NBA Hall-of-Famer and Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen recently had the audacity to state that Miami Heat star LeBron James could be better than Michael Jordan. Appearing on ESPN Radio’s ‘Mike & Mike in the Morning’, Pippen was asked to compare LeBron and his former Bulls sidekick.
“Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to ever play in the game. But I may go as far as to say LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game…”
Comparing players to His Airness or dubbing young stars The Next Jordan is nothing new, but for anyone – especially someone who played alongside Jordan – to state that he isn’t the greatest, is blasphemy of the highest order.
That’s not trying to take anything away from James.
The Miami Heat star is a truly great player, with a legacy that will only be strengthened if he is able to capture his first NBA Championship against the Dallas Mavericks in the next fortnight. When all is said and done for James, he will almost certainly be considered one of the all-time greats of the NBA, but he has a long way to go before being considered better than Jordan.
Here are five players who stand between James and Jordan, who he has to move past before even thinking about Jordan.
Kobe Bryant
The only active player on this list is the one current player who can undoubtedly claim to be above James.
Ironically, both Bryant and James are two of the most polarising figures in the NBA today, they are either loved or hated. There is no middle ground with these two.
While it can be argued that James has supplanted Bryant as the best player in the league at present, Bryant’s accomplishments give him the edge. Bryant – at age 31 – has five NBA titles next to his name. James – at age 27 – has zero.
Admittedly, that looks likely to change, with Miami seemingly on track to claim the 2011 crown, but that would still leave James four titles behind Bryant. The Chosen One would need to win the next five NBA titles – including this season – to be at the same level as Bryant is now.
Julius Erving
Doctor J and James have amazingly similar career paths, up to this point.
Both players came into the league riding a wave of hype and publicity. Erving averaged 35 points and 20 rebounds per game during his college career, while James tore apart high school opponents, and was the reason high school basketball became a televised event.
They both stand out as incredibly gifted athletes – even in comparison to their NBA counterparts – and were capable of unimaginable feats on the basketball court.
Irving was long known during his career as one of the best players to have never won an NBA Championship, before he teamed with another NBA star – Moses Malone – to form one of the most potent duos in history. Irving won his first NBA title in 1983, the first year that he teamed up with a fellow out-and-out superstar.
Sound familiar?
Oscar Robertson
The Big O is seemingly one of the most underrated players, from an NBA era gone by.
Robertson has an astonishing resume, he is a member of the Hall-of-Fame, an NBA Champion (1971), NBA MVP (1964), Rookie of the Year (1961), 12-Time NBA All Star and was voted one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history (1996).
The definition of an all-around player, which is why he is a great comparison for LeBron James, Robertson amazingly averaged a triple-double over the 1961-62 season, a feat that is still seen as one of the greatest in NBA history.
However, over their careers, the two have incredibly similar statistics. Robertson retired averaging 25.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game. James currently averages 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7 assists per game, over the course of his eight NBA seasons.
Again, the similarity of the need for a fellow star emerges with Robertson. The Big O was never able to capture NBA glory during his time with the Cincinnati Royals, often falling to Jerry West and the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, before the 1970-71 season, Robertson was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, pairing him with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, forming a tandem that was the key to the Bucks’ 1971 Championship.
Robertson still holds a slight advantage over James as a result of the 1971 NBA Championship, but once James collects his first ring he could replace Robertson as the greatest all-around player in NBA history.
Scottie Pippen
Scottie Pippen is one of the most talented and versatile players in NBA history. NBA.com states that Pippen “orchestrated an offense like a point guard, rebounded like a power forward, scored like a shooting guard, and defended on the perimeter like few others.”
These are all descriptions that could be applied to James.
While Pippen clearly has the lead in team success, and although he was a vital component of the Chicago Bulls’ six NBA Championships during the 1990s, he did have the benefit of playing alongside a certain guard from North Carolina.
LeBron James leads Pippen in basically every other measurement, which can make up for the differential in titles, at least in the Pippen case. As great as Pippen was, he was never able to carry his Chicago Bulls team. Undoubtedly Jordan was the main reason that the Bulls won those 6 titles, and the fact that the Bulls only made the second round of the playoffs in the year when Pippen was the star gives this one to James.
James may not have led the Cavaliers to an NBA Title, but they were a perennial contender during his stint with the team, purely because of his amazing play. With Pippen at the helm, the Bulls were competitive at best.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson is arguably the second-best player to have ever laced up a pair of boots.
