• New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.

Lebron James (Los Angeles Lakers)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
Why does the comparison to MJ have to include his entire completed career? Jordan was a bonafide superstar by his third season but didn't take the Bulls to the Eastern finals until his 5th year, and didn't make it to the NBA Finals until his 7th: LeBron's got the Cavs one game away from the NBA Finals in year 4.
 
Upvote 0
BayBuck;855375; said:
Why does the comparison to MJ have to include his entire completed career? Jordan was a bonafide superstar by his third season but didn't take the Bulls to the Eastern finals until his 5th year, and didn't make it to the NBA Finals until his 7th: LeBron's got the Cavs one game away from the NBA Finals in year 4.
Click to expand...

Good points. I think that last night LBJ has equalled anything that MJ did in any individual playoff game, and he showed he can deliver in crunch-time in a huge game. But they need to finish off Detroit for the performance to retain its historical value.

But they don't need to beat San Antonio this year to validate LeBron's status as the #1 star for the next several years in the NBA.
 
Upvote 0
BayBuck;855375; said:
Why does the comparison to MJ have to include his entire completed career? Jordan was a bonafide superstar by his third season but didn't take the Bulls to the Eastern finals until his 5th year, and didn't make it to the NBA Finals until his 7th: LeBron's got the Cavs one game away from the NBA Finals in year 4.
Click to expand...

Let's not forget that MJ had a much better supporting cast around him plus a much better offensive coach to take him to those Finals.
 
Upvote 0
To be clear, I didn't say LJ=MJ, and I am not convinced he ever will be, but....

1. Four years out of HS MJ was a rookie in the NBA.

2. The Bulls were not a great team without Jordan, but the Cavaliers do not even have a Scottie Pippen.

3. Nor do the Cavs have a Phil Jackson.

4. He COMPLETELY took over an NBA game against a very good defensive team in a critical game at THEIR house. It was a remarkable performance by ANY standard. If it is his only such performance we will some day forget who he was. It will not be.


Forget all about the stats, how many playoffs he has won and even what he did last night. Watch what this kid can do on a basketball court. He absolutely merits comparisons to Jordan.
 
Upvote 0
Oh8ch;855674; said:
To be clear, I didn't say LJ=MJ, and I am not convinced he ever will be, but....

1. Four years out of HS MJ was a rookie in the NBA.

2. The Bulls were not a great team without Jordan, but the Cavaliers do not even have a Scottie Pippen.

3. Nor do the Cavs have a Phil Jackson.

4. He COMPLETELY took over an NBA game against a very good defensive team in a critical game at THEIR house. It was a remarkable performance by ANY standard. If it is his only such performance we will some day forget who he was. It will not be.


I would say dennis rodman,charles oakley , horace grant and tony kukoc were not to bad either

Forget all about the stats, how many playoffs he has won and even what he did last night. Watch what this kid can do on a basketball court. He absolutely merits comparisons to Jordan.
Click to expand...


I would say dennis rodman,charles oakley,horace grant, tony kukoc,ron harper ,luc longly and bill cartwright were not to bad either.

Lebron at 22, what did Jordan do at 22? Lebron is years ahead of Jordan
 
Upvote 0
I watched the game last night at a gym with a Piston's fan. I remember when The cavs were down 107-104. I told the Piston's fan, sarcasticly "What, what's he going to do? Shoot a three and make it?" Those were my exact words. We were just laughing at how insane the shots he was making where. It was like he could do anything he wanted.

It was the greatest basketball performance I've ever seen, considering that he scored 29 of his teams final 30 points--just saying that sounds rediculous-- and on top of everything he did he hit the game winning shot.

If LeBron gets a consistent outside shot I think he can do what he did last night consistently. Hell, He could play a team by himself on offense for one half.

I won't compare him to Jordan, but I'll say that I've never seen a more athletic basketball player. He has the vertical leap, the speed, the agility and the cordination.
 
Upvote 0
ESPN guys were comparing Lebron's performance last night to other great playoff performances.

They mentioned, among others:

MJ's 63 point game against '86 eventual champion Boston (but the Bulls lost the game)

Magic's 42 point, 15 rebound performance as a rookie in Game 6 of the Finals against Philly in '80 (Kareem missed the game, it closed out the series)

The Boston-Atlanta Game 7 Conference semi in '88 that I mentioned last night. Bird scored 20 in the 4th quarter, and Dominique Wilkins finished 19-23 from the field. They traded baskets for most of the 4th quarter.

A Bill Russell 30-point, 40-rebound game in a Game 7 double-OT win for Boston in the 1963 Finals against the Lakers. That's a game that needs to be shown on ESPN Classic.
 
Upvote 0
akronbuck;855687; said:
I would say dennis rodman,charles oakley,horace grant, tony kukoc,ron harper ,luc longly and bill cartwright were not to bad either.

Lebron at 22, what did Jordan do at 22? Lebron is years ahead of Jordan
Click to expand...


I'd say that the NBA was a better league when Jordan was 22-23 than it is right now for Lebron at 22.

It doesn't and shouldn't diminish what Lebron is doing (the guy is practically going 1 on 5 every night), but the eras are completely different right now.
 
Upvote 0
BuckeyeMike80;856420; said:
I'd say that the NBA was a better league when Jordan was 22-23 than it is right now for Lebron at 22.

It doesn't and shouldn't diminish what Lebron is doing (the guy is practically going 1 on 5 every night), but the eras are completely different right now.
Click to expand...

I will agree with that, but he did it against a team that is known as being one of the best if not the best defensive team in the league...
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top