Why the Jordan-LeBron Conversation is Annoying
Aside from being one of the greatest basketball players to ever live, LeBron James also happens to be a genius in many facets. I could talk about his business ventures or go into depth about his game on the court, but let’s talk about his ability to pick his words. The subliminal tweets and cryptic comments are always fun, but the one that’s made the biggest mess was his comments that he’s chasing a ghost that played in Chicago. The impact of this statement is two-fold. Firstly, it expertly places the idea in your mind that the conversation for greatest of all time is only between LeBron and Michael Jordan. Honestly, I still have Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ahead of LeBron on my list. Hearing that LeBron passed him is always a head scratcher to me. Secondly, LeBron’s statement has empowered fans (in the media and on the internet) to constantly ram this discussion down everyone’s throat. LeBron is one of the best ever no doubt, but the constant comparisons to Chicago’s 23 is tiresome and annoying. Allow me to explain.
Think of LeBron as a great movie playing in a packed theater. You’re enjoying yourself with your overpriced popcorn and soda. You’re so locked into the plot that you almost zone out. Then suddenly some jerk gets up and starts screaming about how the LeBron movie is the greatest movie ever and begins to debate with anybody that tells him otherwise. All of a sudden a great movie is interrupted by outside noise that you don’t really care about. You just want to see the movie and how it ends. All of a sudden a food fight gets started and you’re just sitting there annoyed with a chocolate bar stuck to your shirt. You see LeBron and Jordan fanatics, you are the loud a-holes in the movie theater ruining the movie for everyone else.
You see I have a theory when it comes to why LeBron is hated. People either hate LeBron because he’s destroying their favorite team or because his fans attitude on him borders on the pathological. Seriously, to his fans you can’t even say he’s top five anymore. It’s either he’s the GOAT, about to be the GOAT or you’re just a hater. It has gotten to the point where they will attempt to tear down Jordan’s legacy to enhance LeBron’s. They’ll tell you how Jordan couldn’t win without Scottie Pippen and how he only dominated once team’s like the Celtics, Pistons and Celtics got old. They’ll tell you how he never beat any good teams en route to the finals and how LeBron has had it harder. Jordan fans aren't much better. It’s really funny when you break it down:
-Jordan couldn’t win without Pippen, but let’s not bring up that LeBron didn’t win until he formed a super team in Miami.
-While the Celtics did age out, the Bulls still had to go through a Pistons team led by old men in their late 20s (eye roll) and still had to play the Lakers in the Finals.
-There’s a laundry list of hall of famers that don’t have a championship because of Jordan. With the exception of the Thunder, everyone who LeBron has beaten in the Finals have also beaten him at least once (two if you’re the Spurs). Lets not even mention that 2011 fiasco against the Mavs.
-LeBron missed the playoffs his first two seasons. And before you say how young he was, please note that Carmelo Anthony led his team to the postseason in each of his first two seasons.
-LeBron has 4 finals losses and Jordan has none.
-Jordan played in the 90s while LeBron plays in a soft era.
I can go on all day, but do you see how stupid that was? What do you possibly gain from tearing down all-time greats to put one above the other?
Look, both men are two of the best players to ever play the game and deserve the fanfare and reverence they get. The point I’m trying to make is just shut up and enjoy what we’re seeing from LeBron without the need for debate. What helped make Jordan’s career so fun to watch is we didn’t have a bunch of crazy people fighting it out in meaningless debate. We watched, he was great and that was good enough. There weren’t talking heads ready to die to put Jordan over Kareem or vice versa. LeBron has been in the NBA for 14 years now. He is closer to the end than the beginning. Soon he’ll be gone and we will miss his contribution to the game greatly. I'd rather not have my memory of LeBron be clouded by opinions. So instead of getting into shouting matches, let’s sit back and enjoy the time we have left to watch greatness. After all, it only comes once. And when LeBron steps away from the game, you can have your debates. But until then, stop ruining a good show.
