On Wednesday night, four-time Kia
MVP and three0time Finals MVP LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers passed the
man he idolized growing up in Akron, OH. That was the only bright spot for the
“Purple and Gold” on the evening and while it continued the ongoing comparison
of who is the best-of-the-best in NBA history between LBJ and his idol MJ, it
did bring into clearer focus a similarity as well as reality between a Hall of
Famer and the one to be once his career is over.
In the second quarter of the Lakers
(30-35) 115-99 loss versus the Denver Nuggets (43-21), James entered needing 13
points to pass the great Michael Jordan for fourth on the NBA’s all-time
scoring list. He surpassed Jordan, who had a total of 32.292 points in his
career with a left-handed layup while getting fouled by Nuggets reserve forward
Torrey Craig.
After the play was over, James
shared an embrace with teammate Rajon Rondo and a few of his other Laker
teammates on the floor while the Staples Center crowd gave a standing ovation
to the superstar, who signed with the Lakers in the summer after 15 seasons
with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
James who has a total of 32,311 points
and counting then took a moment to himself holding a towel over his head while,
according to a report after the game shedding a few tears while a video tribute
played on the big screen above during a timeout.
“It was very emotional. Very
emotional,” James, who had 31, seven rebounds and seven assists in the loss
said about his latest milestone of his soon to be Hall of Fame career. “A lot
of things that was going on inside me at that point in time.”
“I wanted to look up at the
scoreboard to kind of see what was going on up there. At the same time, I
didn’t want to show what was going on behind the towel.”
“It’s just crazy. I mean, me and my
best friends this is all we’ve talked about was MJ. All we talked about is MJ.”
For James this moment was just as
significant as him winning the championships he did with the Heat and
Cavaliers.
Growing up on the basketball rich
playgrounds and tough streets of Akron, OH he and his group of friends always
dreamed of this moment. This was what was on their minds when they played
basketball, even in the dead of winter.
They all wanted to be Jordan
hitting game-winners at the buzzer. Achieving life changing wealth not just for
themselves but for their families.
James also said to the press by his
locker after the win that his best friend from St. Vincent St. Mary’s High
School sent him a text message saying that he was in disbelief how the person
who he once walked down the street with a ball in his hands singing from an old
McDonald’s commercial back in the early 1990s of “I want to be like Mike” just
passed him to be the fourth leading scorer in NBA history.
James as a kid would by packs of
basketball cards hoping to get a Jordan one and he studied all aspects of his
game right down to the little details.
“I fell in love with the game
because of Mike,” James said back in 2017 when the Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference
Finals, adding, “I did pretty much everything that MJ did when I was kid. I wear
the number (No. 23) because of mike. I shot fadeaways before I should have. I wear
a sleeve on my leg and folded it down so you saw the red part. I wore black and
red shoes with white socks. I wore short-shorts so you can see my undershorts
underneath. I did everything Mike did. I even wore a wristband on my forearm.”
Also, as a youngster, LBJ could not
afford a pair of Air Jordan’s but he remembers walking through a mall and
marveling at the pinstripe red-and-black shoes, which gave him inspiration to
dream of having his own shoe, which he made a reality many years later.
To bring into clearer context how
much of an inspiration Jordan was to James, on the night he surpassed him on
the all-time scoring list, he had on the side of his left shoe, “Thank you MJ”
with a crown on the side.
“A lot of stuff that I’ve done in
my career, this ranks right up at the top (with) winning a championship,”
James, 34 said. “For a kid from Akron, OH, that needed inspiration and needed
some type of positive influence, M.J. was that guy for me. I watched him from
afar, wanted to be like M.J., wanted to shoot fadeaways like M.J. wanted to
stick my tongue out on dunks like M.J., wanted to wear my sneakers like M.J. I
wanted kids to look up to me at some point like M.J., and it’s crazy, to be
honest.
James now trails only Hall of
Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) and Karl Malone (36,928 points), and
future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant (33.643 points) on the all-time list, which
ironically enough is four players that once and currently dawned the colors of
the “Purple and Gold.”
The tribute on James’ sneaker is
just a small part of the radiance that the great Michael Jordan has had on a
youngster who grew from an 18-year-old phenomenon went he was drafted No. 1
overall by the Cavaliers in the summer of 2003 and has grown into a 34-year-old
husband and father of three with three championships and a career resume that you
can say is in the same conversation as Jordan or any of the other greats that
have ever played on the NBA hardwood.
