Michael Jordan

Pretty intense, good vid. His extreme passion for the game hurt himself and his teammates, but at the same time it paid off.

No wonder why Steve Kerr made that shot vs the Jazz… If he would’ve missed, he would’ve got his lights put out lol.

Jordan was a killer though. I wish LeBron had that… IF he did, he’d be the greatest player to ever breathe.

That is Michael. He scared the $hit out of most people. Like, he was someone you just played that much harder for so you did not let down. Kind of like how people say Bobby Knight was the best college basketball coach (I disagree, but just an example), that fear and motivation was a lot of what Michael brought. He was honestly close to psychotic in how fierce of a competitor he was. It made his teams much better than they were and lead him to immortality in the game. But, is is what everyone does? I do not think Kobe is as crazy as far as what he does with his team mates, and while he shows leadership by example and the occasional call-out, his work ethic is what makes him a leader by example. I am sure Michael worked close to as hard as Kobe, but Michael was so much more vocal and I think pushed his team along the way. What if Michael had not had the team or coach he had? We will never know, but we do know that people win in different ways, and that the situation Michael was in is what has made him known as the best to ever play in the NBA. After all, a lot of a persons success is dependent on the situation and a bit of luck regarding injuries, other obstacles. Michael did this better than anyone else, and until a person at least is in somewhat of a comparable situation, it will be hard to say anyone was better. Kobe has been radically successful throughout his career (well, his rookie year was semi-forgettable, but we are way past that), but the fact that he was not always the best player on his title teams (his first 3), it is incredibly difficult for people to say he is better than Michael, even if it seems like Kobe’s skill set is second to none all-time. It is why even if LeBron/Wade 4-peat, they will be discredited for playing with far more talent than Michael had available. Is it fair? Maybe not, but Michael Jordan kind of set the bar by leading a team that dominated through the 90’s and was without any incredibly notable bigmen. His combination of individual dominance during the regular and post-season was so much better than those who played at that time it was not even close. He came onto the basketball scene as a skinny freshman who hit the shot that won the national championship, made another incredible game series winner during the middle of his career and than finished his Bulls career with another game series winner. He is the All-Time leader in Points Per Game in the regular season and play-offs. He was not only impossible to stop offensively, but he consistently dominated his match-up on defense. Anyone who claims a player was better than Michael Jordan has all of this to contend with, and I do not see anyone currently playing that really has a chance, at least at doing it in the form Michael did it. This is why I would say even if Kobe wins again, it might be hard to make a case for him being anything other than second best of All-Time. Again, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both have chances to go down as possible Top 10-15 players, but reaching Michael as teammates at this point seems insurmountable. Michael set the bar as to how a player is measured for greatness, and I do not know of anyone who can reach it at this point. As much as we would all like to think that LeBron had a chance if he went somewhere other than Miami, it would be such an uphill battle to reaching Michael at this point. The times have changed, the league has changed and a standard that used to be up for grabs was taken and cemented by Michael Jordan sometime around when he first retired. Anyone else have thoughts on this debate, and if they truly believe that LeBron could have passed Michael, or that Kobe still could?

LeBron is probably the most talented guy ever to have came into the league, even more talented than Michael. LeBron just doesn’t have that mindset though. Now, he’s playing with Wade, who does the same things that LeBron basically does, so he won’t be able to put up the numbers he did before. I really believe that if LeBron would have stayed in Cleveland and somehow gotten Bosh to come, then he would have gotten a chance to pass Michael, but we can’t deny LeBron’s talent just because he has 2 more superstar team mates.. Even if he doesn’t put up the numbers that he was used to putting up, LeBron will still be in a league of his own when he’s done just because he can do almost everything that the game calls for.

Lebron has the talent of Jordan, but with his mindset he’s a WNBA player.

People seem to forget Jordan was the best defender of his generation as well as #1 scorer. None of the players today can dream of making that claim.

This is the reason that I would rather have a Kobe Bryant over a LeBron James. Bryant has the same quality that made Jordan the great that he is today, the killer instinct. Like Jordan, Bryant always plays with a chip on his shoulder and he wants to tear apart defenses EVERY night. I don’t think that Bryant is as intense as Michael Jordan (then again I don’t think anyone ever will be as intense or more intense.), but he does have those similarities.

“Lebron has the talent of Jordan, but with his mindset he’s a WNBA player.” lol Lebron is the MOST physical player in the league.. He goes to the HOLE stronger than ANY player in the league…

I wouldn’t say he is the most physical player, but if he wanted to, he could literally get to the basket at will. I’ve heard this about a lot of players, but LeBron is the only guy that can literally do it. I’ve seen times where LeBron would rather take a jumpshot then driving to the hoop. I know he got to the free throw line about 10 times per game this season, but if he was in attack mode, he could at least get there about 13 times. Sometimes, a star player has to be selfish.

With the beauty of your title in this thread alone, I’m giving you a point… I just missed that name, man… Michael Jordan… Damn! That’s the GOAT…

"Sometimes, a star player has to be selfish." — this is something LeBron has yet to do consistently…

Its so easy to say a player can take it to the rim more often, but the fact of the matter is who takes the ball to the rim more than Lebron James.. He is always in ATTACK MODE.. That NASTY dunk on James Johnson looked pretty physical.. Lebron takes a BEATING every game because he is always thinking ATTACK… You cant drive to the whole everytime NBA basketball doesnt work that way… So I dont get we want our athletes to be SELFISH or UNSELFISH..

This video shows the terrible cost of that level of intensity and competitiveness. It can push people away, which only drives you harder. Mike didn’t set out to become a global icon, he set out to dominate the game of basketball so thoroughly that nobody else came close. LeBron did the reverse, he has stated his goal is to be the first billionaire basketball player. You wouldn’t catch Mike saying something like that. Kobe knows a thing or two about how to maintain the rage, but I don’t think LeBron will ever get it.

If you ranked competitors in the NBA in recent history it’d look something like this:
Jordan
Bird
Magic
Kobe