Always **** the whole Jordan/LeBron arguement.
The way I look at it the only way to truly call yourself a GOAT is to say in a one on one situation who’s better??
Under this scenario neither of them is even in the discussion. For my money the single most unstoppable offensive player and one man defensive wrecking machine was Kareem Abdul Jabar.
Neither Jordan or LeBron could defend the sky hook or score anywhere but from long range against him.
Just my 2 cents.
I stopped watching the NBA after Jordan's second (?) retirement... when he left the Bulls for the final time. I got back into watching a couple of years ago because my girlfriend loves it. I just saw the true greats on TV back in the day. But we went to see LeBron play this season, and I have to say, the dude is pretty damn amazing. Even the way he walks is different. He takes these little short steps when he's just walking around before the game and during timeouts. He's definitely different. And he's definitely on the (very) short list of the all time greats. But the separator that I see with Jordan, LeBron hasn't been able to captain the ship - even Kobe was good at that. I mean, he can damn sure freight train it down the lane himself, or hit an impossible jump shot. But Jordan was The Man. He had the capacity to take a nut like Dennis Rodman, keep him in check and get him to fill a needed role. And that's how they racked up a second set of championships. IMO, LeBron would just have a Rodman type character traded, because he wouldn't be able to turn him into a valuable resource, the way Jordan did.
Personally, even though I respect these long range snipers (Steph Curry, etc.) and I respect these 7 ft. tall "guards" (like Kevin Durant), it makes me crazy when a guy flips the ball out to a guard on the perimeter when he's standing under the basket and could/should go up for an easy 2. I was the center for my team in HS. And if you got the ball down low and guys wanted to hover over you, you'd go down low and explode straight up. Anybody who was dumb enough to get his head and face near your shoulders ended up with a busted nose or a split lip. That's why I liked the old school rebounders.
I'd have to say that Jordan could score against anybody. That mutha was SO damn quick and could contort his body in the air - man, I wish I had seen him play live! LeBron is just a bull. A damn talented one. But back in the day, I think the NBA refs would have had to call more charges on him if somebody like Bill Lambier or Dennis Rodman (guys with balls) had stood their ground while he was driving. But still, while I was sitting in the stands, I felt blessed that I got a chance to see LeBron play in his prime. When I saw Kobe a couple of years ago, he was WELL past his prime. It was actually pretty sad seeing him.
The refs suck balls these days (I mean like WWE refs). But these modern guys are pretty damn amazing. And as an individual player, LeBron is The King. As a team player, I don't rank him very highly. As a
team player, I'd put James Harden and several other guys ahead of him.
Do you like the modern game more than the old school style?