“So, for my name to come up in any
discussion with Michael Jordan, Kareem and all these great guys that’s paved
the way is just a wow factor,” James said. “I really don’t really have nothing
to say.”
James got to this point with a
combination of his idol’s grace and aggressive playing style that has put him
on a level to where individually he is still a marvel on the hardwood, even
though his current team in the Lakers have struggled mightily as they dropped
their fourth in a row in a season that started with such hope has completely
fallen apart.
Those struggles have been a real
bother to James, who has played in The NBA Finals for eight consecutive Junes
and has not missed out on the postseason since 2005, his second season in “The
Association.”
That is one of the many reasons why
the comparison between MJ and LBJ of who is better is kind of laughable at
times.
For all the talk of James and
missing out on the postseason after eight straight Finals appearances and the
Lakers missing the playoffs for the sixth straight seasons, Jordan in his two
seasons with the Washington Wizards from 2001-03 did not get them to the
postseason in the back nine of his career.
Without Jordan, and the things he
accomplished in his career from the individual greatness to how he lifted the
Chicago Bulls to six Larry O’Brien trophies in an eight-year span in the 1990s,
there is no James.
On top of that these two greats
played in different eras under different circumstances.
Jordan was the first player in the
NBA player to rise higher than the game to where he had an impact on people who
never really saw athletes as heroes.
The best example of this the 1985
All-Star weekend where went from a guy who wore shoes that were banned, a
warm-up suit that was not team issued and wore gold chains around his neck that
resembled rings around the planet Saturn to a global changing icon.
He won that Slam Dunk contest 34
years ago that took him into the stratosphere of now Hall of Famers and NBA
champions in Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Julius Erving, and Larry Bird.
He wore shoes by a company who he
did not want to do business with at the time in Nike and eventually making
shoes and clothes that are a big part of the culture today, and has moved
passed the likes of Converse, which back then was the top sports shoe company
on the U.S.A. block.
This was also the weekend where
Jordan began turning the All-Star weekend into the celebrity-infused spectacle
it has become today. So much so that for the past few years, ESPN on the Friday
night to tip off All-Star Weekend has broadcast the Celebrity Game, where
before they would show strongman competitions.
Aside from what he did during the
NBA’s biggest showcase weekend in February, Jordan also gained the love and
respect of casual and diehard NBA fans by not only winning championships but
that he delivered memorable performances regardless of if he played the Los
Angeles Clippers on a Tuesday night in December to playing versus or at the New
York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY in late March. He did not
take nights off, did not coast at certain points in the season to save his
energy. He made it a point that whoever saw him play whether it was at the old
Chicago Stadium or at the United Center in “Chi-town,” or in an opposing team’s
arena he was going to play at a high level and make sure each fan enjoyed
seeing a moment they paid their hard -earned money to witness.
Some of those moments include the
out-of-this-world 63-point performance at the Boston Celtics in the First-Round
of the 1986 playoffs. The “Shrug Game,” where Jordan hit a Finals record six
three-pointers in the first half of Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals against the
Portland Trail Blazers, scoring 35 of his 39 points in the first 24 minutes.
The “Flu Game” in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals where a dehydrated and
exhausted MJ willed himself to 38 points and helped the Bulls 90-88 win in Game
5 at the Utah Jazz to take a 3-2 series lead and would win title No. 5 in Game
6 90-86, thanks to Jordan finding an open Steve Kerr for the eventual
game-winning jumper. Then there was the then legacy-calling eventual
game-winning jumper by Jordan, who many Jazz fans still to this day felt he
pushed forward Bryon Russell in the clinching Game 6 victory 87-86, which was
preceded steal by Jordan on Malone the possession prior. Then there was the
reverse layup versus the Lakers in Game 2 107-86 win of the 1991 Finals where
then NBA on NBC play-by-play man Marv Albert, now with the NBA on TNT said on
the play, “Oh a spec-tac-ular move, by Michael Jordan!” Then there is the most
memorable game-winner of his career that Cavaliers fans still see in their
nightmares where Jordan hit a shot from the foul line at the buzzer over the
hands of Craig Ehlo in Game 5 of the 1989 opening round of that season’s
playoffs.
While he left the game for a
two-year period to try his hand at minor-league baseball, which the Houston
Rockets and their Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon are forever grateful winning
back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995 he came back in the late stages of the
1994-95 season and while he was not himself at times he flash some moments of
his greatness like his 55-point performance, also known as the “Double Nickel”
at the Knicks that season, which is remembered for the pass he made to Bill
Wennington for the eventual game-winning dunk.
