Micheal Jordan - Lebron James Comparison

Bibby_Is_Clutch

Bibby_Is_Clutch

Starter
I want to hear what you guys think. Can Lebron be the next MJ?

Here is Jordans best season:

Micheal Jordan
1988-1989 Bulls
Games Played: 81 (81 Starts)
FG %: .538
FT %: .850
Total Rebounds: 8.0
Total Assists: 8.0
Steals: 2.89
Blocks: .80
PPG: 32.5

And so far this year is Lebrons best season. Hes averaging over 20PPG, Over 7APG, and over 7RPG. Pretty nice for a sophmore. (Oops)
 
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Bibby_Is_Clutch said:
And so far this year is Lebrons best season. Hes averaging over 20PPG, Over 7APG, and over 7RPG. Pretty nice for a rookie.
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?

There will never be another Michael Jordan and if Michael Jordan does come thru that door, he's gonna be old and gray. Reason I say that is because it's hard to imagine a guy young as Bron picking up 5 MVPs, a DPOY, 6 FMVPs, 6 rings, etc.
 
Bibby_Is_Clutch said:
I want to hear what you guys think. Can Lebron be the next MJ?

And so far this year is Lebrons best season. Hes averaging over 20PPG, Over 7APG, and over 7RPG. Pretty nice for a rookie.
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James isn't a rookie. He was ROY last year!

:D

Can he be the next MJ? What does that mean exactly? Can he be a force to be reckoned with in the NBA? Most certainly. Will he lead his team to consecutive NBA titles? Not with the team he's on now...

James is good; very, very, very good and has a ton of potential to do great things. But only time will tell if he can endure the way a Jordan or a Bird endured.
 
Bibby_Is_Clutch said:
And so far this year is Lebrons best season. Hes averaging over 20PPG, Over 7APG, and over 7RPG. Pretty nice for a rookie.
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Uh, right now, Lebron is a Sophomore. Last year he was a rookie. o be honest, I don't think anybody will be AS good as Michael Jordan. Lebron will be a very good player, but Jordan......well he's Michael Jordan. :D
 
HndsmCelt said:
Why can't Mike just be Mike and Le Bron just be Lebron?
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i hate when people say that, he isnt going to be jordan.... but no one else will accomplish what jordan has... no defensive player of the year is going to average 26+ points, win the mvp and lead his team to 6 championships.... dpoy will sacrifice his offense for defense, scoring chap will well... thats not saying much anymore and the mvp will be a big man.... as long as duncan and kg are playing how will lebron win an mvp? with artest playing his *** off how will he be dpoy? playing for the cavs..... well, enough said. mike isnt just mike, he's the gold standard of greatness in basketball.... he was the leader, scorer, defender and clutch shooter that made his team go.... 72-10? poor bron bron...
 
exactly... how is he any closer to mj than wade or even crybaby carmelo? if the lakers and rockets make it to the playoffs... watch and see what happens.... the light switch is flipped back on and kobe is gonna be unstoppable.... lebron??? he's lucky that he's in the east, the kid is good... no lie, but he has a long way to go....
 
LeBron doesn't have the one-on-one game to match Jordan and he doesn't defend well enough or intensely enough right now. Think back to all the times Jordan just blew his way into the lane and dunked on someone or used his body control and hangtime to finish a tough layup with a foul. You don't see LeBron do that so much and that's why lately people have been making more Wade to Jordan comparisons. Because Wade is pretty much the most aggressive at trying to get to the bucket among perimeter players. LeBron probably has better court vision than Jordan did and he's much bigger right now that Jordan was at 20, so it's kind of a bad comparison because they're different types of players. I've never liked the "next MJ" or "next (fill in the blank)" stuff because it tends to take people away from what a guy does that is unique and positive and makes them focus on what he doesn't or can't do. It's best to just sit back and let these guys be themselves.
 
AriesMar27 said:
exactly... how is he any closer to mj than wade or even crybaby carmelo? if the lakers and rockets make it to the playoffs... watch and see what happens.... the light switch is flipped back on and kobe is gonna be unstoppable.... lebron??? he's lucky that he's in the east, the kid is good... no lie, but he has a long way to go....
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The only thing needed to stop Kobe is... Kobe.
 
VF21 said:
James isn't a rookie. He was ROY last year!

