<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">It's not an impossibility. Everytime there's been a great, people have said no one will surpass them and then someone else comes along to challenge that notion. Also while Jordan is said by many to be the GOAT, it's still quite arguable as to whether Wilt is greater. We already have Lebron right now so we'll see how that goes.</div> Exactly. We just have to wait and see...
The thing is LeBron James is a great, great young player. But lets see if he accomplishes 4 titles by the time his career is over. People will still overrate him and say that he is better than Jordan. Lets not forget that Jordan won 6 rings including 2 3-peats and played killer defense. Lets not overrate the young guys accomplishments is all I'm trying to say.
I think lebron will be better. But Kobe definetly has a shot to to be better than jordan. You knever know some kid name Arthur Jones could come out of nowhere and be 6'9 245 pounds with lebron's athletiscm,Magic vision,Reggie miller's shot. and Mj drive.He could come in and average 30 points a game 9 boards and 8 assists. You never know. But my vote goes to lebron.
I think, as far as stats go and accomplishments go, someone will surpass him. However, for what he did for the game of basketball, no one will do that. The reason basketball is as popular as it is because of Michael Jordan. He made the sport popular throughout the '90s, and it's carried on to now. He also revolutionized the way it was played. If it wasn't for him, the thought of a guard dominating an era wouldn't have happened. If you look at past eras, they were dominated by bigs. George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Bill Russell, etc. Since then, we've seen only one truly dominant big, Shaq. Since MJ came, we've seen him dominate the league to the tune of 30ppg career, 6 titles, and 6 MVPs. Kobe Bryant has become probably the most explosive player of this generation. LeBron James has molded himself into what many consider the best player in the league. Dwayne Wade had his coming out party last year as well, throwing the Heat on his back and winning a title. So, in my opinion, while there may be someone better than MJ one day, no one will ever mean as much to the sport as he did.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NBA MAN:</div><div class="quote_post">The thing is LeBron James is a great, great young player. But lets see if he accomplishes 4 titles by the time his career is over. People will still overrate him and say that he is better than Jordan. Lets not forget that Jordan won 6 rings including 2 3-peats and played killer defense. Lets not overrate the young guys accomplishments is all I'm trying to say.</div> No one is saying LeBron is greater than championship-era Jordan, right now. And predicting that he'll eventually surpass Jordan isn't overrating him, it's overrating his potential.
Not neccisarily centers didn't dominate all eras. Example oscar robertson,Bob cousy, dick micguire.They dominated there eras.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ManHops23:</div><div class="quote_post">Not neccisarily centers didn't dominate all eras. Example oscar robertson,Bob cousy, dick micguire.They dominated there eras.</div> You think Robertson "dominated" over Wilt and Russell? He didn't win a championship until he teamed up with Kareem very late in his career. Cousy is a Hall of Famer, but he wasn't even the best player on his team when he started winning championships. And how did Dick McGuire dominate, exactly? Look at the career leaders in PER. Jordan is first. After him, the next 8 are all bigs.
I don't agree that Wade is better than Kobe, KG, TD, etc. I can see how Lebron could be in this discussion, but people are disrespecting other players in the NBA (by not mentioning them alongside Wade) because they're not as likeable and such. You don't play well against the Mavericks and jump over these people. As for who might be as good as Jordan, or which perimeter players might be like Jordan, I'd go with Lebron and Kobe.
yeah you're right dick mcguire didn't dominate his era.but Bob cousy did and oscar robertson. Heres a quote from leonard Koppett about oscar: No one has ever been a better all around player including jordan.Anything jordan could do , Robertson could do better. He could shoot better,defend,pass better, and he was two inches shorter.Bob cousy revolutionized the game. Sometimes it's not all about stats look at his impact on the game.Bob cousy was the third greatest passer ever. Back then once you bounced the ball to somebody it wouldn't count for a assist. Who else could average 9.5 assist with that type of rule.
If LeBron really has a chance at surpassing Jordan...I think he has a hell of a lot of work cut out for him. He needs to show me he can dominate the whole game...especially the 4th quarter like MJ did. He needs to do this in the finals/championship...He needs at least 6 rings. Right now I think Wade is a step up on LeBron with his bling, and the fact that he takes over games especially when teams need him the most. He proved that SO MANY times this season. 2 good ones- scoring the last 16 points for his team against DET to win the game, and all of his playoff games (especially Dallas ones) I believe that if someone does surpass Michael Jordan we will all know it.
Like many people have already said before, we can only wait and see. You never know what might happen. LeBron could be one injury away from turning into the next Penny Hardaway.
