head of Lebron, I think Jordan would have destroyed that guy on the court. Size advantage or not, doesn’t matter with expert positioning and Jordan had those gigantic hands to cause fits. I think everyone has their opinion and preference that fits their personal aesthetic. People can provide all the stats they want, Lebron himself is a stat padder. It’s an easier era to do so. No true bigs to outrebound, stat sheets available every timeout. When Russell Westbrook can pull down 20 boards, the game is softer than ever. I doubt Jordan ever gave two shits about a triple double or well rounded numbers. When Doug Collins put him at point guard he got 10 triple doubles in 11 games.

 

[JimJohnson]

LBJ, the quitter we all knew him to be!

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1399951489297121281

 

[Anytime23]

I dont care about the talent or the numbers. This guy isn't a fraction of the competitor MJ or Kobe was.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Kevin Harlan was quick to put in the "may need to get treatment" angle.

 

[knoxville7]

Kevin Harlan was quick to put in the "may need to get treatment" angle.

yep. They gotta make the excuses for the anointed one

 

[Anytime23]

Kevin Harlan was quick to put in the "may need to get treatment" angle.

LeCoddle

 

[Leomaz]

Who?

 

[Anytime23]

Who?

You did this in the Kwame Brown thread.

 

[knoxville7]

Most talented player to ever play the game probably. There’s more to playing basketball than just talent, however. The GOAT is still Jordan

 

[Enasic]

I dont care about the talent or the numbers. This guy isn't a fraction of the competitor MJ or Kobe was.

Still better than Kobe easily

 

[Hawkeye OG]

1. MJ
.
.
.
.
2A - Kobe
2B - Lebron

Is really the only acceptable answer

 

[knoxville7]

1. MJ
.
.
.
.
2A - Kobe
2B - Lebron

Is really the only acceptable answer

if you’re only including wing players, then yes

 

[Pegger]

IMHO Jordan is the better pure scorer, LeBron is the better player.

If I needed a scoring assassin to drop 50 to win, Jordan is my guy. If I needed someone to distribute the ball, score, rebound and play team defense, then it's LeBron. I'm not saying Jordan can't do all those things as well, but James does it better (just like LeBron can also score, but Jordan does it better).

I do find this debate to be funny. It almost is tipping on something like religion or politics. There's a portion of people on both sides that have an opinion that will never change. There's also a middle section that hears both sides, but forms opinions based on what they see. At the end of the day we will never see James vs. Jordan and truthfully if someone thinks different than you, who really cares?

 

[RoseMVP1]

IMO 2011 pretty much eliminated LeBron from the GOAT conversation. No reason at all the Heat should have lost that series. Especially considering Caron Butler was injured and didn’t even play and he was the 2nd/3rd best player on the team.

 

[knoxville7]

IMHO Jordan is the better pure scorer, LeBron is the better player.

If I needed a scoring assassin to drop 50 to win, Jordan is my guy. If I needed someone to distribute the ball, score, rebound and play team defense, then it's LeBron. I'm not saying Jordan can't do all those things as well, but James does it better (just like LeBron can also score, but Jordan does it better).

I do find this debate to be funny. It almost is tipping on something like religion or politics. There's a portion of people on both sides that have an opinion that will never change. There's also a middle section that hears both sides, but forms opinions based on what they see. At the end of the day we will never see James vs. Jordan and truthfully if someone thinks different than you, who really cares?

the bolded is all you really needed to say

 

[Pegger]

the bolded is all you really needed to say

Yes, but what if you need a facilitator? Different team constructs need different types of stars and many teams have had to be dismantled because the two big scoring pieces couldn't co-exist.

You think about it, Pippen, being a defense first, #2 scorer is somewhat unique. Having possibly the greatest rebounder, who did almost nothing offensively is also pretty unique. Having a rotating door at big man while the league was still fairly center focused was again, fairly unique. A lot of credit is not given to Krause for putting together the right pieces and having a HOF coach like Phil Jackson to keep everything on the rails. Jordan is.... Amazing and so cool to watch live, but there was a lot involved to give him that platform that needs to be appreciated.

The other item that's touched on is that it's hard to compare players over different generations. Comparing Jordan to James has the same issues as comparing Russel/Kareem/Chamberlain to Jordan. As the different eras focus on different skill sets and positions it becomes very hard to do an apples to apples comparison.

Anyway, I feel both Jordan and James did the best with the hands they were dealt. I'm not sure either player could have done as well in the other's position, so I'm fine with putting them both on the NBA mount Rushmore and people can continue the 1A-1B argument for all of eternity.

 

[knoxville7]

Yes, but what if you need a facilitator? Different team constructs need different types of stars and many teams have had to be dismantled because the two big scoring pieces couldn't co-exist.

You think about it, Pippen, being a defense first, #2 scorer is somewhat unique. Having possibly the greatest rebounder, who did almost nothing offensively is also pretty unique. Having a rotating door at big man while the league was still fairly center focused was again, fairly unique. A lot of credit is not given to Krause for putting together the right pieces and having a HOF coach like Phil Jackson to keep everything on the rails. Jordan is.... Amazing and so cool to watch live, but there was a lot involved to give him that platform that needs to be appreciated.

The other item that's touched on is that it's hard to compare players over different generations. Comparing Jordan to James has the same issues as comparing Russel/Kareem/Chamberlain to Jordan. As the different eras focus on different skill sets and positions it becomes very hard to do an apples to apples comparison.

Anyway, I feel both Jordan and James did the best with the hands they were dealt. I'm not sure either player could have done as well in the other's position, so I'm fine with putting them both on the NBA mount Rushmore and people can continue the 1A-1B argument for all of eternity.

no matter your roster construct, Jordan fits the roster…you always have room for guys on that level. I get what you’re saying, but think of it more like if you were on the playground and you were a team captain and had the first pick….and Jordan and lebron happen to be there…who you picking?

while I also agree it’s hard to compare the different generations, it’s more so due to rules differences when comparing Jordan and lebron. Comparing Jordan and the 3 guys you listed is tough because those 3 guys are big men and Jordan is not. While lebron is a bigger guy than Jordan, their games are a lot easier to compare imo than Jordan to Wilt for example.

and of course Jackson and Krause deserve credit. But let’s be real, Jordan was the key piece of the puzzle. And yeah, you’d have to say lebron has done as much as he possibly could with the hands he was dealt, as most of the hands he’s been dealt were dealt to him by himself….i.e. - running to Miami, then running back to Cleveland when bosh and wade weren’t working anymore to play with kyrie, then running to LA.

 

[BNB]

1. MJ
.
.
.
.
2A - Kobe
2B - Lebron

Is really the only acceptable answer

Nah, Kobe isn't even top 5.

I think he's been overrated since he died.

 

[Enasic]

Nah, Kobe isn't even top 5.

I think he's been overrated since he died.

Before he died too. He’s prob top 10ish