:D

Can he be the next MJ? What does that mean exactly? Can he be a force to be reckoned with in the NBA? Most certainly. Will he lead his team to consecutive NBA titles? Not with the team he's on now...

James is good; very, very, very good and has a ton of potential to do great things. But only time will tell if he can endure the way a Jordan or a Bird endured.
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Hah. I cant believe I put rookie. Oops.


You can say Jordan led 6 champ teams by himself. Who did he have that Kobe had or Shaq had for their 3 peat. Jordan did it 2 times. Jordan was the reason every road and home game sold out. (And the fact that they were winning.

This year a lot of road games are selling out to see Lebron... thats it. (ESPN)

I guess what Im asking is.... Can Lebron do what MJ did with the same quality help MJ had? He has the skill, no question about that and hes only 20.

Never say Never.
 
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BIC - What I'm objecting to is the idea that ANYONE has to be called "the next MJ" because I think it's unfair to both athletes.

Can Lebron do what MJ did with the same quality help MJ had? Who knows? He has SOME skills, but there is no way to know if he can bring out the qualities in other players around him and make them play at the top of their game. MJ could and did do that...

Of course road games are sellling out to watch Lebron. That doesn't mean he's the next MJ. It means he's the current phenom and people want to see for themselves if he's as good as the hype.

Let's revisit this question when Lebron has been in the league about 6 years.

:D
 
VF21 said:
Let's revisit this question when Lebron has been in the league about 6 years.
:D
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yeah... cause that worked so well for vince carter.....
 
bibbyweb said:
Its all marketing!
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yup, when they say who can fill MJ's shoes most of the time they mean who will be that next world recognized high flying marketable player.

But if you want to go skill wise you can't compare the two. Jordan dominated while dominating the ball while Lebron dominates without dominating.
 
All of the "next MJs" have come up woefully short. Every gifted mutlitalented swingman is not MJ. Not Kobe, not TMac, not Stackhouse (believe it or not they used to push that one) and not Wade or LeBron (Carmelo is a different inferior animal). Clyde Drexler was an amazing OG who could do it all and now resides in the HOF. And MJ just wiped the floor with him when it mattered.

I will say this -- if ANYONE is ever going to approach MJ-like status, it may one day be LeBron. He just turned 20. He might actually be AHEAD of MJs development curve. But does he continue it on and become the greatest of all time? Highly doubtful. MJ just burned with fire. He would have killed you to win, to be the best. He wasn't just hungry, he was flat out frightening and even the other greats quailed in the face of his intensity. One of the great competitors of any sport of any time. If LeBron even wants to earn the right to sniff Jordan's jock, he's got to have that same will to dominate eveyr single night. Failure has to be absolutely intolerable to him. Time will tell.
 
lebron doesnt have the killer instinct that mj had.... only kobe has that now... but he forces it too much... i doubt that lebron could will his team to a championship. jordan had something extra that the others dont and lebron will never have.... he's good.... but he wont ever be 6 rings, 6 finals mvp good. maybe a mvp or 2 good.... but not on mj's level... jordan never lost in the finals kobe already has and he was the closest.... carter has/had the marketing and the showsmanship/dunks.... but is chronically injured. mcgrady has a lazy eye.... and all of them except for carter are better than lebron.... because while he develops, they will be in their primes... and wade will have had shaq for 2 or 3 years longer than lebron will never have.
 
Bricklayer said:
All of the "next MJs" have come up woefully short. Every gifted mutlitalented swingman is not MJ. Not Kobe, not TMac, not Stackhouse (believe it or not they used to push that one) and not Wade or LeBron (Carmelo is a different inferior animal). Clyde Drexler was an amazing OG who could do it all and now resides in the HOF. And MJ just wiped the floor with him when it mattered.

I will say this -- if ANYONE is ever going to approach MJ-like status, it may one day be LeBron. He just turned 20. He might actually be AHEAD of MJs development curve. But does he continue it on and become the greatest of all time? Highly doubtful. MJ just burned with fire. He would have killed you to win, to be the best. He wasn't just hungry, he was flat out frightening and even the other greats quailed in the face of his intensity. One of the great competitors of any sport of any time. If LeBron even wants to earn the right to sniff Jordan's jock, he's got to have that same will to dominate eveyr single night. Failure has to be absolutely intolerable to him. Time will tell.
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I agree with everything you say about MJ and Im not saying compare them now because Lebron is having a MVP season. Im just saying you hear the hype about Lebron being the next MJ and I wanted everyones opinion.

