MJ vs Lebron vs you're dumb

Let me start by saying that I don't think that you specifically are dumb. If you're smart enough to read my blog, then you are at least on the path of enlightenment.  And since this probably isn't your first, you couldn't possibly be uninformed enough to be dumb.  That being said, everyone else is dumb.  This MJ vs Lebron argument really gets my goat and as a shepherd of men and goats, there is nothing more upsetting (I am one of those people who enjoys using old fashioned sayings without understanding the origin).  Basketball is a culmination of many things, most of which are not quantifiable.  Like in all sports, that is what makes people's opinions legitimate (in theory) because there isn't a formula to decide greatness.  If there was, it might be something like-- (number of illegitimate children) + (MVP awards) - (appearances in terrible commercials selling strange products {do yourself a favor and watch the Pete Rose aqua velvet commercials on youtube}) x (the number of people who hate them {people are dumb}) + (championships) - (alimony payments) = no one cares.  I am one of those crazy people who likes to use the only quantifiable aspect of sports, statistics, to make my arguments.   Like any decent journalist, I will manipulate statistics to do my bidding so skepticism is encouraged.  Unfortunately, I was not born with the gift of recognizing greatness by simply giving it the eye test.  I have tried with women and have been left wanting (don't worry, most of them can't read so their feelings won't be hurt).  I simply will present some arguments and some questions and let you decide for yourself.

How do you even define greatness, or decide who is better?  LJ would own MJ in games of 1 v 1 and if you disagree than stop reading because you are beyond hope.  Besides, it's a team sport. Is it about who has more championships?  Bill Russel would be the greatest ever because he redefined being a winner.  He has more rings as a player/coach (at the same time) than sir Charles Barkley.  He coached his team, and was their best player. And he barely even scored double digits! So he's not in the conversation because the best ever has to be more entertaining. So it must go to the best scorer then... Who would that be? Most points per game? Does it matter how many shots they took, or what percentage they made? Okay, so has to be whoever is the most unguardable.  Kareem's sky hook couldn't be touched, Shaq couldn't be guarded without flagrant fouls, but Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game.   But it can't count if you're that tall because it's just not fair.  Wilt may have gone down as the best ever if it weren't for that snoozer who kept beating him the finals, Bill Russel.  Wilt not only averaged 50 points a game for an entire season, but had averages of 7.8 and 8.3 assists per game to show that he wasn't a ballhog (he won one of his 2 championships during those years).  Kobe tried passing for 4 games and wants a medal of honor.  Fine, big guys are out... so it has to be whoever can make the toughest shots look easy, which would have to be a tie between Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Nick Young.  Do we ever stop to wonder why the shots look so tough in the first place? Right... So,  it's best all around player.  Oscar Robinson averaged a triple double for an entire season, and was damn close to doing it a couple other times.  Not just a Rondo triple double-- he averaged 30 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds per game.  But he wouldn't have won a title without Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor (who?) so he couldn't be that great because it's all about who has the best team, inversely.  Obviously it's Lebron, because he has 2 other elite players on his team.  But shoot, there have been a couple Laker teams that had a hall-of-fame starting lineup that didn't win anything. And as I think about it, MJ had Scottie Pippen, who is in a totally different class than Dwyane Wade (better you idiot, there's no debate). And Lebron inherited Wade who is past his prime.  But what about that other dinosaur looking dude from the big 2.... ummm.... Bostrich, that's it.  As talented as Bosh may be offensively, he is not better than Dennis Rodman.  Remember him? Probably not for anything other than celebrity rehab or the hair or kicking a guy in the nuts, but he is legitimately one of the all-time greats.  He had seasons in which he averaged more rebounds per game than bostrich averages points, but defense is boring (see Russel).  Kerr was crucial.  Kukoc was valuable.  There is a long list of defensive players who you know nothing about but are more valuable to a team than the scraps that the nearly-retired Ray Allen/Rashard Lewis/Mike Miller/Shane Battier provides.  Don't you think that the heat could use a Bill Cartwright, Will Perdue, or Horace Grant to protect the hoop?  Keep in mind that this was a different kind of basketball back then, one where white players could thrive by fouling superior competition.  Fouls are no longer allowed in the NBA (watch a espn classic game, it looks like football).  I could make a case for either guy's team, but most people won't because stupid people make up their minds and don't listen to reason.  I am sometimes, rarely, as guilty of it as anyone. 

