Legacy Check 3.0: LeBron, Greatness, and Laker Lore

After The Decision 3.0 to join the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James is in position to become the universal greatest basketball player ever

IT was July of 2001.

A rising phenom from Akron, Ohio, was playing at the famous Adidas ABCD basketball camp. He had just finished his sophomore year of high school. There, he would match up with Leonard Cooke – regarded by many as the best high school basketball player in the country at the time.

Cooke was 6’6, polished, and entering his fifth year of high school – nearly three years older than the Akron product. An added benefit: he was basically playing in his backyard. Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, where ABCD was being held, was about 30 miles from Cooke’s hometown of Brooklyn. Some expected the individual matchup to be lopsided.

It was.

In a pickup game with Jay-Z reportedly in attendance, the kid from Akron scored 24 points and led his team back from a 13-point 4th quarter deficit. Defensively, he clamped down on Cooke to the tune of eight points and an entire fourth quarter of sulking. On the last play of the game, the upcoming junior stole the ball from Cooke, dribbled halfway down the court, and drained an off-balance, 40-foot buzzer-beater in Lenny’s face to win, 85-83.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

• LeBron James working to assemble super team for USA Basketball in 2024
• Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
• NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
• Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
• Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?

The “mystical appearance of this kid from Ohio,” as described by sneaker executive Sonny Vaccaro — the man who ran the camp —  was put on by LeBron James. It was this moment when he first put the basketball world on notice.

Within seven months, James would grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was 17.

"“[It was] the one physical moment that symbolized the beginning of LeBron,” Vaccaro said years later, “[and] you can say it was one shot, one game, but in a way, Lenny never really recovered.”"

Cooke forwent college the next summer, was undrafted in 2002, and never played a minute in the NBA.

LeBron was just getting started.

SINCE the moment he stepped onto a basketball court, LeBron has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. His basketball talents are undeniable – even the most casual of fans are blown away by his unique versatility. If you took Karl Malone‘s body, combined it with Magic Johnson‘s I.Q., and applied Wilt Chamberlain‘s athleticism, you’d have something like James – a basketball cyborg. In an NBA evolving towards completely positionless, James is the closest thing we’ve ever seen to a basketball unicorn. He’ll join the Los Angeles Lakers for 2018-19 in what should be his last step towards becoming the greatest player ever.

When I began following basketball in the mid 2000s, LeBron was hitting his athletic peak and I had never seen anything like it. Young LeBron was in another dimension of reality – his innate physical attributes were so prodigiously superior to his peers that you couldn’t take your eyes off him if you tried. If you watched any Cleveland Cavaliers game from ’06-’10, you constantly felt like the greatest basketball highlight of your life could come at any second.

James was an Aston Martin in a lot full of Honda Civics.

Perhaps what drew my attention – and the average fan’s – to LeBron was the countless highlights, a plethora of historic accomplishments, increasingly entertaining soundbites, or the endless drama. It also could’ve been the three championships – back-to-back and one for a cursed city that hadn’t tasted immortality for 52 years. There’s the four regular season MVPs he’s won (he’s probably deserved seven or eight) and three more in the Finals too (you can argue he deserves more too – I would have voted for him in 2015).

He left Cleveland, went back, and left again, once for the East Coast and once for the West, both times for a more glamorous market. His foundation recently donated over $40 million to send kids to college for free. He’s a social activist – perhaps the greatest we have in all of sports. He’s also a businessman, movie star, and global icon, while on track to be one of the wealthiest athletes ever.

For 17 years, since a pickup game in a New Jersey gym many summers ago, the public has covered him like a pack of hyenas stalking a wounded antelope. Yet unlike so many superstars throughout history, he’s never taken a single misstep or been in any sort of trouble with the law. There’s nothing more than a parking ticket to hold against him.

I’ve never taken any of it for granted. For every LeBron, there are 100 Lenny Cooke’s.

The depth of his career is unrivaled – you can make three or four separate Hall of Fame resumes throughout the 15 years The King has given us. The layers to his greatness speak no boundaries. We’ve never seen anyone like LeBron James.

