Bearing in mind all that LeBron James has done over the course of his 17-year career, he is considered to be the closest anyone has gotten to Jordan levels of greatness.
In fact, many people today rank him above Jordan because of all the statistics categories he now leads.
In light of the release of MJ’s documentary “The Last Dance,” however, the pushback for James’ case has been stronger than ever.
In a segment on Fox Sport’s Undisputed, Skip Bayless explained why “King” James has no claim on the title of GOAT.
“If you’re talking about GOAT, you can’t even qualify LeBron for the discussion because he’s suffered so many meltdowns that Jordan never would have suffered,” said Bayless. “There’s no way Jordan would have come apart the way LeBron did in his last go-around, his first stop in Cleveland when his owner accused him of quitting, as he melted down in Games 4, 5, and 6 against the Celtics [in the Eastern Conference Semifinals) and bowed down ingloriously his first time around in Cleveland and got his jersey burned.”
"You can't even qualify LeBron for the GOAT discussion. He's suffered so many meltdowns that Jordan never would have. There's no way MJ would have come apart the way LeBron did in his first stop in Cleveland when his owner accused him of quitting." — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/44k2zLFVpf
— Speakeasy (@speakeasytlkshw) April 20, 2020
For the record, the still-active James has already surpassed MJ in total points scored (34,087), rebounds grabbed (9,353), and assists earned (9,298). He has more All-NBA first-team selections than Jordan as well as more triple-doubles, more Finals appearances, more playoff series wins, more playoff win shares (45.8), and more Olympic gold medals.
Of course, what Bayless and others usually criticize LeBron for are his postseason failures. James only ha three Championships as opposed to Jordan’s six and it’s James who has famously suffered a number of “meltdowns” in the playoffs. Skip recalls one moment in particular: the end of his last season in Cleveland when the Cavs seemingly gave up hope of beating the stacked Boston Celtics.
People will harp all they want about stats, but it often time comes down to mental toughness. MJ was no quitter and anyone who is perceived as being such can never reach Jordan’s tier, at least in some people’s mind. This MJ film is certainly stirring that pot.
Maybe all we need is a LeBron James documentary to really balance the scales.