Jordan's precedent is through the roof. Unless a player can achieve 6 or more rings, come through in the clutch of all of those games when needed (failing sometimes is accepted), defer to teammates when the moment is called for, play outstanding defense, be a deadly scorer, be an absolute demon to guard, win MVP's left, right and center and finally, revolutionize the game, the media, the fans nor the NBA itself will ever accept anyone to be "greater" to him. As someone said, there maybe someone who surpasses him statically, but his revolution is hard to surpass. Furthermore, alot of you Jordan-fans need to accept that one day he will be surpassed. Records are meant to be broken, and although greatness will not be forgotten, the bar for greatness can be set even higher by someone else. Jordan set the precedent for greatness higher then Magic or Bird had in the 80's...and who knows, years down the line, a player could challenge Jordan's achievements as well. My guess: Lebron. At this rate, he has the capability to shatter Kareem's scoring record and is capable of playing another 20 years in the league...I wouldn't be surprised if he finishes with more then 6 championships. Can you imagine this guy in his prime (he's 21 by the way...that's perhaps the most scary thing about this) surrounded with talent? Jesus Christ. I used to always say "Kobe this, Kobe that" in these threads but Lebron, at this rate, will not only blow past Kobe, but Jordan as well. Of course, everyone has to be willing to ACCEPT that Lebron could surpass him. Unless Bron has 6 rings, the comparisons aren't legit, cause that's the bar that's been set. So, in conclusion, let's wait and see.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Junoon:</div><div class="quote_post">Jordan's precedent is through the roof. Unless a player can achieve 6 or more rings, come through in the clutch of all of those games when needed (failing sometimes is accepted), defer to teammates when the moment is called for, play outstanding defense, be a deadly scorer, be an absolute demon to guard, win MVP's left, right and center and finally, revolutionize the game, the media, the fans nor the NBA itself will ever accept anyone to be "greater" to him. As someone said, there maybe someone who surpasses him statically, but his revolution is hard to surpass. Furthermore, alot of you Jordan-fans need to accept that one day he will be surpassed. Records are meant to be broken, and although greatness will not be forgotten, the bar for greatness can be set even higher by someone else. Jordan set the precedent for greatness higher then Magic or Bird had in the 80's...and who knows, years down the line, a player could challenge Jordan's achievements as well. My guess: Lebron. At this rate, he has the capability to shatter Kareem's scoring record and is capable of playing another 20 years in the league...I wouldn't be surprised if he finishes with more then 6 championships. Can you imagine this guy in his prime (he's 21 by the way...that's perhaps the most scary thing about this) surrounded with talent? Jesus Christ. I used to always say "Kobe this, Kobe that" in these threads but Lebron, at this rate, will not only blow past Kobe, but Jordan as well. Of course, everyone has to be willing to ACCEPT that Lebron could surpass him. Unless Bron has 6 rings, the comparisons aren't legit, cause that's the bar that's been set. So, in conclusion, let's wait and see.</div> I agree with everything you said.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">LeBron is 21. You have to compare where he's at to where Jordan was after three years of college. Great player, but no one considered him the best player in the league till he was around 24 or 25. He got a lot of steals, but at the very beginning of his professional career he wasn't the great defender he'd become 3 or 4 years down the line. Let's just wait and see what level LeBron is playing at in a couple years.</div> Actually it's a combination of talent and luck Jordan possesses that many others didn't have. Jordan was a great, talented player who play in an era where the NBA was at its best with Magic/Bird, the Bad Boys, etc...He accomplished everything a player can dream of. Statistically, Wilt was better but accomplishment wise, Jordan was the king. In order for Lebron to surpass Jordan, he needs to have at least 6 rings, 5 mvp titles, over 10 scoring titles, defensive player of the year award, multiple 1st defensive team, and much more.... Wow, I can't imagine someone in this era can do that.
Why can't someone in this era do that? They can do it, they just have to be good enough to do it. A guy like Duncan is not as good as Jordan, but he has 2 MVP's, 3 Finals MVP's, 6 All-Defense First, 8 All-NBA First, should've won a DPOY by now, but hasn't, obviously 3 championships. So a guy like Duncan isn't as good, yet he's done some pretty nice things, so I don't see it our of the realm of possiblity for us to get a guy who can do it on both ends while winning also.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kobe4life:</div><div class="quote_post">Actually it's a combination of talent and luck Jordan possesses that many others didn't have. Jordan was a great, talented player who play in an era where the NBA was at its best with Magic/Bird, the Bad Boys, etc...He accomplished everything a player can dream of. Statistically, Wilt was better but accomplishment wise, Jordan was the king. In order for Lebron to surpass Jordan, he needs to have at least 6 rings, 5 mvp titles, over 10 scoring titles, defensive player of the year award, multiple 1st defensive team, and much more.... Wow, I can't imagine someone in this era can do that.</div> I personally don't consider championships, awards, and honors very heavily in judging the individual greatness of a player.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">I personally don't consider championships, awards, and honors very heavily in judging the individual greatness of a player.</div> I agree with that.