This comparison really gained more impetus once James joined the Miami Heat. At time this season, the Heat have called upon James to run their offense and he has looked like Johnson out there.
The two are incredibly similar in size and even their chosen styles of play, and if James adopted the role of point guard on a permanent basis, the comparison would be even tighter.
James undoubtedly has greater raw athletic ability than Magic, but he is currently nowhere near him in terms of being the better player.
Magic played in ten out of twelve finals in his first years in the league. Five of those ten trips ended in championship glory for Magic and his Lakers. In his rookie season, Magic incredibly not only won his first title, but he was also named the NBA Finals MVP.
James really needs to rattle of a series of NBA Championship seasons between now and the end of his career, before he can realistically be seen to have passed Magic.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
"Don’t think you can really count college stats when talking about the best NBA players, College would be a completely different ranking." True, although I only brought up college to indicate how dominant Kareem was.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
You're right about Russell's role, however the fact is that he still wasn't a great scorer. Thus, when comparing him to Kareem, I don't have any choice but to mark him down. Russell was still IMO the second greatest center of all time. However, he just wasn't particularly strong on the offensive end, as opposed to Kareem who dominated on both ends.
Johnno
Guest
Miami is Dwayne wADES TEAM NOT le Brons. He is the clutch player they look to not Le Bron. See him today it was him to tookt he clutch shots and made the big 3's and big plays, not le bron. Le bron only scored 2 points in the 4th quarter today, thats right 2 points, while Dirk scored 9 straight points and his right shooting arm index finger was damaged, and had to shoot left handed at times and play with pain, he got his winning layup with left handed, so dIRK CAN BEAT le Bron with his left hand. Man he is good, a 7 foot man that can shoot 3's. Makes lUKE lONGLEY LOOK so average when i think about that. AndAndrew bogut has a good shot to. A bogut is defiantly better aussy centre than luke longley was no question.http://cdn1.theroar.com.au/wp-content/themes/roar/images/butt_addcomment.gif
Johnno
Guest
And LE Bron choked again in the playoffs when it really counts. He is athletically amazing, but he reminds me of Pierre spires, awesome physical specimen, but is mentally soft and weak. Unlike say Sonny Bill Williams, who is athletic and also mentally strong and has that ability to be clutch player under pressure in his chosen sport. Proven match winner NRL TITLE 2004. Le bron in USA is known as Le choke. and dirk and the maves did it to le bron today again just like boston and orlando did it to him in his cleavland days.He is soft when it counts. Unlike MJ,MAJIC,BIRD,KOBE,SHAQ,PAUL Pierce, Hakeem,Tim duncan,scott pippin,dennis roman. Karl malone wasn't clutch player either. James worthy was one hell of a clutch player to. All winning teams have good back up. Jordan pippin, and a dominant power forwad, eg Horace grant ,Dennis Rodman. MJ never won a title without pippin or a strong power forwad. Marradonna is only player 86 soccer world cup than i could think of that was a 1 man team, and he did cheat his way to final, ENGLAND had them on the ropes, until hand of GOD. Sport is about steeping up when it counts, eg wally lewis, andrew johns, darren locker, jjonathon thurston, cam smith,Greg Inglis, Ian Thorpe,sHANE WARNE AND Glen mCgrath, Allan border the waugh brothers, not dominating in regular season and then freezing in finals, or not being your best. Parra eels are chokers science 1986, dragons were chokers until last year, but would carve up during regular season in many seasons but fail come finals time, and Arsenal soccer team are chokers for at least 5 years to. eNGLAND CRICKET AND SOUTH AFRICAN CRICKET TEAM USED TO BE CHOKERS TO, AND south africa still are chokers at one day level if World cups are to be the ultimate test in ODI and choking.Maybe the all blacks are chokers to but they have won the tri nations lol, but yep they gotta shake the choker tag to. The great ones all have that thing in common they step up in the clutch, and make the key play to win the title.
