Legit question. Does LeBron belong in the same breath as Jordan if he and the Cavs beat the Warriors this year?

[bLACKpANTHER]

Lebron is already 2nd All-Time. Of corse he is allowed to be mentioned in the same breath as MJ.

[nctarheel0619]

5 hours ago, pantherphan96 said:

If Lebron losing in the Finals is what makes him less than Jordan maybe we should look at who he lost to:

2007- Lebron drags a 50-32 team with Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson, and Aleksander Pavlovic as the other starters to the Finals to face the 58-24 San Antonio Spurs. They get swept.

2011- Lost 4-2 to the Mavs. Was terrible in the 4th quarter of the Finals. Got a lot of poo for his performance and it was well deserved.

2014- Attempting a 3peat, faced the Spurs for the 2nd consecutive year. Spurs finished 8 games better during the regular season. Lost 4-1 despite Lebron averaging 28/8/4 on 57/51/80 shooting splits.

2015- His most impressive performance yet, without Kevin Love and Irving he had his worst supporting cast since 07, facing his best Finals opponent yet. Led both teams in minutes, rebounds, assists, and points.

 

His Finals wins include beating the early stacked Thunder of KD, Russ and Harden; a consistently great Spurs team the next year, and the best regular season team of all time in the Warriors.

Let's not forget Jordan had a HOF teammates in Pippen and Rodman, arguably the most dominant rebounder of his era.

And the 90s have been incredibly overrated as a basketball era, it may have been more physical but Lebron is a specimen that would be unheard of back then, 6'8 250lbs incredibly fast, strong and agile. He would be dominant in any era. I think that after he retires people will realize he is a top 5 player all-time.

 

Also this Warriors team is the most stacked team in history and if Lebron beats them it will surpass any team Jordan ever faced.

LeBron has had two Olympian teammates every team he's won a Title on.  Jordan can't say that.  To say the 90's was overrated would be a fallacy.  A complete fallacy.  

[pantherphan96]

15 minutes ago, nctarheel0619 said:

LeBron has had two Olympian teammates every team he's won a Title on.  Jordan can't say that.  To say the 90's was overrated would be a fallacy.  A complete fallacy.  

Bosh isn't a HOF and I'd take Pippen/Rodman over a 30+ y/o Wade. 90s were completely overrated, players are bigger and more athletic now and you didn't have power forwards and centers hitting 3's like we do now. Name me a team Jordan faced that was better than last year's Warriors.

[Zaximus]

20 minutes ago, pantherphan96 said:

Bosh isn't a HOF and I'd take Pippen/Rodman over a 30+ y/o Wade. 90s were completely overrated, players are bigger and more athletic now and you didn't have power forwards and centers hitting 3's like we do now. Name me a team Jordan faced that was better than last year's Warriors.

Well he had Rodman for half his championships.   The first 3 was him and Pippen and a bunch of B tier players.  Jordan had a stacked team the 2nd go round but still had no center really and outside of Jordan/Pippen/Rodman it wasn't much.

Anyway I hate comparing, because generations shouldn't be compared.  Jordan would shoot 55 FT's a game in this NBA and Lebron wouldn't score as much because defense was more of a focus back then and less fouls.   He wouldn't be able to roll over the centers of the 90's for easy buckets.    Lebron is no doubt the best player of the last 17 years though.   Jordan the 20 before that.

I'd take Jordan though, because he just had that fire, and to me, more of a competitor and leader than Lebron is.   

[nctarheel0619]

8 hours ago, pantherphan96 said:

Bosh isn't a HOF and I'd take Pippen/Rodman over a 30+ y/o Wade. 90s were completely overrated, players are bigger and more athletic now and you didn't have power forwards and centers hitting 3's like we do now. Name me a team Jordan faced that was better than last year's Warriors.

Rodman was 34 in his first year with the Bulls.  Stop.  Bigger?  There are literally no Hall of Fame centers in the NBA right now.  Back then, there was Shaq, Ewing, Hakeem, Robinson, Mourning, and Mount Mutombo.  While now you have fuging Clint Capela.  I'm dead.  Stop while you're behind kid.  This is embarrassing.  

[nctarheel0619]

16 hours ago, Omega Atrocity said:

You guys misunderstand what I mean. Top level talent whatever that's arguable, and there has always been a lot of it in the playoffs. The average nba team in 2017 is much better than the average nba team was in say 1994.

Sent using the amazing CarolinaHuddle mobile app
 

The Hornets are an average NBA team, and they would get stomped back then.  And the bottom of the League is horrible nowadays.  