That season finished with the Bulls
falling to the Orlando Magic and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in the East
Semifinals 4-2, which will be remembered for Jordan getting striped by Magic
guard Nick Anderson in the late stages of Game 1, which the Bulls lost.
Jordan and the Bulls would get
things together the next season winning a then NBA record 72 games in the
1995-96 season and capturing the first of three straight titles.
Individually, Jordan did it all and
then some winning six NBA titles, going a perfect 6-0 in the Finals; winning
six Finals MVPs, five regular-season Kia MVP awards, 10 All-NBA First teams, 10
scoring titles, 14 All-Star selections, nine All-Defensive First-Team
selections and winning Kia Defensive Player of the Year.
The reason LeBron James has a case
for being one of the greatest ever is because his greatness has taken place
live and in living color in front of us now right here and right now.
It has also helped that James’
career has taken place in the era of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and all other
forms of social media.
When James does the smallest thing
like sneeze or state his opinion on a major social issue like gun violence,
opinions are made whether people agree or disagree.
Beyond that though, James has both
the individual honors and team honors for this conversation to even be had from
him being named a 12-time All-NBA First team selection, an NBA record. Winning
three NBA titles, two with the Heat and one with the Cavaliers in 2016, the
city of Cleveland’s first pro sports title since the NFL’s Cleveland Browns won
the NFL crown in 1964. Four Kia MVPs, three Finals MVPs, nine trips to The
Finals in 15 seasons, which includes a previously mentioned eight straight, 15
All-Star selections and five All-Defensive First-Team honors.
Besides being a great scorer, James
is the only player in league history to rank in the Top 10 all-time in assists
as well.
To put that into perspective, not
since his rookie season has James not led his team in at least three major
statistical categories, scoring, rebounding and assists. There have been times
he has been the best point guard on the floor, the best shooting guard, best
power forward and small forward.
Unlike Jordan, James has been able
to lift mediocre teams in terms of talent to incredible heights like leading
the 2007 squad to the Finals, where the starting five consisted of a combination
of Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Sasha Pavlovic, Daniel Gibson and Zydrunas
Ilgauskas.
The moment that really brings this
point to light was James’ performance in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference
Finals at the Detroit Pistons where in helping the Cavs to a 109-107
double-overtime win, James scored 29 of the team’s final 30 points, including
the final 25 on 11 for 13 shooting in giving the Cavs a 3-2 lead. They would
finish the series in Game 6 back at home 98-82 to make it to The Finals for the
first time in franchise history, where they lost 4-0 to the San Antonio Spurs
in the 2007 Finals.
James has had two other standout
moments in his postseason career like his 45-point 15-rebound effort in helping
the Heat even the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics 3-3 with a
98-70 win. They took down the 2008 champs in Game 7 101-88 to reach the NBA
Finals, where they took down the Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and the
Oklahoma City Thunder in five games of the 2012 NBA Finals.
Then there was the chase-down block
of 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala of the Warriors in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals,
that gave the Cavs the chance to win the game, which they did 93-92, thanks to
a late three-pointer by now Celtics All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.
James though has had a couple of
stains on his postseason resume, like how he did not rise to the moment of Game
6 of the 2010 Semis against the Celtics, which the Cavs lost 94-85 and the
series in six games. The 2011 Finals where he looked lost in the six-game
setback to the Dallas Mavericks.
That is nothing compared to “The
Decision” in the Summer of 2010 where LBJ said on national television that he
was joining the Miami Heat as an unrestricted free agent.
These moments serve as reminders of
the difference between LeBron James and Michael Jordan and who they are wired
differently when it was winning time, and their productivity in the moments of
truth.
In the early part of his career,
Jordan’s road block was Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer
and the “Bad Boy” era of the Detroit Pistons in the late 1980s.
Jordan did not depart and join
another team with other established stars because he could not get by the boys
from the “Motor City” he went to work and came back a better player and made
his team better. They eventually got over the hump of the Pistons in the 1991
Eastern Conference Finals sweeping them 4-0 and we all know what occurred after
that.
Also, when Jordan got The Finals as
mentioned, he never lost in six chances. James in his nine appearances in The
Finals, his teams went just 3-6. To be fair though, his teams were not favored
in four of those setbacks-to the aforementioned Spurs in 2007 and the last
three losses versus the now back-to-back defending champion Golden State
Warriors.
