MJ, Kobe or Lebron?
Air Jordan? The Black Mamba? King James?
It is common fact at this point that Michael Jeffrey Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time, but it is certainly time to evaluate Kobe Bryant and LeBron James' career to see if a true case can be made for the GOAT title.
We know MJ was an absolute scoring machine and never backed down from a challenge. From 1984, the man was a ruthless assassin on the court, but also failed to win until Scottie Pippen came to town, thereby alleviating a great deal of defensive responsibilities. Jordan was a force to be reckoned with and went 6 for 6 in the NBA Finals. He robbed Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing and Karl Malone of championship rings and never took no for an answer. 10 Scoring Titles, 6 Rings, Defensive Player of the Year and Held The Face of the NBA for a solid decade. Was his dominance sheer talent or were the teams he faced weak? Do we underestimate the defensive work Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen did on the hardwood? Michael had the ability to roam free on offenses because Scottie would often guard the best player of the opposing team. But still, Michael always found a way to win. Never complained, never asked for help and stuck through it all.
The Black Mamba. Kobe Bryant became an absolute scoring machine and quickly became Michael's protege. While this is true, Kobe Bryant spent the first ten years being one of the best players, instead of the best. He played coming off the bench, then played as a partner to Shaquille O'Neal and then became a uni-dimensional ball player whose scoring abilities even eclipsed Michael Jordan. Kobe's initial days of success were spent in the shadows of Shaquille O'Neal, where some may argue that he didnt receive his due share of credit. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he has led his team to the finals and won. As the middle years of his career progressed, we noticed flaws in Kobe's game, namely that he forces the game to come to him even when his shot was not there. With the series loses to the Suns, it became apparent that Kobe needed help and also needed to work on his game in regards to trusting his teammates. Enter 06-10- Kobe Bryant's dominance. Through these four years, Kobe Bryant learned the delicate balance of passing, shooting, defending and sheer will to win games. Granted that he lost the 08 finals, but it doesn't change the fact that he perfected his ability to play the game and just lost to a better team. Kobe Bryant became the face of the NBA, and had a solid run at beating the MAgic and coming back to beat the Celtics in a classic Celts-Lakers rivalry. Does his dominance top Jordans? With 1 MVP, 18 All Star appearances, 5 titles and 2 finals MVP, Kobe had a hell of a career. The numbers certainly rest below Jordan, but does his situation and level of competition get a pass to better his Airness?
King James. The Chosen One on the cover of Sports Illustrated well before he played a professional basketball game. He was expected to lead a deprived franchise to a championship with his ethereal talents and came close to it within four years of entering the league. With a team that had Zydrunas Ilgauskas as the best player, Lebron James ran into some serious trouble with the Spurs in 2007. While he gets a pass for that year, the following two years were certainly blemish's on his resume. As good as he was, he wasn't able to get the job done. It is true that he did not have any reasonable help, but the series against the Magic was one that he could have one and reached the Finals to give us an epic Kobe-Lebron dual of the century. 2011 was definitely the biggest meltdown of a superstar that tarnished his legacy. I don't think we should fault him for joining a team with other Allstars as Kobe had Shaq and Michael had Pip. That meltdown against the Mavericks however, certainly smudged his resume. 2012 and onwards, it's hard to deny that Lebron James was an absolute freak show. 2012-2017 and counting, Lebron has done it all. Points, Rebounds, Assists and Championship rings against the Spurs dynasty, Warriors star-studded team and the studded team of Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook & James Harden. Heading to his 7th straight finals after an epic comeback last year, can we forgive his meltdown in 2011? I'd say Lebron needs another couple moments in the Finals to overcome Jordan's unblemished 6-0 resume, even though his finals opponents were much easier competition.
As it stands now
Air Jordan
Black Mamba
The King.
I admit with a win this year, Lebron will move into 2nd place.
What do you guys think?
These conversations are always very interesting. On one hand people say MJ is the GOAT because he has 6 rings. But if championships were the criteria for greatness the Bill Russell is the undisputed GOAT. But because he was a center he is somehow discounted.
I know Michael Jordan is the GOAT to many but he does not top my list. My criteria would be if you had the first pick in the draft and rookie MJ, KB24 and LBJ were all in the draft who would you take? My pick? LeBron Raymone James. I think in a vacuum he is the best player period. Biggest, strongest, best rebounder, best passer, and elevates those around him like only Magic Johnson could. LeBron's biggest weakness I would say is the free throw.
Next, and I know this is extremely controversial, I pick Kobe Bean Bryant. My favorite player and the reason for 248 in my stemmit name. I would start him as a rookie btw. I pick him second for that killer instinct. I think him and MJ are very close as basketball players but people give him the nod for 6-0 record. I happen to think in a vacuum Kobe COULD have been the better player. It's one of those things that we will never know because they played in different eras and their primes obviously were too far apart.
What do you think?