WHAT a fourth-year, 22-year-old LeBron did to the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the ’07 Eastern Conference Finals sticks out in my mind for two reasons:

1. It was the first time I can remember being in total awe from watching a basketball game. Jumper after jumper, drive after drive, LeBron made a Pistons mini-dynasty built on tough, physical defense look completely helpless. He was the guy in college who’d never go to class, show up hammered to his 8 A.M. Calc exam, and bang out a 99 in an hour. I’m pretty sure Tayshaun Prince still has nightmares from this game.
2. LeBron had officially ARRIVED. This was the first time we saw him play at a G.O.A.T-level status, a level very few before him had touched. If there was a coming out party for LeBron’s greatest-of-all-time candidacy, this was it.

48 points. 50 minutes and 18 seconds. Scored his team’s last 25 points and 29 of their last 30. Cleveland somehow won. Only 22, it could’ve been his senior year at Ohio State. LeBron toyed with us fans, showing the world he was a consistent jump shot away from owning the league. Although he was the most touted high school basketball prospect since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the Michael Jordan comparisons started when he graced the cover of SI as a junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary, this was the moment the greatest-of-all-time discussion we can’t stop debating really begun.

Jordan has been the greatest player ever since the conclusion of the 1993 Finals. In June of ’93 he tormented the league’s MVP (Charles Barkley) to the tune of 41 points per game, won his third straight championship and Finals MVP, and decided he had nothing left to accomplish in the NBA, retiring to play minor league baseball a few months later. He was 30 and had reached basketball immortality, unable to peak any higher. It’s safe to say he got bored.

The three-peat, 72-win season, and shot over Bryon Russell to end the ’98 Finals (this poster is in black and white hanging behind me as I write this) was the icing on the cake. 20 years ago, it was impossible for anyone to pass M.J.’s legacy.

Fast forward to July 2nd, 2018. At 8:08 P.M., Yahoo! Sports‘ NBA Insider Shams Charania broke the news: LeBron was going to be a Laker. It was The Decision 3.0.

If you’ve watched sports television at any point since James went to Miami in 2010, there’s a good chance you’ve heard he and Jordan compared to each other at some point. It’s all anyone talks about – there are a million different ways to dissect it and it’s ratings galore. The comparison took off after the 2012 Finals and has been ad nausea ever since.

I was in my car with my buddy Colin when the LeBron-Lakers news broke. “This is it,” I said to Colin, a die-hard Chicago sports fan who’s never wavered from his G.O.A.T stance, “this is ‘Bron’s final step to becoming the undisputed greatest player ever.” He’s heard thousands of emotional statements out of my mouth regarding LeBron’s greatness throughout the years. Most of them he’s laughed at. He’s always believed deep down that M.J. was the greatest player ever and there was nothing LeBron or anyone could do to pass him.

This time, it was obvious. He didn’t disagree.

“It’s gotta be the smartest move he’s ever made for his legacy,” he said with a certain shrewdness, “things might’ve just been meant to end up like this.”

The Los Angeles Lakers are the NBA’s most iconic franchise in terms of recognition and accomplishments. They’ve won more championships than anyone else and are worth $3.3 billion per Forbes (more than all but the Knicks). LeBron signing with them shouldn’t come as a huge surprise – you can feel good about saying seven of the top 15 players ever have played for them at some point. In the last 40 years, the Lakers have acquired the likes of one namers such as Kareem, Wilt, and Shaq in their primes. James is better and more popular than all of them.

If I had to rank the greatest Lakers ever based off a combination of overall production, peak value, accomplishments, and marketability while wearing purple and gold, my list would be:

1. Magic Johnson
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Shaquille O’Neal
5. Jerry West
6. Elgin Baylor
7. Wilt Chamberlain
8. James Worthy
9. Pau Gasol
10. Gail Goodrich

(Note: this list is post-1960, omitting guys like George Mikan, Vern Mikkelsen, and Clyde Lovellette from eligibility. With respect to the beginning times of basketball, the talent gap between then and the modern era is too vast to make an accurate assessment of a player’s true value.)

Magic takes the throne as my greatest Laker ever, coming in slightly ahead of Kobe. Although Kobe spent more time with the team and racked up more counting stats with the same number of championships, Magic was the best player on more title-winning teams (3 vs. 2) and was slightly better at his peak/overall (a quick reminder Kobe missed the playoffs and had back-to-back first round losses in his only three prime seasons without a Hall of Fame big).

