The One Goat That Kings Must Bow To
Original Article Can Be Found Here
The Last Dance is over. Excellent documentary by the way. So the debate of course for the next several weeks and months will rage on as to how Jordan stacks up to LeBron and the other greats in terms of the GOAT, with coronavirus eliminating all sports being the added ingredient into this debate. It is the argument as old as millennial time and began the moment LeBron James stepped on already being hailed as The King; as the man that will rescue the NBA during those dark years of the early 2000s post-Jordan and post-KINGS GOT SCREWED.
Here are two truths: first is that comparing Jordan to LeBron is astronomically unfair because they are completely different body types and play different positions. LeBron is built like a linebacker, and Jordan was about as thin as Steph Curry when he first crashed the NBA landscape—and had to build up muscle just to survive getting physically manhandled by the Pistons and other tough squads. When you are small, slender, and nonetheless the top scoring option on your team the entire decade, these things happen.
LeBron James is built like a tank and to be honest could have accumulated an extra 10,000 points if he had the anger and driving ferociousness of a Russell Westbrook. Comparing Jordan and LeBron is similar to comparing the success of an outfielder and a pitcher in baseball. Jordan can never be a center or even a power forward—especially in that era. LeBron can quite literally play all five positions, similar to a Magic Johnson.
Second truth: Michael Jordan is superior in every possible way on the basketball court.
Michael Jordan beat more teams with 50 wins, beat more teams with 60 wins, beat more Hall of Famers, has more MVPs, more defensive awards, more scoring titles, more Finals MVPs, and did ALL of this with less NBA experience since he gave four years to college, something LeBron James never had to do. Jordan accomplished all this (and much more, offensively and defensively) with great teams, with terrible teams and in 1998 with a severely broken team on the brink of self-destruction. Michael Jordan’s Bulls of the 1980s were far worse an overall team than the LeBron Cavs of the late 2000s, and this is competing in an Eastern Conference that was far more top-heavy in terms of the quality of teams as well as the average physicality.
Before Jordan racked up seven straight seasons of scoring the most in the NBA, 5 of the previous 6 seasons’ scoring leaders were forwards/centers. Leading the league in scoring while being a guard is unheard of simply because of the daily attempted murders in the paint. And how about leading the league in scoring AND becoming defensive player of the year? I can’t think of a single player today who can be this high-volume on both sides of the floor outside of maybe the great but oft-injured Kawhi Leonard.
Michael Jordan also had much tougher conference rivals, with bad blood being so intense the 1984 All-Star Game became a conspiracy theory and later rules had to be re-written in order to disallow some of the violence against the GOAT in the playoffs. LeBron meagerly complained about an opposing player calling him a bitch and it got a vital player on the other team SUSPENDED IN THE NBA FINALS. Jordan had to play the NBA Finals in Salt Lake City for two straight years, just saying, I’m positive he got much worse words being hurled at him and not once did he make a scene about it in any postgame interviews. But LeBron’s complaining is part of a bigger basketball strategy he partakes in to maximize his success which I’ll get to later.
Michael Jordan most importantly did not alter the landscape of the entire league with his free agency moves and attempts to build superteams. Can you IMAGINE what would have happened if Jordan had tried to recruit Shaquille O’Neal after the 1996 season? Even getting beat by the superior team Detroit Pistons an astonishing three years in a row (a Detroit team that by the way, made the Finals three years in a row, made the Eastern Conference Finals FIVE years in a row, and amassed a 62-31 playoff record during this stretch while being in the same DIVISION as the Bulls) did not have him looking elsewhere or seeking Hall of Fame caliber talent to improve his chances towards a championship. The Chicago Bulls during this epic stretch did not sign a sure-fire Hall of Famer until they signed Dennis Rodman, who even then was a borderline-pick hence the delay in him making it to basketball immortality. Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc, talented as they were, transitioned themselves to HOF positioning under Chicago.
