re: LeBron might be better than Jordan per Jim Boeheim

Sounds like a bunch of young bucks in here who didn't grow up watching Jordan. The guy was a relentless competitor like no other. One example - he used the Dream Team in '92 to study the other players and learn their weaknesses to exploit them later. He might have acted friendly but he was using the Olympics to his personal advantage. He had a drive that permeated the team and made everyone better. And he did it in an era of hand checking and true hard fouls, before the rules were changed to help increase scoring. He may have been a complete a-hole too but he was consistently respected and feared for years.

Relative to that, Lebron has played a small handful of games where he has looked like a superstar. And he has one ring. One. He is gifted and is the best player in the league now. He might fall off by 2015; you never know. People like to live in the moment now and lose perspective. Let him play at an elite, nonstop competitive level where he wins scoring titles, defensive first teams, and NBA titles damn near every year until 2020, and then we'll talk. For now, Lebron has the potential, but he is not close to surpassing MJ.

Besides, after Kobe, Nash, Howard, and Gasol win it all next June, the talk will inevitably switch to whether Kobe is the GOAT. And they'll still be wrong.

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Besides, after Kobe, Nash, Howard, and Gasol win it all next June, the talk will inevitably switch to whether Kobe is the GOAT. And they'll still be wrong.

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Exactly. If the lakers win another 3 before Kobe retires, Kobe could make a case for the GOAT.

Lebron has the potential but it's still way too early in his career

brb claiming lebron cant defend the four, and then showing him on offense.

to your brain

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implementation of zone defense equals increased scoring? my mind is nuked.

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Removing contact is what really increased the scoring, and it has also lead to a decrease in talent because slower guys with good strength and basketball skills are no longer good enough to play in the NBA.

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Since 1990, the NBA has instituted a series of rules changes to increase the offensive player's flow and make physical play costly. First came increased penalties for flagrant fouls (1990) and fighting (1993), the implementation of the "five points" rule that called for automatic suspensions of players who amassed a certain number of flagrants (1993). Hand checking was eliminated in 1994. Using the forearm to defend players facing the basket went away in 1997.

In 1999, the league eliminated contact by a defender with his hands and forearms both in the backcourt and frontcourt, except on offensive players who caught the ball below the free throw line extended. Defenses were also prohibited from "re-routing" players off the ball. This freed up perimeter players who used screens to get open. Nor were defenders able any more to grab or impede offensive players setting screens. In 2001, the defensive three-second rule eliminated defenders camping out in the lane away from their offensive man to help.

The rules changes did what they were supposed to do -- open up the game. Scoring average has increased from an average 95.6 points per game in the 1997-98 season to this year's 100 per game. Overall field goal percentage has increased from 45.0 percent in '97-'98 to 45.9 percent this season. Three-point percentage has gone up, from .346 11 years ago to .367 this season. And fouls have gone down, from a league average of 1,837 fouls in 1997 to 1,726 this season. The statistical-based Basketball Prospectus wrote at the beginning of this season that the game's pace -- defined as possessions per game -- had increased from its nadir during the lockout season of 1999 (around 88 possessions per game) to around 91 per game in the 2007-08 season.

Free-flowing offense is now the norm, with players able to go almost unencumbered anywhere on the court. As such, the game's most dominant individual players and those that are just good at drawing contact have even more of a chance to get to the foul line. So stars like Dwight Howard (the league leader in free throw attempts this season with 849), Dwyane Wade (second, 771) and LeBron James (third, 762) can have an even more outsized impact on games.

"You can't even touch a guy now," says Charlotte coach Larry Brown. "The college game is much more physical than our game. I always tease Michael [Jordan], if he played today, he'd average 50."

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Captain Want

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I agree with most of this post. Except I don't think he has to do it until 2020 that's a stretch. If he plays at this level for 5 more years and wins 3 more rings he can be in the discussion. And like you said, he definitely has the potential but he isn't there just yet.

And no, the Lakers won't win it all next year. People think that Dwight is a HUGE step from Bynum but he really isn't. The biggest step up he has on Bynum is defensively. He defends the pick and roll well for a 5 and clogs the lane better than anyone. Offensively, they're about the same but give Howard the slight edge for strength. But Bynum can actually knock down a few free throws. LA will still have to prove to knock out the Thunder. IMO, they're now the 2nd best team in the west. They don't have anyone who can stop Durant, granted no one does, and OKC will exploit the Westbrook mismatch for sure.

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Lebron wants to be liked by everyone, Jordan didn't care if you liked him or not.

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Jordan carefully cultivated his public persona to be the most recognizable and beloved face on the planet. The guy had a song "Be Like Mike."

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Howard is 2x the problem for the heat that Bynum is in terms of matchup

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Did you read my post? My point was they won't even play the Heat in the finals, bro.

ETA: Sorry, back on topic..

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Yes Jordan's killing instinct was great but LeBron is getting there,

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No

He brings more to the game than Jordan IMO.

No

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His defense at all 5 positions,

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Jordan was much much much better on defense. Absolutly shut down, a top 5 defender all-time easily.