He also made more Finals, was a better leader/teammate, and had a greater impact on the league as a whole, ushering the NBA to new heights after the forgettable 1970s and the drug issues infesting the league in the early ’80s. You can’t go wrong with either on top, but Magic has the better argument.

While I could probably devote an entire piece to the greatest Lakers ever, we’ll save that for another time. We have to wonder:

How high could LeBron realistically climb on the list of Laker legends?

At the end of the day, James’ success in Los Angeles hinders on him winning a championship. Nobody is expecting immediate success – as historic as LeBron may be, the Lakers have a young core and are void of a second true All-Star on their roster for 2019. That being said, if there’s one thing the 2010s have taught us about the NBA, it’s that a franchise’s fortunes can be turned around rather quickly.

L.A. will have the cap room to add another max contract next summer when Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, and many other impactful players will be free agents (another bonus for Lakers fans: Anthony Davis officially became a client of Klutch Sports and Rich Paul last Sunday – the same man/agency representing LeBron. It won’t be long before his jerseys are on clearance in the Smoothie King Center).

On another note, LeBron has demonstrated the ability to do more with less to the likes of Mozart on a violin. Although Golden State is a historical juggernaut, James is still coming off of eight straight NBA Finals – I think we’re underrating the Lakers next season. They could be a real problem. Even if they finish sixth or seventh in the West, LeBron finds another gear around late April that annually takes the greatest collection of talent in league history to take him down. His innate ability to impact the game in so many ways has masqueraded a lot of the problems his supporting casts have caused throughout the years.

A true chameleon, LeBron can score, rebound, pass, defend, and think as well as anyone at his position – and perhaps the league. There’s a reason why the 2011 Cavaliers saw a 42-win drop-off from the season prior when he left, and why the 2015 Heat saw a 17-win drop-off, and why this year’s Cavaliers team is going to go from the Finals to the lottery. They didn’t have LeBron to fix all of their mistakes.

(A reality check of how loaded the mid 90s Bulls were: Jordan “retired” in 1993 and the team won 55 games the next year while pushing a really good Knicks team to a Game 7 in the East Semis. ’94 Scottie Pippen: 22-9-6-3-1, 1st Team All-NBA, 1st Team All-Defense, 3rd in MVP voting. Without Michael, he emerged as the league’s best perimeter defender and a top three player overall. This was his absolute prime – if Jordan never left the game this could’ve very well been the most exciting Bulls team of the entire dynasty.)

A sobering moment for the LeBron’s supporting casts have been excellent people out there: Sasha Pavlovic, Daniel Gibson, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov, Matthew Dellavedova, and the corpses of Mike Bibby, Larry Hughes, Rashard Lewis, and J.R. Smith (at times, Kevin Love can be put in this group) have all started Finals games next to LeBron against the greatest NBA dynasty of the 21st century and the greatest collection of talent in league history.

Imagine the 2019 Rockets win 62 games and grab the two seed… all to see number 23 in purple and gold in the first round, waiting to unlock Playoff Mode (a few Playoff Mode LeBron games: Game 7, 2008 East Semis at Boston; Game 3, 2009 East Semis at Atlanta; Games 1-5, 2009 East Finals vs Orlando; Game 5, 2011 East Finals vs Bulls; Game 4, 2012 East Semis at Indiana; Game 6, 2012 East Finals at Boston; Game 7, 2013 NBA Finals vs. San Antonio; Games 2-3, 2015 NBA Finals vs. Golden State; Games 5-7, 2016 NBA Finals vs. Golden State; pick a game from the 2018 playoffs).

Would your gut really tell you to bet against LeBron as a seven seed? He’s made clockwork out of dragging castaways deep into June. In a way, this has played into his below average Finals record. As unparalleled of a talent as James is, he’s ran into a laughable amount of great teams in the Finals that have been too well coached, too smart, and too talented to be taken down by one man. The 2014 Spurs and the last four Warrior teams, specifically the last two, are likely five of the twenty-five best teams ever. In the four NBA Finals James has lost to these behemoths, he averaged: 42.7 MPG, 33 PTS, 10.7 REB, 8.2 AST, 1.5 STL, 0.7 BLK, 57.7 TS%.

