One of the biggest disparities between LeBron James and Michael Jordan is their leadership styles. LeBron is an encourager who likes to befriend his teammates to build rapport. Jordan, on the other hand, was much more aggressive. He used tough love and held his teammates accountable to a crazy high standard in order to bring out excellence.
These differences are often what many use to explain why Bron can never be considered the GOAT. He wasn’t the kind of leader he should have been — the kind of leader that Mike was.
Among those in that camp is FOX Sport’s Skip Bayless, who said on Undisputed Monday morning that MJ was “the greatest leader/motivator ever.”
Michael Jordan wasn't a bully. He was the greatest leader/motivator ever. "I pulled people along when they didn't want to be pulled," he said in tonight's Last Dance. Amen, GOAT.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 11, 2020
Michael could be heartless, ruthless and cold-blooded. He could be all those things that would add up to being a “bully,” except that there was always a method to the madness to win championships. More @Undisputed, now on FS1 https://t.co/Of0QACaB2f
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 11, 2020
LeBron is too nice of a guy to lift and drive a team the way Jordan did to 6 championships in 6 tries, with 6 Finals MVPs. More @Undisputed, now on FS1 https://t.co/tDk5xmRmn6
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 11, 2020
LeBron is a truly amazing player and leader but, so far, Jordan’s tactics yielded much better results. He’s got double the amount of title wins and it seems his ways have made a pretty lasting impression on his teammates.
“It was like getting taught; getting taught in a tough way,” said MJ’s former teammate Scott Burrell. “I didn’t think it was embarrassing, I didn’t think it was humiliating. I don’t have any regrets of how it went down or any second thoughts about learning from the best. I mean, I was getting tutelage from the best player to ever play, from the best team ever put together! And it was a team that won five out of seven championships before I got there, and I didn’t want to mess it up! So, I was glad to learn any way possible that was taught to me. I think it prepared me for life, not just basketball.”