LeBron James forming his superteam in Miami crippled the fortunes of many Eastern playoff teams: the Celtics (Ray Allen), the Raptors (Chris Bosh), and the Cavs (leaving a giant hole nobody wanted to fill). Then LeBron changes the landscape two more times by returning to Cleveland and drawing talent from other playoff teams to do this all over again. Don’t get me started what happened in Los Angeles either. LeBron James is an exceptional talent, not going to deny this, but his career story is what will always harm him.
His inability to accept being on weakening or young teams during the second half of his run also hurts. LeBron James had gone to four straight finals with the Heat and still bailed because he saw Dwayne Wade beginning to show signs of wear-and-tear. He then made the Finals four years in a row with his homeland of Cleveland and STILL wanted to leave. Michael Jordan could have played elsewhere when he unretired in 1995 and in 2002. Jordan could have easily joined the Knicks, Sonics, even the Lakers. Jordan could have tried to bring in Hall of Fame talent to the Wizards to help his chances in earning a ring during his time RUNNING THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION. But that never entered his mindset. He was a Bull for life, until he couldn’t take the upper management anymore.
Back to the complaint from earlier, this was before Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals. The Cavs were on the ropes, but also the Warriors were injured and fatigued from a grueling match against the Oklahoma City Thunder. LeBron knew he needed to stir something to even have a shot at a comeback. Draymond Green’s reputation was his opportunity. He knew Green was on thin ice, so after the small skirmish when LeBron was on top of him during Game 4, he was able to use this moment to try to coerce a suspension. And it worked. Was it smart? Yes. Was it rather cheap? Of course. Did it help them? Of course. Without that suspension, guarantee the Warriors would have finished off the Cavs in Game 5 in Oakland.
LeBron James is a smart opportunist, he only came back to Cleveland because he saw an opportunity—Kyrie Irving as a budding young star and lots of first-draft talent that was easy trade bait for other teams. Same with the Lakers, many expiring contracts and a smaller payroll allowed for him to build a superteam in Los Angeles. Jordan would never. Yes, LeBron saw opponents that would give the 90s Bulls migraines like the San Antonio Spurs, the Steph/Durant Warriors, and the Westbrook/Durant Oklahoma City Thunder. But at the same time, LeBron had been able to play for some of the deepest teams in the history of the NBA, while also watering down his own conference along the way. With the Heatles and the New-Look Lakers, he is easily able to slow down and put his foot off the accelerator once in a while. Bulls always had to look over their shoulders throughout the season with the underrated Cavs, the Knicks, the Pacers, the Hawks, and even towards the end the Florida teams.
None of Michael Jordan’s teams are as deep as the Heatles, the Coming Home Cavs, and the Final Act Lakers. Jordan had to score an average of 40 a game in the 1993 NBA Finals to beat the extremely mighty Phoenix Suns. Michael Jordan never saw Scottie Pippen drop 41 in a crucial Finals game (See Kyrie Irving’s 41 in that infamous Game 5 against Golden State). Pippen actually had his best scoring playoff performance when he played for the Blazers (man this storyline would have been so convoluted if he had been able to beat the Lakers in the 2000 Western Conference Finals).
Oh and P.S., Michael Jordan not ONCE had a teammate score an average of 22+ in the Finals.
Oh and P.P.S. Michael Jordan is the only player in NBA history to lead a team to the championship with only one teammate averaging double figures in scoring.
Similar to the Warriors of the 2010s, we always praise the starting lineup, but neither team had much of a bench and were usually a major injury away from being really exposed (See: 1998 NBA Finals where Jordan’s Bulls definitely would have lost Game 7 had it gone that far). LeBron James right now has two controversial but still-effective upcoming Hall of Famers coming off the bench in Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo—and this isn’t even the best bench he has ever played with. Can LeBron James really have an excuse if he can’t win a championship with THIS team?