He possesses a 4-16 record in those games. That seems impossible. Let’s keep blaming him for being 3-6 on the game’s biggest stage when he performs like Beethoven.

The influence of Magic as a GM, LeBron as a player, and the draw of Los Angeles should give Laker Nation hope their team will be contending for championships for years to come. But in order for James to crack the upper echelon of Laker Lore – and most importantly, the greatest-of-all-time throne – he will need to win at least one title in L.A. It won’t be easy, but it would make for an incredible story.

For the first time ever, the NBA’s most storied franchise needs a player more than that player needs them, and that player is LeBron.

James could retire tomorrow and be a top-2 player ever. In the minds of many, and probably his own, he already has a solid case as the greatest player ever. Aside from his bloated salary, he just signed a billion dollar lifetime deal with Nike. If he wanted to walk away from basketball for good, could you really blame him?

Meanwhile, the Lakers have posted a 126-284 (.307%) over the last five years – worst in the NBA. Four of their five worst seasons in terms of winning percentage have come in that span. They’ve never been this bad for this long. To make matters worse, marquee free agents have recently all but avoided L.A. Until LeBron signed, it seemed like Hollywood had lost some of its illustrious allure. It’s more than back if any ever left.

Kobe’s last contract/season-long retirement ceremony may have set the franchise back a few years. Although he deserved it, his last massive contract tied the Lakers up financially and his final year sabbatical overshadowed the worst season in team history record-wise. Nonetheless, it’s set LeBron’s career up perfectly for a story-book ending. Los Angeles needs him. If he can elevate the Lakers from lows they’ve never experienced back to championship glory, he would be engraved near the top of Laker Lore forever.

It would be such a Lakers thing to do to suck for half a decade, sign the best player in the world, and win a title while their arch rivals from Boston spent the same time period gathering a boatload of valuable assets, well-planned contracts, and meticulously constructing a roster to peak post-Warriors only to come up short.

The Lakers would be also the third franchise LeBron’s won a championship with – all of which weren’t even playoff teams when he arrived. That is some special, special stuff. Kareem is the only other guy to be the best player on a championship team with two different franchises. Jack would have to make a movie out of it.

2018 is an interesting time. For whatever reason, our society is dumbfounded with debates, specifically rankings and status. Being an active member of NBA twitter (@DSchmahl), scrolling through my feed mostly consists of FS1’s daily G.O.A.T blabber, LeBron hive attacking Jordan fans (and vice versa), a lot of Kevin Durant jokes, and an onslaught of top 10/top 50 lists. Most of it is pure comedy. However, there’s one thing that seems universally applicable: LeBron and M.J. are in their own stratosphere as the two greatest players ever. Whatever order you have them in, it seems now that every greatest basketball players list features them at one and two. I think that’s accurate. Something fun:

James’ first 9 years (2003-12): 

Regular Season: 39.9 MPG, 28-7-7 on 48-33-75, 56.9 TS%, 27.2 PER, .233 WS/48, 9.2 BPM

Playoffs: 43.4 MPG, 29-9-7 on 47-31-75, 56.4 TS%, 27.1 PER, .234 WS/48, 10.4 BPM

Resume: 1x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 3x Finalist, 3x MVP, 8x All-Star, 8x All-NBA, 4x All-Defensive, 1x scoring champ, ROY

I think LeBron could’ve retired then and had a solid argument as a top five player ever. There was still a sizeable gap between him and Jordan, but his level of sustained dominance, peak performance, and accomplishments were so incredible by age 27 that he only needed a single championship for exclusive validation. Only M.J., Kareem, Wilt, Bill Russell, and maybe Magic or Larry Bird had a comparable first nine years. Not bad for a guy who a lot of people thought was under-accomplishing.

That’s one of the most underrated basketball highlights ever.

