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The greatest of all-time debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James has taken different turns over the years. Some of the arguments sometimes have nothing to do with what they accomplished on the basketball court.
Rich Paul, one of James’ closest friends, appeared on "Gil’s Arena Show" to give his take on that unending debate with a different twist:
“LeBron [James] is the first player to have to deal with a 24/7, 365 news cycle of sports and opinions from those that it’s not even capable or carry the expertise to give a valid opinion. … That's a whole other thing Mike never had to deal with because his hardest critic was probably, Peter Vecsey.
"I just think LeBron's antlers is in platinum and Michael Jordan's may be in gold. Why? Because he had to be compared to Mike. Who did Mike have to be compared to?"
Paul’s arguments clearly favor LeBron James' case. The founder of Klutch Sports Group is giving “King James” the edge because of his superb way of handling criticism and social media. Just because Michael Jordan didn’t play in that kind of environment doesn’t mean he would have failed in that aspect.
No one would know how the Chicago Bulls legend would have fared in that situation. Paul simply does not believe “His Airness” would have been as media savvy as his good friend.
The second part of Rich Paul’s argument about Jordan being compared to no one is just downright wrong. The former North Carolina star began his first years in the NBA under the shadows of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Julius Erving.
For a time, many even wondered if he’d be able to overcome Isiah Thomas’ Detroit Pistons.
When Jordan’s Bulls failed in the playoffs, fans and analysts questioned whether he’d reach the same level of success as the aforementioned stars. Despite his jaw-dropping numbers, MJ wasn’t held on the same pedestal as the other greats until he won a championship.
Rich Paul’s comments about dealing with criticism and the media have merits, though. Some of today’s players are affected by outside noise. Paul is only assuming Jordan wouldn’t be on the same level as LeBron James in that area.
Michael Jordan would have relished going up one-on-one against LeBron James and other NBA greats
Naming someone as the greatest player of all time is quite difficult. The eras separating the players are too huge to simply dismiss as non-factors. There are too many variables to consider to decisively name somebody as the best player of all time.
It’s for this reason Michael Jordan would have wanted to play against the best players in NBA history in their primes.
In an interview a few years after his retirement, he offered a list of names he would have loved to play one-on-one against:
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“That list is very long. I’ll start off with Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant in his prime, LeBron James in his prime, D-Wade in his prime [and] Melo [Anthony]. That’s a good start. I don’t think I’d lose. Probably other than Kobe Bryant because he steals all my moves.”
No one will know who will win in those fantasy matchups and no one will decisively know if Michael Jordan is as good as LeBron James in handling online criticism of today.