[pantherphan96]

5 hours ago, nctarheel0619 said:

Rodman was 34 in his first year with the Bulls.  Stop.  Bigger?  There are literally no Hall of Fame centers in the NBA right now.  Back then, there was Shaq, Ewing, Hakeem, Robinson, Mourning, and Mount Mutombo.  While now you have fuging Clint Capela.  I'm dead.  Stop while you're behind kid.  This is embarrassing.  

Rodman led the league in rebounds during the Bulls 3peat despite his age. Wade lacked the explosiveness and durability of his younger years. Centers and PF's now are hitting 3's and stretching the floor completely opening up the game offensively. A team like the Warriors would blitz a 90s team with their shooting. You really think the Phil Jackson 90s triangle offense and the ISO ball style played in the 90s would beat a Spurs or Warriors style ball movement offense? Get real.

[pantherphan96]

5 hours ago, nctarheel0619 said:

Rodman was 34 in his first year with the Bulls.  Stop.  Bigger?  There are literally no Hall of Fame centers in the NBA right now.  Back then, there was Shaq, Ewing, Hakeem, Robinson, Mourning, and Mount Mutombo.  While now you have fuging Clint Capela.  I'm dead.  Stop while you're behind kid.  This is embarrassing.  

Funny how you name the worst center in the playoffs. Might not be any HOF's right now but you have stretch 4's like Draymond, AD, Millsap, Love, Porzingis and centers that can shoot 3's like Cousins, KAT, Gasol, Horford who are much more well-rounded players than the bruising, can't make a shot outside the paint centers of the past.

[Carl Spackler]

Horford can be as well-rounded as he wants while Shaq makes him his prison bitch

[pantherphan96]

1 hour ago, Carl Spackler said:

Horford can be as well-rounded as he wants while Shaq makes him his prison bitch

No one could stop Shaq in his prime but Horford would pull Shaq out of the paint on offense and create space or shred him from 3.

[nctarheel0619]

20 hours ago, pantherphan96 said:

Funny how you name the worst center in the playoffs. Might not be any HOF's right now but you have stretch 4's like Draymond, AD, Millsap, Love, Porzingis and centers that can shoot 3's like Cousins, KAT, Gasol, Horford who are much more well-rounded players than the bruising, can't make a shot outside the paint centers of the past.

You know you're terrible at this when you're reaching with names like Draymond, Millsap, Love, and Hortford.  The NBA is a joke right now.  This was awful.  I'm done with this conversation.  Just stop while you're behind, dude.  The centers from the past would body the players you just stated.  You can tell you're quite young.  Because you literally named a bunch of bums.  I just can't anymore.  

[nctarheel0619]

17 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

Horford can be as well-rounded as he wants while Shaq makes him his prison bitch

Carl, I can't with these kids man.  Dude named Millsap, and Kevin Love.  Man, I just can't.  

[nctarheel0619]

15 hours ago, pantherphan96 said:

No one could stop Shaq in his prime but Horford would pull Shaq out of the paint on offense and create space or shred him from 3.

While he was "shredding Shaq from 3" with his inconsistent ass.  Shaq would go for 40 and 20 without blinking an eye.  This is pathetic dude.  Like Al Hortford really gonna ball out.  Dude can't be consistent in this weak ass NBA.  And you expect him to dominate Hall of Fame centers?  Seriously, how old are you?  18?  20?  

[pantherphan96]

3 hours ago, nctarheel0619 said:

While he was "shredding Shaq from 3" with his inconsistent ass.  Shaq would go for 40 and 20 without blinking an eye.  This is pathetic dude.  Like Al Hortford really gonna ball out.  Dude can't be consistent in this weak ass NBA.  And you expect him to dominate Hall of Fame centers?  Seriously, how old are you?  18?  20?  

I literally never said any of the poo you are making up. Guys like Horford, Draymond, Millsap etc would not dominate any center 1v1, now or back in the 90s. My point is that offenses are much different today and just sticking a bruising 90s center into the paint and feeding him the ball would not work in todays NBA for multiple reasons: the NBA is a lot more foul-happy today to allow for more open play, and players are much more well-rounded. Name a big that could hit 3's back in the 90s. Ball movement and 3pt shooting in todays game is far superior to the 90s ISO-ball style of play.

You can live in the past and wax poetic about how you think 90s basketball was better but going back to the original question, if Lebron beats the Warriors this year he's easily in the conversation with Jordan, and if he doesn't he's still gonna be a top 5 player by the time he retires.