He’s 6’8″, weighs 270 pounds and can jump out of the gym. LeBron James can make jumpers from 25 to 30 feet from the basket. He’s an All-NBA defender and two-time MVP.
He can play great defense as well. He shut down this year’s league MVP during the fourth quarter of the Heat-Bulls series, which helped catapult Miami into the NBA Finals.
I think James is a great player but Chicago Bulls six-time NBA Champion Scottie Pippen, who played Robin to Michael Jordan’s Batman, made a statement today that’s got NBA fans nationwide in an uproar.
“Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to play the game,” Pippen said Friday on ESPN”s “Mike & Mike In The Morning” radio show. “But I may go as far as to say LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game because he is so potent offensively that not only can he score at will but he keeps everybody involved.”
“You have to be on your P’s and Q’s on defense. No guy on the basketball court is a threat to score with LeBron James out there. Not
only will LeBron dominate from the offensive end as well, but he’s also doing it on the defensive end, which really makes him the complete package. He’s able to get in those passing lanes, shoot those gaps and create transition opportunities where he is pretty much unstoppable.”
Does James have the fire in his gut that Jordan had? Does he have the passion that Jordan had for winning? Can James make all of his teammates better the way Jordan did?
Oh yeah, how many rings does James have at the moment? Zero. And how many does Jordan have? Six.
Do you think LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan?
I am already tired of the Bron Bron vs. Jordan argument. LeBron may win this year, but he still has 5 to go after that, and he will have to be the MVP every time. I just don’t see it happening. Does he have a ton of potential? Of course, but let’s see him win 3 before we start comparing.
As far as Pippen goes. I’ll say it. He is the most overrated player in NBA history. Top 50 player, what a joke. Jordan made you what you are as you rode on his coattails. Way to have his back.
I’m getting tired of everyone being compared to someone, I know certain players set the bar but every guy that comes along isn’t “The Next…”. I believe when it comes to James we may be looking at one of the three greatest athletes to play any sport barring injury. The NBA is getting younger and guys like Bryant and Duncan are on their way out and the NBA will be just as athletic as James buy nit as experienced and that’s where his dominance will completely envelop the League.
Ridiculous comparison,
It’s like the Comparing QB Aaron Rodgers to Joe Montana
or Pitcher Tim Lincecum to Nolan Ryan or Basketball Guard Allen Iverson to Isiah Thomas or Baseball Manager C Manuel to Casey Stengall…
or Tigers Woods to the greatest Golfer ever Jack Nicklaus…
or Actress Lindsay Lohan to Zsa Zsa Gabor,
Or Comedien Chris Rock to Richard Pryor,
State of the NBA Ron. You draft on athleticism and potential and not actual basketball ability. Every team in the league is dying for an actual shooter on their team. Does that make sense?
That’s why these guys from Europe have long careers in the NBA for they can shoot the rock, can’t do much else , but they can shoot..
Now i will say this, as you all know iam a lebron james fan and enjoy sticking it to you guys about him but this comment from scottie “jordan made you” pippen is utterly ridiculous… When i heard it i thought i was listening to a joke or a prank call, he must be on drugs for him to even say such a thing…
Yes lebron is the best player in the league yes he cant be stopped and will have mutiple championships if remaining healthy but hes no Michael Jordan aka The Greatest Of All Time aka Air Jordan aka His Airness aka Nike aka I Made The Nba What It Is Today…. cmon now. I guess all the kobe comparisons to Jordan are squashed huh? Kobe may have more rings than Bron but Bron is better in every way
So i say this that lebron has alot more basketball to play in his career and that its unfair to put the Jordan comparison on him or anyone for that matter, noone has effected the game of basketball the way Jordan has, hes revolutionized this sport to heights noone in any other sport has before and you can quote me on that.
So scottie for you to say something so asinine tells me there has always been a hidden jealousy there and a robin wanting to be batman feel to it, gimme a break scottie, your one of the 50 greatest because of MJ, are you crazy?…
I will agree that he is definitely one of the best in the league. When he learns to consistently shoot, then he will be the best.
I just don’t think that I could ever root for someone who has “The Chosen One” tatooed on his back. That is not confidence, that is being an Dbag.
Bugsy you’re right and no it doesn’t make sense. Something happened between Mike and Scottie for it to get to this point.
why did something have to happen, for Scottie to feel this way, that’s his honest opinion. As for Garry’s statement about making teammates better, Did Lebron not take a group of stiffs including the likes of Boobie Gibson to the NBA final, then didn’t he win 60 games with a similar group of stiffs? Then to reflect how much they were stiffs, didn’t they just have the worst record in the league when he left? When Mike retired the first time, the Bulls went to the damn Eastern Conference finals with Scottie and Kukoc…lmao…Im not saying Lebron is better than Jordan, but he has more all around skills than Mike did…and thats What Scottie was saying! Lebron routinely will have 33 point and 13 to 15 boards with 8 to 10 assists!….Jordan was more of a 33 to 45 point scorer with 6 grabs and 6 dimes…not that thats bad…lmao…but what Scottie was saying is that Lebron can affect the game in more ways as a passer…rebounding..i mean damn…James damn near plays point gaurd for the heat!