MJ changed the game forever, making it globally relevant.  People who watched him play may not ever take him off that pedestal.  The younger generation of people who didn't see Jordan have no idea how much more skill he had than Lebron, and the older generation will resent LJ for that.  Lebron will be penalized for his freakish body and athleticism because he can get whatever shot he wants where Michael made some impossible shots look easy.  There is a reason that people misconstrue Kobe's offense with overall greatness; that is because his offensive game reminds people of Michael.  But MJ was sooooooooo much more than that, and I somehow underrated him.  I am in awe of Lebron's newfound efficiency on offense, because it is my favorite facet of the game.  Not simply scoring, but scoring efficiency. I make an important distinction when you reach the 50% fg mark, because, simply put, you are making at least half of your shots.  Kobe has never done it for a season. Durant is one of the greatest scorers we will ever see because he leads the league while shooting 50% from the field, and that's including a lot of three pointers. Lebron is scoring 25 points a game at 56% from the field (and rising).  He is shooting 42% from the 3 point line, so you can no longer say that he has no jumpshot.  He has had a better long range shot than MJ from day one.  He is a better passer and rebounder than MJ ever was.  He has realized that he can do anything that he wants on the floor, and the rest of the league is screwed.  Before I looked at the numbers, I knew that MJ had some amazing scoring seasons but I doubted his efficiency because he wasn't a great long range shooter and he took a lot of tough shots with everyone putting all of their attention on stopping him.  I was way off.  In his third year, he averaged 37 points per game at 48% shooting (18% from 3 pointers!).  The next year he improved to 35 per game at 53%, which is amazing.  The following year, Pippen's rookie season, was his pride and glory and is greater than any Lebron has ever had: 32 points on 53% shooting (27% from 3) with 8 rebounds and 8 assists.  I'm sticking to offense for now.  I had no idea the kind of numbers he put up, but keep in mind that it would still be another two more years before he won his first championship.  Also, keep in mind that MJ only averaged less than twenty shots per game in one full season with the Bulls, which was his rookie season (19.8 shots). The rest of them were between 22-27 shots per game.  Half of LJ's seasons averaged less than twenty per game, a couple at 21 and one at 23.  I'm stating the obvious, that Lebron is more of a team player.  The fact that he "passes too much" in crunch time has been a large criticism, but I believe that this year he is coming into his own offensively and will begin to compile a list of game/series winning shots to add to the ones he already has that will rival any other.  In my opinion it is his passing, his 3 point shooting, and his ability to score on less shots with more free throws that makes him better than Jordan offensively.  If you disagree, than there is no point in reading on because you are going to take all of the fun out of this.

Lebron's versatility and athleticism must make him the better player defensively, right?  Not even close.  Although there is no quantifiable stat for straight up defense, many people argue that MJ might have been the greatest defender the NBA has ever seen and the numbers agree with them.  It might be easier to make a defense for Lebron if he was more of a shot blocker, but his numbers come from steals (Jordan's specialty).  People only remember Bronnie's cool blocks against the backboards, but his best season only got him 1.1 per game.  The smaller MJ had season averages of 1.6 and 1.5.  They have the same career block/game numbers but that includes MJ's aging decline (tough to call it that).  Lebron had one season in which he had over 2 steals per game (2.2).  His Airness averaged 2.3 for his entire career, with a high of 3.2 (combined with the 1.6 steals, a legendary season defensively).  He was a shut down defender.  Lebron can guard every position, but he doesn't have the numbers.  I give MJ the nod.

There are soooooo many facets that make up the entirety of an athlete.  Skill is a small part of it. God-given athleticism is another.  The competitive drive is what can propel someone who was cut from his high school basketball team to become the greatest ever.  Work ethic is crucial.  Your surroundings and plain dumb luck are another.  Sometimes freak injuries occur.  The point that I am slowly trying to make is that the comparison between players is stupid.  I personally think that MJ's level of competitiveness is unlike any we have ever seen, and that made him different.  He's telling the truth when he says that he would never team up with rival superstars.  But the game is different (sadly).  And Lebron realized that if he wants to be put in the conversation with Michael, he needs some rings to match.  If I had to choose one player in his prime to have on my team, it would be Lebron but that's because we would play so well together, me being a knock down shooter and elite pick and roll player.  I would accuse MJ of taking bad shots and he would probably let his ego get in the way and we would have to trade him.  Lebron is selfless, and people who love MJ and Kobe don't like that about him.  Either way, he has a long career ahead of him to compile statistics and awards and highlights and I think he'll do it.  I have had a strange relationship with LJ because I loved him when he was young, hated what he did to Cleveland and the way he did it, but recently decided that I am not going to hate or take for granted the best player of all time (arguably).  I know that I am guilty of doing it with MJ, and I won't make that mistake again.