The second of James’ three titles
came when in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals versus the Spurs, he missed a three late
with the Heat facing elimination. The ball took a lucky bounce off the rim,
landing in the hands of perennial All-Star Chris Bosh, who instinctively passed
to Hall of Famer Ray Allen in the right corner for the game-tying triple and
the Heat won Game 6 in overtime and won Game 7 to capture back-to-back titles.
While James had a triple-double and a previously mentioned big time block in
Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, it was Irving who made the title-clinching shot.
In the post-Celtics dynasty of the
1960s, where the Bill Russell led squads won 11 titles in 13 seasons, Jordan is
the most efficient winner in the modern era of the NBA where the game was more
defensive minded, where hand-checking was allowed.
If Jordan could play in today’s
game where offense is king, especially with the freedom to take three-point
shots at a high rate, it is possible that MJ could have averaged north of 35
points close to 40.
The other big difference is in
Jordan’s time, Jordan did not speak out when it came to the hot button issues
in our culture and politically.
James and other athletes of today
have been able to lend their voice to political issues and cultural issues and
not necessarily paid the price of losing endorsements let alone maybe
alienating fans.
What it comes back to if anything in
pro sports is can you get it done when the lights are the brightest and the
pressure and tension is at its maximum?
Both Michael Jordan and LeBron
James have and then some for their eras. Jordan did it in his era and James has
and his basketball story has yet to have a conclusion. Plus, his brand is still
growing especially when it comes to producing television content like his HBO show
that began last year called “The Shop;” the game show “The Wall” and his latest
competition show “The Million Dollar Mile,” set to air later this month on CBS,
hosted by former NFL quarterback and champion with the Florida Gators Tim
Tebow.
On top of that, he now has a public elementary school in his hometown of Akron, OH called “I, Promise,” which opened its doors last year.
On Wednesday night LeBron James
passed Michael Jordan into fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and
continued a never-ending debate on which basketball star is the best of the
two. The reality is that each has their own reasons for being No. 1 in the eyes
of one and the other. That said it comes back to this without no Michael
Jordan, there is no LeBron James, just like with no Earvin “Magic” Johnson or
Larry Bird, there is Michael Jordan possibly.
Yes, Jordan has as mentioned earlier
never lost in his six appearances in the NBA Finals, while James has lost in
six of his nine appearances. Both can say though unlike a lot of great pro
athletes they have led their teams to a championship, multiple championships.
Each generation has an athlete they
hold in high regard and no matter how much better possibly the person who they
are compared to is, they will never waiver in their love and respect for said
player, which is fine. It is great to have someone that has the kind of impact on
their life that inspires them and those around them to be great in their sport
and beyond, and you enjoy watching be great. That is how the next generation
gets better by seeing someone great inspires them to make their dreams a
reality. That is what Michael Jordan did for LeBron James, who took that dream
and made it a reality 10 times over. James hopes to be that inspiration to
those that watch him both on the hardwood, how he is as a teammate, father, and
husband.
“There’s some kid or a group of kids
can look at me and say, ‘I made the extra pass because of LeBron made that
extra pass or I got a chase down block and I didn’t give up on a play because
LeBron didn’t give up,” James said back in 2017. “That would mean the world to
me.”
He added, “When you hear the comparisons,
you respect it, you humbled by it and you just feel like while you’re in the
moment, hopefully you can make an impact enough to wear you move on people can
start comparing you to ones that’s in the game in the present time.”
Information, statistics, and quotations are
courtesy of 3/6/19 www.nba.com/games/20190306/DENLAL#/boxscore/recap;
3/6/19 www.nba.com story, “Jordan vs. LeBron,
LeBron vs. Jordan…either way, It’s a Taste Test,” by Shaun Powell; 3/7/19 www.nba.com story, “LeBron Passes Jordan For 4th
In Career Scoring,” by Greg Beacham of “The Associated Press:” 3/7/19 6 a.m.
edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Casey Stern, Steve Smith, Grand Hill, and
Mike Fratello; 3/7/19 www.hollywoodreporter.com
story “CBS Orders LeBron James Competition Series ‘Million Dollar Mile,’” by
Ryan Parker; https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2010-nba-eastern-conference-semifinals;
https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2012-nba-eastern-conference-finals;
and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan#Playoffs
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