• Brendan Haywood played alongside Michael Jordan on the Wizards from 2001 to 2003 and alongside LeBron James on the 2014-15 Cavaliers
• He compared how sharing a locker room with both men felt like
• Haywood described James as passive-aggressive and Jordan as direct and decisive
Michael Jordan and LeBron James are arguably the two greatest players to ever play the game of basketball. Playing alongside them is quite unforgettable, as players often discuss their demeanor in the locker room.
Brendan Haywood is one of four players to have shared a locker room with both Jordan and James. He compared their leadership styles and described what it was like being teammates with them.
“They are two totally different players that go about their business totally different ways, but they got the same common goal; they want to win. LeBron is gonna be a little bit more passive-aggressive, see if things are gonna work itself out. MJ is gonna be in your face like, ‘Hey man, you gonna run a play or what? If not, we gonna sit your a** down.’”
Haywood elaborated on their specific styles of dealing with teammates.
“Bron is gonna try to be politically correct with you a little bit more. MJ is just more direct, decisive, right at you. If you not doing your job, he gonna let you know. It’s not gonna be no talk behind the scenes, it’s not gonna be no call with the GM, he gonna tell you in front of everybody.”
Jordan was in the twilight of his career and was an intimidating figure for young stars like Haywood as they came into the league. He was teammates with James in his final NBA season, a veteran who didn’t get much playing time in the Cavs’ 2015 Finals run.
Haywood is a one-time NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 6.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks for his 13-year NBA career.
Michael Jordan And LeBron James Ultimately Lead By Example
Both MJ and LeBron have extremely different leadership styles. Jordan influenced the likes of Kobe Bryant into expecting nothing but the best from their teammates. To get the best, both often treated their teammates harshly.
One of the greatest Jordan stories of all time comes from when he punched Steve Kerr in practice, which ultimately improved Kerr’s desire to win on the court.
James is not nearly as demanding as the others and is a little more hands-off. As he’s aged, his voice in locker rooms has become unignorably large. He definitely doesn’t go to Jordan-like lengths of motivating teammates, often known as a guy who cracks jokes to keep the mood light.
When push comes to shove, James can find ways to motivate his teammates to pull off incredible feats on the court, as he did in the 2016 Finals.
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