8 Reasons LeBron James Is Better Than Michael Jordan
All hail King James!
The NBA Finals finished two weeks ago and just as expected, the Golden State Warriors made easy work of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite LeBron James becoming the first player in league history to average a triple-double during the final series, his team was only able to win just one game. Love him or hate him, James proved that come Playoff time - when it really matters - he is the best player in the league.
James is a once in a generation talent, whose consistency is incomparable to any other active player. The question that won't let most fans and pundits appreciate James for the exceptional player that he is, goes: is James better than Jordan? More often than not, Jordan's legacy emerges victorious from these discussions.
To conduct such a debate, we first must establish what makes a player great. If that's championships, Bill Russell is better than Jordan (five more titles). If it's points, that's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (over 6,000 career points more than Jordan).
Yes, these players were able to reach these heights before Jordan joined the league or when he was just a young player. Yes, the league was different under Russell and it was different under Jordan. But it's different now. And this is the era of King James.
8. He's A Better Actor
As noticed by many writers - LeBron was the best part of Amy Schumer's Trainwreck. The comedy star cast LeBron by default, as he was presumably the only active basketball player she could name. If that's in fact true, she couldn't have made a better choice.
James plays a somewhat naive, charming version of himself, one that's hard to catch when he's on the basketball court. He's able to play a more awkward version of himself effortlessly and proves he has distance to his media persona.
James was not the central character of the movie, but that's the way he does things. After all, acting, just like basketball, is a team effort. The one then-active player that didn't have a problem with being the central character of a movie and playing himself? Michael Jordan.
Space Jam, the marketing product disguised as a rather unfunny movie, left Jordan's legacy unharmed, but didn't get him any new fans either. Obviously MJ wasn't Shaquille O'Neal-bad, but he didn't move out of his comfort zone. He played the straight man to the crazy supporting cast, using his regular array of shrugs and smirks.