Because you were wondering, Jordan’s first nine years:

Jordan’s first 9 years (1984-93): 

RS: 38.7 MPG, 32-6-6 on 52-30-85, 58.9 TS%, 29.8 PER, .274 WS/48, 10.0 BPM

PO: 41.8 MPG, 35-7-7 on 50-35-83, 58.1 TS%, 29.6 PER, .258 WS/48, 11.8 BPM

Resume: 3x Champion, 3x Finals MVP, 3x Finalist, 3x MVP, 9x All-Star, 8x All-NBA, 6x All-Defensive, 7x scoring champ, ROY

Incredible.

The rise of analytics, better coaching/management, precise attention to detail, well-planned contracts, advances in medical science, a legendary work ethic, and commitment to his body have all played a role in helping James stay at the top of his game into his mid 30s. He looked tired his last year in Miami, and in January 2015 when he left the Cavs for two weeks to heal his back, I thought his body was finally betraying him. He had played over 40,000 minutes up to that point and was on the wrong side of 30.

Bird had the same back problems with less minutes played around the same point in his career and was done by age 32. James stuck to the process – under the tutelage of long-time personal trainer Mike Mancias, he re-did his meal plan and changed his workout routines. It was recently reported that he spends $1.5 million per year on his body – find me another athlete who does that.

He’ll be 34 in December and looks as fresh as ever.

LeBron’s body of work and drive to be the greatest propelled him into another stratosphere: Jordan’s. Since his first ring:

James’ last 6 years (2012-18):

RS: 37 MPG, 26-8-8 on 54-36-73, 61.6 TS%, 28.4 PER, .246 WS/48, 9.2 BPM

PO: 40.8 MPG, 29-9-7 on 51-35-74, 59.3 TS%, 29.3 PER, .253 WS/48, 11.7 BPM

Resume: 2x Champion, 2x Finals MVP, 6x Finalist, 1x MVP, 6x All Star, 6x 1st Team All NBA, 6x All-Star, 2x All-Defensive

Nobody in NBA history has accomplished what James has since 2012 in the same six-year-stretch. He did it in Years 10 through15.

"“He’s playing at a level I’m not sure anyone has ever reached“, said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, a former teammate of Jordan’s with the Bulls."

Although he picks his spots defensively now, James has maintained 95% of his his freakish athleticism and all of ridiculous basketball I.Q. while developing a good, reliable jump shot and mastering the art of efficiency. There are now nights where James is simply unstoppable, getting to anywhere he wants on the floor and hitting any shot he takes with a certain level of disregard for whoever’s guarding him.

Basically, LeBron ripped off a nine-year stretch of basketball that solidified him as no less than a top 10 player ever, then had perhaps the greatest six-year (and counting) run of all time. Maybe the most fascinating thing about the guy is that he has two separate resumes that would rank him in a lot of people’s top 5 lists. My head hurts.

For argument’s sake:

Jordan’s 4 years post-baseball, pre Wizards (95-98):

RS: 38.2 MPG, 31-6-4 on 48-38-81, 55.6 TS%, 27.1 PER, .272 WS48, 6.4 BPM

PO: 41.6 MPG, 31-6-4 on 46-31-82, 54.5 TS%, 26.9 PER, .250 WS/48, 7.4 BPM

Resume: 3x Champion, 3x Finals MVP, 3x Finalist, 2x MVP, 3x All-Star, 3x All-Defensive, 3x scoring champ

Jordan’s first nine years were undoubtedly better than James’ first nine. Statistics, accomplishments, and the eye test will tell you so. He was ever so slightly more dominant and experienced higher levels of team success. Chicago built a perfect team around him – they never lost a series with Jordan and Pippen after Scottie made the leap to All-Star status in 1991.

But looking at their careers onward (throwing away the two Washington years Mike would take back faster than saying hit me in Atlantic City), LeBron has elevated himself into the heart of the G.O.A.T conversation. He’s already been to more Finals while facing much stiffer competition and will surely eclipse Jordan in every counting stat. Their peaks were almost indistinguishable production-wise, with LeBron yet to experience any diminishing returns on his game. Jordan declined in every major statistical category after he returned from baseball at age 31.

We’ve long worshipped Jordan for the fact that his career was so impeccable. That was what separated him from everyone else: never losing in the Finals, 6 Championships, 6 Finals MVPs, the dunk contests, and so forth. We’ve chosen to remember him through his most iconic moments, from The Shot, to his free throw line dunk, to his mid-air switch-hands layup in the ’91 Finals, and so forth.

