NBA: Why LeBron James will never catch the ghost of Michael Jordan

Taking a closer look at why LeBron James will never catch the ghost of Michael Jordan

The ongoing brilliant performances of LeBron James in the 2018 NBA Playoffs have added fuel to the talk about the Greatest Of All-Time in the game of basketball.

The man holding that spot in an undisputed fashion for the last two decades at least was Michael Jordan. This is a (certainly biased) attempt to find out if this is still the case.

There will always be a degree of bias when discussing topics that can not be measured with statistics or when trying to compare different eras. Ultimately, things come down to personal taste, memories and experience.

One thing is for sure though, in order to arrive in a properly weighted decision, a person must have seen both players perform at their respective time to be able to feel that unique sentiment of greatness that all true legends emit.

Every generation needs to have their heroes, a claim that this human wave raised higher than the one before. We live lives more or less ordinary, so when we come across moments of glory we tend to believe they are unprecedented or never to be duplicated. This provokes a sense of belonging – I was there when [insert favorite moment of glory here].

LeBron James is a freak of nature. Ever since he was in high school he was terrorizing defenses with his athleticism. Things have not changed much since and he presents a permanent mismatch every time he steps on the floor.

His prowess extends to more than athletic superiority though. The NBA is yet to find an antidote to his all-around skill set. Defense splitting passes, chase down blocks, even dunks we have only seen in exhibition games.

But is he better than Michael Jordan? The numbers are merciless: 6 rings for His Airness versus 3 rings for The King. There are more stats in favor of the one or the other but that is the only stat that matters.

In all fairness, if rings where the absolute criterion, then Bill Russell is the chosen one and the case is closed. So, lets talk about feelings.

Watching LeBron play is like watching a computer make calculations. You know that most of the time he will make the right call and he has the game to support it. With the right supporting cast to space the floor and score, he can be relentless.

Only, he isn’t.

He lost the 2011 Finals against the Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki and 39-year-old Jason Kidd while being a member of a superteam with 1 (or even 2) future Hall Of Famers. He had the swagger, the timing and the team but the title ended up in Texas.

History repeated in 2014 when the well-oiled San Antonio Spurs got the best of the Heat in a 4-1 series victory, also marking the end of the Big 3 era.

James came back to Cleveland, formed another excellent trio with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love and he only got one more title while participating in a mediocre conference where until 2018 he was a sure lock to reach the Finals.

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This may seem like harsh criticism for a guy with eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances but the bar is high. And it is set by a man who won it all. It took him almost a decade to clinch an NBA title but when he did, he never let it go. Again and again he proved to be the best player on the court and always provided that extra edge needed for the Chicago Bulls to overcome their foes.

No man, no disease and no time of basketball abstinence would stop him ever again. If you grew up in the 90’s you could not miss it – it was sheer dominance. Michael Jordan and his Bulls were unbeatable and they showed it at every occasion.

A common occurrence during regular season games was Chicago trailing at half while being a bit cocky and then coming all out in the third or fourth quarter to stifle ife out of their opponents. Jordan was everywhere, taking and making any shot he liked while impenetrable on defense. And he did it with a smile and a godlike aura.

You may catch a glimpse in videos from that era but you can not get the feeling. In my generation’s eyes, Jordan could not lose, he would always rise to adversities and emerge victorious. His moves were gracious and at the same time remorseless – it was poetry and savagery all in one.He was not the best at basketball, he was basketball himself.

There is no doubt in my mind that LeBron James is a great basketball player and we will sing his praises for many years to come. We may even consider ourselves lucky to have seen him play and he will be widely missed when he retires.

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Unfortunately for him, the ghost he was chasing could fly like no one else. There is only one No. 23 jersey and the name on the back is Jordan.