Tui
Guest
Didn't go so much to plan did it?
ohtani's jacket
Guest
We could keep arguing about this forever, but I don't see how you can compare a rookie to a six year pro and legitimate superstar. And of course you can compare Moses and Lebron since they actually have something in common. You don't seem to mind comparing guards and forwards in this article of yours. Cleveland were never championship favourites. It's easy to say that now because it was never the case. What makes you think winning 60 games is a big deal? The Bulls and Spurs won 60 games this season and where are they? The Bulls didn't win without Jordan, Jordan never won without Pippen, on and on it goes. The Bulls didn't win when Jordan came back in '95 either, did they? The fact is that teams win championships not one guy. Pippen may not have won a championship in 1994, but he carried that Bulls team as well as anyone possibly could. The interesting thing about Lebron signing with the Heat is that he wants to be part-Jordan, part-Pippen, which probably suits him better than having to be that "one guy" who's meant to carry a team to a championship. Kareem being the real MVP on that Lakers' championship is my opinion from watching every game in that finals series. It's a long running debate amongst basketball fans as to whether Magic deserved that MVP award. Kareem was an absolute monster in the first three games the Lakers won. Personally, I've never gotten too into Lebron. I just don't find him compelling. Both him and Kobe seem like the best possible versions of the Jordan clones who ruined basketball for a long time after Jordan retired.
Liam Quinn
Roar Pro
You're the only person using college as a comparison, I know that LeBron never played College, but i was simply saying if you look at the hype surrounding the players when they came into to the league, it was very similar. I was reiterate, they both put up very strong numbers when they joined the NBA, and both were capable of amazing things on the court. You can keep talking about the difference between High School and the ABA, but I'm simply comparing their NBA CAREERS! And no Moses isn't a better comparison, he was a CENTRE, so you cannot compare LeBron or Dr J to a centre. Nobody thought highly of the Cavs? So I guess making them Championship favourites, and having the side win over 60 games in back-to-back seasons isn't that big a deal. It's incredibly easy for you to make statements about what people think when we're looking back at it, I've clearly just focused on the statistics from that time, and the fact the they were considered favourites by most to win the Championship. Jordan might not have won without Pippen, but again you're using hypotheticals and opinion. Fact is that with Jordan they won, without him they didn't. If you disagree look at the history books. Kareem had been League MVP before 1980, and he still hadnt won a championship. Again, saying that "he sportswriters getting carried away" was the reason Magic won his FInals MVP, is just your opinion. Statistically he played incredibly well, and just imagine they hype around a Rookie today if they played out of position and put up 42, 15 and 7. I think it's a sign of just how good LeBron is/will be that we compare him to these great players before his career has even finished. But to say that he is better than them is a little premature.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
There's nothing remotely similar about the career paths of Dr.J and Lebron James. Why compare James to guys who put up big numbers in college? James never even went to college. The real comparison here is between Lebron and Kobe, who also put up big numbers in high school and was drafted straight into the NBA. Hell, Moses Malone is a better comparison with Lebron than Dr.J since he went straight from high school to the ABA. I don't really think there was enough time between the '77 finals and Dr.J's early 80s contenders to say he was one of the best players to never win a championship. That sort of remark is made about players who are no longer operating in their window of opportunity. Moses was the final piece of a puzzle that included Julius Erving, Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones. Nobody ever thought as highly of Lebron's Cleveland teams as you're making out. I'm not even trying to defend Lebron here, I just think you're overstating your argument. Who's to say Jordan could've gotten past the Knicks without Pippen? Besides, the Bulls weren't just about Jordan and Pippen. Look at how they struggled in '95 when they lost Horace Grant. If the trade for Rodman hadn't worked out there's a good chance that the second three peat doesn't happen or at the least isn't a three peat. Kareem was the league MVP in 1980 and was averaging 33 ppg in the finals before the injury. Magic's Finals MVP award in 1980 was the sportswriters getting carried away with his game 6 performance. You're also ignoring how Magic divided the squad upon his return from injury in '81 and how he was booed around the league for forcing Buss to fire Paul Westhead as coach. Here's a quote from Sports Illustrated at the time: "The 20-year-old who had the ability to make everyone smile just by walking into a room, onto a court or into a 7-Up commercial has turned into a greedy, petulant and obnoxious 22-year-old." I can't see the Lebron/Magic comparison. People seem to make the comparison because James has good ball handling scores and puts up near triple doubles like Magic used to do.