I would be perfectly fine with Lebron dominating basketball through his career, as did MJ and just wondering who would win if they were to have matched up during their best season.

Didnt MJ average like 37PPG one year and still average around 5reb and 5ast pg?

Another thing, when people start comparing someone to MJ I dont think its about how world marketable he will be, MJ flat out dominated the game which is why he is the best ever. I think people are looking for that spark. Seeing MJ whether a fan or not most likely brought a smile to your face if you saw him play, maybe even if you werent a basketball fan. I personally dont think there will ever be an athelete like MJ (possible Jerry Rice just because of their work ethic and skill and how they carry themselves on and off the field/court) but MJ sure is a goal for Lebron, and who knows what he can do.
 
AriesMar27 said:
lebron doesnt have the killer instinct that mj had.... only kobe has that now... but he forces it too much... i doubt that lebron could will his team to a championship. jordan had something extra that the others dont and lebron will never have.... he's good.... but he wont ever be 6 rings, 6 finals mvp good. maybe a mvp or 2 good.... but not on mj's level... jordan never lost in the finals kobe already has and he was the closest.... carter has/had the marketing and the showsmanship/dunks.... but is chronically injured. mcgrady has a lazy eye.... and all of them except for carter are better than lebron.... because while he develops, they will be in their primes... and wade will have had shaq for 2 or 3 years longer than lebron will never have.
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McGrady is a scorer, Kobe is a forcer and good 1v1, Lebron is well rounded but lacks more on defense. Lebron is having a better season than both Kobe and Mcgrady. You can never compare Kobe and MJ or Wade and MJ on their accomplishments because they both have a big fellow named Shaq. Can you imagine the damage that would have been done had MJ had Shaq in their primes (in other words their careers)? Clearly the most dominant team to ever set foot in the NBA.
Kobe doesnt make others better, or hasnt yet. Shaq made him better.
McGrady doesnt make others better, thats obvious.
We dont know if Wade can, didnt last year and cant this year because Shaq is making him better.

MJ made others better players mentally and physically.
 
Bibby_Is_Clutch said:
We dont know if Wade can, didnt last year and cant this year because Shaq is making him better.

MJ made others better players mentally and physically.
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wade didnt last year? did you watch the playoffs last year, no one saw miami coming last year in the playoffs and that was wade without shaq. do you honestly believe that that heat team would have made it that far without wade? is odom really that good? obviously not as we can all see with the lakers....
 
is it even possible to have a next MJ??? i doubt it.

lebron is an amazing talent, no doubt about that. he could go on to be ONE of the best, but not THE one.
 
Mad D said:
yup, when they say who can fill MJ's shoes most of the time they mean who will be that next world recognized high flying marketable player.

But if you want to go skill wise you can't compare the two. Jordan dominated while dominating the ball while Lebron dominates without dominating.
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Nice avatar MadD! Score one for the platupusses...?...er...platypussi? er... :eek:
 
AriesMar27 said:
wade didnt last year? did you watch the playoffs last year, no one saw miami coming last year in the playoffs and that was wade without shaq. do you honestly believe that that heat team would have made it that far without wade? is odom really that good? obviously not as we can all see with the lakers....
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Odom is good but with Kobe he is nothing. Kobe ballhogs the basketball so much that he can't shoot the ball! It is a one-man show in LA! Kobe probably just doesn't want him to have the attention. Kobe is the one who wants the attention........ ;) .

Also Kobe wants at least DOUBLE Odoms points maybe even triple just to make sure everyone knows, it is HIS team. Isn't there a saying? There is no I in team? ;)
 
AriesMar27 said:
wade didnt last year? did you watch the playoffs last year, no one saw miami coming last year in the playoffs and that was wade without shaq. do you honestly believe that that heat team would have made it that far without wade? is odom really that good? obviously not as we can all see with the lakers....
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Whats your point? Obviously they wouldnt make it that far without Wade, he is a very very talented athlete. That doesnt mean he made them better. He was just on fire.
 
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