MJ vs LeBron

[EHoff99]

This tweet made me laugh out loud.

“I’ve heard more NBA employees put Jordan outside of their top 2 than put him 1st.”

i’m sorry but if you are talking to anyone and they have anyone other than MJ and LeBron in their top 2, you should end the conversation or at least recognize that their opinion shouldn’t be respected.

Adding that in made the entire tweet just sound bitter and like a joke

[THookem]

LeBron is not even second.  

[Alex Butler]

MJ, Shaq, Kobe, Magic, Wilt, Bron. Now as a prospect I don’t disagree that LeBron is a freak and great player to be sure. On the court MJ was cold as ice

[Glass Joe]

MJ wasn’t even a top 2 draft pick when he came out of UNC after his junior season.  It shows how much NBA GMs know.

MJ was head and shoulders above all his peers when he was on the court throughout his career.  That’s the measure of greatness for me.  Much like Tiger Woods on the golf course in his healthy prime, all others were just competing for second place.

There’s no doubt that LeBron has been widely recognized as the best player of his generation, but many also recognize that early in LeBron’s career, Kobe Bryant was still “the guy” in the NBA, and that during LeBron’s career there were other players who received generational GOAT superlatives (such as Steph Curry “greatest shooter of all-time”, or Tim Duncan “greatest PF of all-time”).  This doesn’t diminish LeBron’s achievements or greatness, but gives Michael’s greatness additional context.  Jordan never had peers or shared superlatives during his career.

For me, the difference between MJ and LeBron was when LeBron left Cleveland for Miami, and deferred to Dwayne Wade during winning time in the NBA Championship series (loss to Dallas).  MJ would never do something like that, and this makes him the all-time Alpha of the NBA.  To LeBron’s credit, he eventually grew into an alpha, and literally willed the Cavs to the title over GSW years later.  Props to him for the personal growth into an Alpha, but MJ never wasn’t the Alpha.

Edited 1 hour ago by Glass Joe