Liam Quinn
Roar Pro
Amazingly similar NBA career paths. Both came into the league riding a huge amount of hype, put up huge numbers almost instantly, and were able to do things on the court that were a sight to behold. Well, you're entitled to have your opinion and say that Erving didn't need a star, but history shows that he did. Fact. And he was one of the best players to never win a title, but obviously with that comes the sort of questions about why he couldn't. Also, if you look at it, LeBron's Cavs teams were thought to be pretty good - league's best record, championship favourites - before choking in the playoffs...so i'd say that was another similarity. Yes the Knicks teams of the 90s were great, and Jordan had to really perform to get passed them, but in the end, he did. And then went on to win championships. Pippen didn't. Pippen's a great player, but he couldn't lead his team passed the Knicks, whereas Jordan could, regardless of how tough it was. Hmm, the beginning of Magic's career? I guess Magic winning Finals MVP in his Rookie season, and carrying the Lakers in the decisive game six when Kareem was injured doesn't count in your book. Magic in Game 6 - 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. Another fact is that Kareem never won an NBA title with the Lakers before Magic showed up, he was the league's best scorer but couldn't win. Magic carried the Lakers in Game 6 - when he played as a Centre - so yeah, I'd say it was his team from pretty early on. I'd actually say that LeBron is more Magic than Michael, due to his size and overall statistical spread. He runs the point at times, and is often compared to Magic by people much higher up the NBA writers tree than us. Kobe is the Jordan mould, not LeBron.
Gigi
Guest
Ok you LeBron haters another night for you all to witness greatness...King James is about to give it to Dallas again lol!!! I got tickets for the NBA finals, anyone else going for the finals? I saw a few tickets still available for the finals here http://goo.gl/TSqpT Check it if someone needs em, maybe we will meet in the stadium... lol
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Where is the amazingly similar career path between Erving going from college to the ABA to the NBA and James being drafted out of high school? I think the picture you paint of Erving needing an out and out superstar in Malone to win a title is wrong. The Sixers were out and out the best team in the league in '77 and choked. In fact, rather than being "one of the best players to have never won an NBA Championship" there were often question marks over Doc's ability to win a championship. It took Jordan seven games to beat the Knicks in '92 and six games to beat them in '93. The Bulls vs. Knicks were tough series and '94 was no exception. It's ridiculous to suggest that Pippen taking over the role of Jordan and leading the Bulls in all major categories failed somehow by losing to the Knicks in seven when the Knicks went on to lose in the NBA finals in seven. The Lakers were Kareem's team in the beginning of Magic's career. It's not hearsay or opinion, it's simply a fact. He was the captain of the Lakers in those years and Finals MVP in '85 when they finally won a championship against the Boston Celtics. The Magic Johnson that everybody thinks of when they think of Magic Johnson was really the Magic from the back-to-back years in '87 and '88. Anyway, I don't see how you can compare Lebron to Magic because Magic was a completely unique player. There was never anyone like him before and there hasn't been since. No matter how good Lebron is, he's in the shadow of the Michael Jordan mould of a dominant scorer who you run the offence through. The Lakers' offence was run by Magic but never through Magic. He had a knack for scoring when the Lakers needed him to but he wasn't actually that great a shooter. Put Magic in Lebron's role and he would've have been as good.
Liam Quinn
Roar Pro
Never once said that Dr J entered the league straight from College, it's pretty well known that he played for the Squires and Nets in the ABA. However, the comparison between College for Dr J and High School for LeBron is simply because it was the last time the players competed without being professional players. And you'll find that at UMASS, Erving averaged 35 points and 20 rebounds per - and was one of only 5 players to do so. Also I dont see how you can point out statistical faults as your main concern, and then go on to use hypotheticals, such as "would’ve won an NBA title much sooner than ’83 " as an argument. Sure they had potential to, but the fact is they didn't. No one is arguing that Pippen did not play well in the 1994 season - he had a great season in fact - yet the simple matter is that with Jordan leading the side they won six championships, with Pippen leading the team they lost in the Second Round. And to say that tough Knicks team, that was the same team the Bulls were beating on the way to their first three-peat. If anything that further proves my point. Sure Magic played on a great team, but if you look down the line, basically every great player has been involved with a great team. Russel's Celtics - stacked. Bird's Celtics - Stacked. Jordan's Bulls - Great. Magic's Lakers - Stacked. Isiah's Pistons - Stacked. Ewing's Knicks - Great team. And saying that it "was Kareem's team until at least '85" is complete hearsay and opinion. The stats show that Magic Johnson is one of the most successful players in history, you cannot argue with that.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Bill Russell was 6'9", which was undersized for a center even in the 50s and 60s. He wasn't a great shooter from the field or free throw line and pretty much had two roles on offence -- pass from the high post and shoot from the low post -- but the offence wasn't centered around him. In a halfcourt set he used to play near the baseline in anticipation of the rebound and only move to set picks. In fact, Red Auerbach only had one offensive play for him. His job was really to play man-to-man defence, block shots, rebound and throw outlet passes for the fast break. He used to sprint up the court all the time on the break but nine times out of ten it went to the Celtics' shooters. He actually wasn't a bad scorer in college and his 15ppg for the Celtics made him the third highest scorer in an offence where scoring was distributed amongst all the players. The most interesting thing about all this was that when Bill Sharman applied the same system for Wilt in '72, Wilt won a ring with the Lakers. The only problem was that he hated it, just like in '67 when he curbed his scoring for an all-round game like Russell's and surprise, surprise won a ring. Russell also did about as good a job defensively on Wilt as was possible in Wilt's prime.