Long time reader, first time commenter and go figure its not on an eagles article…It is unfair to compare Lebron’s 0 rings to Jordan’s 6 considering Jordan didn’t win his first ring until his 7th season in the league and until Phil Jackson got there…Lebron finally got a supporting cast comparable to Jordans (in his 8th season) so winning 6 rings is not impossible (btw he is only 26), in fact, he can even top Jordan’s 6 since he has 8 years minimum of “prime” basketball left. Whether you think so or not bugsy, Pippen was a top 5 player in the league when they won their titles, and the bulls had the best european player ever to play the game until Dirk and the all time leader in 3-point % in Steve Kerr while Lebron had mo williams, varejao, and an old jamison, my point is Lebron had nothing his first 7 years. No superstar has won the finals “alone” they all needed “help” from other superstars or all-star ancillary players and Lebron is no different (this is why only 8 teams have won the title since 1980). I believe after careers are said and done, they will have an equal amount of rings or lebron will have more, and because he is 6’8″ 250 lb. beast combined with the acceleration of an nfl WR, really just a one of kind physical specimen, Lebron will eventually supplant Michael as the greatest ever…just sit back and enjoy the ride! btw he is showing the world that he is a closer this season
Wilcher, you made some good points but there is a difference between Jordan and James, Jordans desire to win, he didnt make his teamates better? who was hodges, steve kerr, tony kukoc, bill cartwright, bill wellington, luc longley, john paxson, horace grant, bj armstrong, will perdue, ron harper, scottie “jordan made you” pippen without Jordan..
Pay Homage, he was the greatest ever to play basketball and when you have all time greats like magic johnson who i feel is second to jordan as all time greats says jordan was the greatest to play the game then you must listen
Wilcher you gotta pay homage bruh you sound like a person whos caught up in the moment…
when the mavs beat the heat all this James talk will go away, he’s a bum, a narcissist, ultimate what about me guy, where would the heat be without his posse, Michael Jordan was the greatest clutch player of any sport, lebron is an act for simple minds to follow, Michael Jordan is a legend
The number of rings does not dertermine who is the better player.
Take Wilt and Russell. Wilt had stiffs and had to carry the team by himself while Russell had excellent players surrounding him.
Scotty just showing the jealousy he’s always had for Mike. He always wanted to be the man… remember when we elected to take a seat on the bench because coach drew up a play for Kukok to take the last shot of the game? I wouldn’t expect anything less from this whining crybaby.
Dwayne Wade is better than anyone that Jordan had to play with AND Wade has already lead a team to a championship by himself. (Shaq was only a fraction of his former self at that time). So even if Bron Bron wins a few, he has more help than Jordan and “leached” on to some other superstars team to do it!
@ Jon, who was Kukoc??? He was the most sought after free agent that summer. He was one of the 2 best European players ever,along with Arvidis Sabonis, before Dirk came along…as for Jordan making Scottie…did you not see when I said where the Bull went when Jordan retired? Horace Grant was a good player, great on defense, and awesome on the boards..everybody else was good role players and fit the triangle. I pay homage to Jordan, i am 31 years old, but I know ITS A FACT that Lebron can do more things on a basketball court than Jordan just because he is 6’8 and 270lbs!..He is Karl Malone’s size, and gives you Karl Malone’s numbers (30 plus points, 10 plus boards), THEN he also handles the ball and passes like a point guard! How could you deny that?..that’s the truth! Scotty said MJ was the best scorer of all time..i heard the interview…so he gave him props, but if you played basketball at all, you know that Lebron just can do more…period…as for will to win?? how do you measure that when your team is ass? Did he not have a will to win dragging those bums to the finals? I personally think he willed that whole franchise to win despite the owner and general managers short comings
Wilcher, exactly who was kukoc before Jordan? again he won nothing without Jordan, and the same goes for all those guys that played with him. Wilcher thats great they went to the eastern conference finals but did they win a title? NO therefore Jordan made those guys plain and simple. They never won a chip without his Airness
As for Lebron, again im a fan of the guy, i recognize his abilities on the court, but before any of you guys begin to annoint this man as the one to supplant Jordan as the greatest must take a look at all the rings Jordan has and all that James has, Jordan wouldnt have all those rings if he was just a scorer and scorer alone, he obviously got everyone involved, and thats whhat the triangle offense is all about getting everyone involved, that thing was centered around jordan… he may have ten assists here n there but a solid 6-8 a game, and in the playoffs hahaha forget about it his stats are incredible he made history, historic numbers…. 6-0 record in the finals, neither kobe nor lebron are undefeated there.
Lebron doesnt do anything that Jordan didnt do, neither does kobe. If Jordan wanted to really be a pg he would have been the best pg in history, hes the greatest and there is no arguement
Looks like your the only one now wilcher, looks like scottie “jordan made you” pippen is backtracking on his statement, he said on twitter this morning ” “Don’t get me wrong, MJ was and is the greatest. But LeBron could by all means get to his level someday,” said Pippen.
Hahaha pippen hated being robin and wanted to be better then Jordan so bad, its like a little brother big brother thing, and hes been hoping someone could come along and be greater, noone still has…
RJwill, good points
Jakedog, i forgot to add you to the “hate on lebron list” Just put a check next to your name… and when the heat win the title you among others will hear about it… Enough is enough with all the hate my goodness…
Detlef Schremph of the Indiana Pacers was the best All-Around European Player,he could shoot, pass, play defense, rebound and play physical