"To quote the great Mark Jackson, “we pick and choose who we want to highlight and fall in love with”."

There’s a supernatural feeling to M.J.’s career that few others have possessed. Russell was the ultimate winner, Wilt had the unrivalled individual dominance, Magic and Larry saved the league while playing for its two most iconic franchises. Jordan’s claim? He was perfect at everything. All of these guys had something about their careers – a certain mystique – that elevated their legacies from all-time greats to pantheon status.

But what about LeBron? Does his career have that same kind of rare aura to it? If so, how could it possibly triumph Michael’s transfixing appeal?

LeBron’s game is a bit of Magic, a bit of Michael, a bit of Wilt. Without question, he is the most talented human to ever touch a basketball. But there’s never been a story-book feel to his career.

He has six Finals losses. He left his hometown twice. He’s clashed with management and ownership. He’s changed his number, had a revolving door of teammates and coaches, and infamously choked on the game’s biggest stage in the 2011 Finals. He never spent two consecutive decades with the same franchise like Duncan, Kobe, or Dirk. He never did the dunk contest, which actually pissed a lot of people off. He has a concerning need for controlling the narrative. He isn’t tied to a single franchise. He doesn’t have a signature highlight (the block on Iguodala in game 7 of the 2016 Finals is probably his greatest highlight, but you could make an argument for about 123 others). Even his biggest fans aren’t entirely sure what the best part of his game is.

But what James is, is a unique entity like none before him. He’s simply LeBron James. That’s his mystique. He’s a blend of every all-time great churned into one matrix-like figure, and that’s precisely how we will remember him. Now, he can put the finishing touches on his Mona Lisa-like career and shut the door on the G.O.A.T debate for good.

Let’s say LeBron plays five more years with the Lakers – a fair assumption which would take him up to Year 20. It’s also fair to assume one season would be played at about his current level of production, two at 85-95% of it, and two at 75-85%. If he were to win one championship, one MVP, and make the Finals another time in that span (not at all a far-cry), here’s what James’ basketball resume could look like by 2023:

4x Champion, 11x Finalist, 4x Finals MVP, 5x MVP (13-15 top-5 finishes), 19x All-Star, 19x All-NBA, 6x All-Defensive, 1x scoring champ, 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 10,000 assists

Jordan’s resume overall:

6x Champion, 6x Finalist, 6x Finals MVP, 5x MVP (10 top-5 finishes), 14x All-Star, 11x All-NBA, 9x All-Defensive, 10x scoring champ, 33,292 points, 6,672 rebounds, 5,633 assists

At that point, LeBron’s body of work would be too overwhelming to deny. The only major argument for Jordan outside of a slightly higher apex would be his perfection on the game’s biggest stage, but James going to double-digit Finals while winning championships with three different franchises would neutralize most (or all) of that.

If LeBron can maintain his freakish durability and play at a high level throughout the end of his current contract, the G.O.A.T debate should be all but wrapped up. If he’s able to win a championship and an MVP with Los Angeles, it will probably be enough to crack most people’s top 5 Lakers ever. It’s unlikely however that James will surpass Shaq or Kareem’s Laker legacies unless he can win multiple rings, and I can’t see him ever eclipsing Magic or Kobe.

There will always be pundits that point to the 2010 East Semis and the 2011 Finals as too damaging to consider LeBron the greatest ever. Some will also point to leaving Cleveland originally, and the high count of Finals losses will stand out when the dust settles. Others will always just think Jordan’s career was too impeccable to be usurped. All of those claims are fair in a way – we’re contrasting the most illustrious humans to ever grace a hardwood.

But to those I say this:

LeBron James has had far from a perfect career. His legacy will live on as one of the most versatile athletes we’ve ever seen – on and off the floor.

And that’s his best argument for being the greatest basketball player of all-time. The fact that he has a solid case for it now tells me it won’t be long until he gets there irrefutably.

As time passes, someone always catches the person on top. Just like LeBron did with Lenny Cooke half of his own lifetime ago, he’s about to do the same to Michael Jordan.