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Guest
Can't say I care too much where Lebron rates in the basketball hierachy, but this article has a number of factual errors. Dr J didn't enter the game from college. He entered from the ABA where in five seasons he won two championships, three MVP trophies, and three scoring titles. He would've won an NBA title much sooner than '83 but the Sixers blew a 2-0 series lead against the Blazers in the 1977 Finals. They had their opportunties in the early 80s as well during their Eastern conference rivalry with the Celtics but lost in '80 and '82 to the Lakers. There was a lot of talent on those Sixers teams, they simply struggled at the pivot against Walton and Parish and Kareem, despite Darryl Dawkins throwing down some of the best dunks in NBA history. The Cincinnati Royals played in the Eastern Conference not the West. They invariably lost to the Celtics and not the Lakers. Pippen did a fantastic job leading the Bulls in '94 and finished third in MVP voting that year. Even in '95 when they struggled to a far greater extent than '94, he still led the Bulls in every major statistical category — points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks -- for the second straight season. The only other player who has ever done that was Dave Cowens. And that loss in the '94 playoffs was a tough seven game series against the Knicks where the home team won every game. It's remembered for two things -- Pippen refusing to leave the bench when Jackson wouldn't let him take the buzzer beater and Pippen completely posterising Patrick Ewing in front of Spike Lee. Magic was a great player, but that 80s Lakers' team was completely stacked. You can no longer have teams like that in the NBA because of the salary cap. Also, it was Kareem's team until at least '85.
Liam Quinn
Roar Pro
Earl Monroe was 27 when he went to the Knicks, Frazier was 26 and admittedly Willis was 29 when they joined up. Hardly at the end of their careers. Oscar and Dr J were both 32 when they won a championship, so admittedly they were older, but Dr J joined the Sixers when he was 26. So again, pretty much right on his prime. I think LeBron was actually treated pretty badly - most of it came from "The Decision" - but he was hardly the first superstar to team up with another star in their "prime."
B-Rock
Roar Guru
Most of the criticism has been that LeBron has teamed up with Wade in his prime. Pretty much all other examples are when stars are towards the end of their careers - a big difference
B-Rock
Roar Guru
While Kobe won that ring early he had Shaq next to him... Put 21y.o LBJ with Shaq at his peak and see how many titles he would have won
amazonfan
Roar Guru
Jordan considered joining the Knicks in about '91, so that would have had two two top players joining up. There was also Drexler joining up with Hakeem & Barkley joining up with them later on. Karl Malone, admittedly towards the end of his career, teamed up with Shaq and Kobe. Finally, the Big Three at Boston can not be forgotten.
Liam Quinn
Roar Pro
I'd argue that there are plenty of examples of players joining up. Oscar joining Kareem at the Bucks, Dr J joining Moses Malone are two definite examples. Could even say that "Pearl" Monroe getting traded to the Knicks, teaming up with Walk Frazier and Willis Reed. LeBron was a great talent - and an MVP - before joining Wade and Bosh in Miami.
Marc David
Guest
Lebron only looks good cause he as Wayde and Bosh with him. Never in history has a great player joined another top franchise with another top 5 player to win finals. It would be the same as Bird or Magic joining the Bulls and then on top of that Patrick Ewing joining.