LeBron James has become one of the greatest players in NBA history, exceeding the already high expectations people have for him, creating an enormous legacy in the association.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has won wherever he’s played, being part of the GOAT conversation for a couple of years now. The King has made a big impact on the league and plenty of fans think he’s the best to ever do it.
Even though he’s often pitted against Michael Jordan for the GOAT title, many folks believe he shouldn’t be compared with MJ. Some say he’s more of a modern-era Magic Johnson, given his passing abilities, basketball IQ and height.
Moreover, others have compared Bron to Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan’s sidekick during the Chicago Bulls’ magical run in the 90s. Recently, Max Kellerman gave his two pennies on this, saying that LeBron reminds him of Pippen. Essentially, he called Bron an upgraded version of the Bulls legend while talking with David Kaplan on ESPN’s KJM (5:20).
“I’ve always thought LeBron is like a puffed-up Pippen. LeBron is a point forward. Pippen was an early prototype of a scoring, defending, point forward who could run your offense; he was an excellent passer, not a great shooter. Like, in many respects, LeBron reminds me of a blown-up version of Scottie Pippen. And Pippen maybe identifies when he sees LeBron, ‘that’s some version of me,’ and refers that to Jordan or uses that as a proxy to hit Jordan over the head with.”
These comparisons aren’t new for the NBA community. Plenty of people see some Pippen in LeBron, although not everyone believes that’s enough to beat Jordan, like Dennis Rodman.
Still, nobody can take anything away from LeBron. He’s probably the most completed player we’ve ever seen, as he combines skills from Magic, Scottie, Kobe and even Mike. This is how he’s become the legend he is right now and perhaps Pippen agrees with Max’s assessments. The similarities are there and he can use them to pick on his former teammate-turned-nemesis, Michael Jordan.