Michael Jordan sacrificed his heart, body, and soul to win at basketball. Jordan had to bulk up to survive one of the greatest teams in the history of the NBA, he had to pour out every ounce of his talent to push the Bulls to greatness—remember his main protector and enforcer on the court, Charles Oakley, got traded for….Bill Cartwright in the midst of his yearly showdowns against Detroit. Also remember he didn’t even have Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, or even Toni Kukoc until the second stretch of championship winning. Jordan’s path to the Finals was far harder, he had weaker teammates, and had to survive some overwhelming circumstances ranging from the Pistons to a general manager that hated all of them to the slow growth of Scottie Pippen and worst of all the tragic murder of his father. You thought J.R. Smith was a mess? Dennis Rodman’s antics makes Smith look like a basketball Mr. Rogers.
To me LeBron James still hasn’t passed the likes of Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, and even to a slight extent Tim Duncan and Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas (the last two retired early because of injuries). Then there’s Kawhi Leonard (2 rings, almost 3) who was traded to a team he didn’t really want to play for and drove them to the damn Finals and even won. And we also can’t forget Steph Curry (3 rings); although injuries has definitely hindered his potential for even more, you haven’t seen him openly recruit or have thirsty eyes towards other franchises. The thing is, LeBron James definitely has the talent and expertise to overcome all these players and climb to the near-top and at the very least the NBA’s Mount Rushmore. But LeBron James in the midst of all his talent doesn’t have the competitive nature that we saw in the 1990s NBA, and nowadays see in too-few examples like Russell Westbrook when he decided to stay with the Thunder even when things became extraordinarily bleak.
LeBron’s path towards success and his insistence of building these uberteams especially post Heatles is what irks me about him. This man can easily lead youngsters and role players to the Promised Land with him steering the ship, he is talented enough to do this and it would elevate him so much more. But we’ll never see this, whether it’s him joining Wade, Bosh, Irving, or Anthony Davis all in their primes. The greatest players of all-time should never attempt to join forces with their main competitors. I have him in similar grounds to O’Neal: an extremely powerful presence in the NBA that nonetheless behaved like a basketball mercenary and sought after rings and established teams in the second halves of their careers. LeBron has played for three teams, and Shaq played for an astonishing six.
Magic Johnson never tried to recruit Clyde Drexler or Hakeem Olajuwon. Michael Jordan never tried to bring in Charles Barkley or Patrick Ewing. And even Kobe Bryant never really tried to recruit, despite his demands for trades in competitive frustration and even nearly signing with the Clippers. LeBron James’ chances of being undisputed GOAT would have emerged had he stayed in Cleveland until he won his title and then moved on elsewhere, and even if that title never came his stats and storyline would have boosted his resume and argument.
This might be me speaking in Boomer Territory, but similar to being in certain events or eras like the final day in MLB’s extremely wild 2011 season or being involved in the SNES/Genesis Gaming Wars, you had to have lived it and witnessed it and embedded yourself in it to really appreciate what you were seeing—well until that awesome documentary came to light. The Last Dance restarted those memories of a seemingly faraway time of basketball culture.
I had that marvel, that wonder, that appreciation when I saw Michael Jordan play. I felt it as a Magic fan when Penny Hardaway was at his peak (and sobbed when I saw him fall apart prematurely). I sensed this immense greatness when Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant played and then saw Kobe take a mishmash squad to two straight championships. I appreciate LeBron James, and I can’t dispute his greatness and incredible all-around game. But I don’t quite develop those same feelings simply because of the circumstances he had been able to create—circumstances legends of yesteryear would have never attempted from The Decision to him straight-up quitting on the Lakers after the free agency failures in the 2018-2019 season. This is why we hold the 1980s and 1990s NBA near and dear to our hearts, even if there’s more talent in today’s NBA, and this is why in terms of the GOAT it is Jordan plain and simple.
Michael Jordan is the greatest and most competitive basketball player I have ever seen, and there’s a reason why we revere him so damn much today. And remember this isn’t me stating this as fact, but there’s no way I have LeBron within Jordan territory, not right now, not even close.
Michael Jordan is the GOAT. Period.