Was Lebron James Right About Michael Jordan?
In a recent podcast, LeBron James made some headlines due to his comments about Michael Jordan’s legacy
Earlier this week, Lebron James, made headlines in his podcast debut by stating that Michael Jordan may receive a little too much credit for the Chicago Bulls’ success.
"[via Cleveland.com]“I don’t think MJ ever had a Game 7 in the Finals. And people say ‘Oh, well he was able to close it out early’ and they act like he just did it all on his own. They forget about the shot by Paxson on the left wing.You want to know the crazy thing? In that particular game in Phoenix, MJ didn’t even have the ball in his hands. Pippen brought the ball up, Barkley went for the steal, Pippen threw it down to Horace Grant and that got the defense (out of place) because Barkley went for the gamble. They rotated to Horace Grant, and Horace Grant threw it to Paxson. MJ didn’t have nothing to do with that play.”"
Most basketball fans thrive off debates, most often the debate of Michael Jordan vs Kobe Bryant, Kobe Bryant vs Lebron James and Michael Jordan vs Lebron James.
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The debate of whether or not Jordan receives too much credit for the Bulls’ success though
*Insert side eye emoji here*
The Bulls won six NBA championships in a span of eight years in which Michael Jordan earned the honors of Finals MVP every time.
Let’s touch on a few things here…
No, MJ has never played in a Game 7 in the Finals, and that in itself speaks volumes. No one forgot about that shot by John Paxson in the corner, like no one forgot about the shot Kyrie Irving hit in the NBA Finals, but everyone was seemingly talking about the blocked shot by Lebron James.
Riddle me this, if Jordan wasn’t on the team, would that team even be in the positions they were in? Remember 1994, when he retired, the Bulls didn’t even make it out of the Eastern Conference semis.
Everyone knows basketball is a team sport, and we know even Michael Jordan couldn’t beat a team by himself. According to Paxson, the Bulls knew just that.
"[via NBA.com]“It was symbolic of what a team should be in that you don’t win in professional basketball with one individual. You win with a group playing together, one guy picking up where the other left off. Phil had professed it for so long and had us believing in the team. It was vindication in terms of what we wanted to be all about.”"
must read: NBA: The Six Most Underpaid Free Agent Acquisitions Of The Summer
Without Michael Jordan, there’s not six NBA Titles in Chicago. Without his teammates, there’s not six NBA Titles in Chicago. But the amount of credit Jordan gets for those titles is the exact amount he deserves.