Chicago Bulls Talk: LeBron James or Michael Jordan?…Editor’s Take!

Jun 15, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) in game five of the 2014 NBA Finals at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

It’s amazing what a discussion about LeBron James and Michael Jordan can do to rile fans up these days. Looks like it  can get ugly real quick, huh?

Well Pippen Peoples, it looks like one of these NBA Talk discussions really riled everyone up. Well good! That’s what we do here at Pippen Ain’t Easy, the best choice for  Chicago Bulls news, previews and reviews. We spark debate. Even amongst ourselves. Two members of the Pippen Ain’t Easy staff who had a debate about two great players. LeBron James, who is arguably the best player in the world right now and Michael Jordan, who is considered the best player of all time.

Let’s be clear here, Pippen Ain’t Easy writer, Chris Brent is correct about one thing…

"“We’ve  never seen a power forward, with point guard ball handling skills, point guard speed and an improving deadly three pointer”."

But I might have the answer to Chris Brent question to why we all can’t appreciate watching the supposed greatest player on the planet today.

He’s not.

You see I used to be a LeBron James fan. I remember the night it happened. The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons on the way to the NBA Finals back in 2007. That night I lost a ton of sleep watching James single-handedly beat the Pistons scoring 48 points while grabbing nine rebounds and seven assists. This was on the road in Game five. This is what transformed LeBron into the stratosphere to where he is today. James scored 29 of the Cavaliers last 30 points, including the team’s final 25 points in a double overtime victory.

Then something happened, the world started to expect these performances all the time in the postseason. That’s where the comparisons will stop every time. Michael Jordan lived for those chances to perform. LeBron James runs from those chances to perform.

Let’s get something out of the way real quick. NEITHER player is the best ever. That honor goes to Mr. Bill Russell. The man won 11 championships in 13 years as the star of the Boston Celtics dynasty. One of those years, he was injured so it could have been 12. Most of those championships came through the most dominant player in NBA history, Wilt Chamberlain. Russell was also the first African-American coach in NBA history and by the way he won two championships while coaching the Celtics in the most horrible racial climates in our history. Forget Donald Sterling, forget Bruce Levenson and forget Danny Ferry. Bill Russell had real issues to deal with and was still the greatest player any era.

LeBron James will never understand this because he does not have the mental fortitude to be as great as Russell and you can forget comparing him to Jordan.

Let’s go back to 1991 when Jordan was crying in the locker room clutching the Larry O’Brien trophy. Why was he crying and why does that moment bring chills? Because every Bulls fan knew how hard that man worked to get to that moment. We saw the struggles, the failures, the frustrations. We all were inspired by watching  the climb to the top of the mountain top. What price did LeBron James pay to get to a title besides a plane ticket to Miami?

One thing  I do disagree with Chris Brent on is this. Michael Jordan did not struggle in the playoffs. His teammates did. Let’s go as far back as 1989 when Jordan clinched the first round series against Craig Ehlo with “The Shot”. The Bulls were underdogs then. Jordan averaged over 40 points…for the entire series. That Bulls team was not that good. Brad Sellers anyone? Scottie Pippen was not that top 50 player of all time dude then. But Jordan was willing teams to victory at this time. Not just one game, but for years.

When LeBron James left Cleveland to go to Miami, we were all shocked and were left in wonder. When he left Miami to go back to Cleveland, it showed his character.

That’s why every time LeBron is mentioned by me his name will be “The Fresh Prince of Cleveland”. When things get tough for LeBron or he gets embarrassed, he runs for the hills.

Remember when the Boston Celtics smacked Cleveland in the mouth after obtaining the number one seed? LeBron James took that jersey off and disappeared.

We all don’t have to think far back to the last NBA Finals when the Spurs smacked the Heat in the mouth. LeBron packed up his overgrown Matchbox car collection and went home to Cleveland.

Did Jordan do all of this? No! Michael Jordan took his lumps on the way to his championships. Let’s look back…

The Boston Celtics series in the mid 80’s

I’m sure some of you saw the 63 points Jordan put up in the Boston Garden back in 1986. Everyone remembers that. What everyone seems to forget is that the Bulls LOST in double overtime! Back in those days, Larry Bird was at the peak of his powers with Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. I took a couple of years and the aging of the Celtics frontline for the Bulls to move on past the Celtics.

Did Michael Jordan go running to Los Angeles to team with Magic Johnson for a chance to get a ring? No. He kept plugging away. Eventually he had to deal with…

The Detroit Pistons aka “The Bad Boys”

The Pistons beat on Jordan so bad, he actually started lifting weights. He actually put on weight. Look at LeBron now. He’s losing weight. Why? Probably because he doesn’t have to adhere to Pat Riley’s offseason program.

Does anybody see teams devising schemes just to stop LeBron? Oh the Dallas Mavericks did back in the 2010 NBA Finals. They put Jason Kidd on him one on one. That worked out well considering the Mavericks won the series. The Detroit Pistons came up with the Jordan Rules. The Bulls spent three years of beatdowns in the playoffs before breaking through. During my research, I found there were no calls to Patrick Ewing in New York to join forces.

We can all agree that LeBron James is a global icon. It’s true. But Jordan pioneered all of this. There is no Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade international popularity without Jordan blazing the trail for the path that LeBron is traveling on today.

You see Pippen Peoples, no stats. No numbers. Just a way of life. If I wanted to shut down any James supporters, all I have to say is…

Six NBA Finals wins and no losses for Jordan.

Six NBA Finals MVP’s for Jordan.

No losses in the Olympics with two gold medals.

LeBron has three Finals losses and frequent flier miles.

LeBron has a bronze medal and a loss in the World Championships.

Michael Jordan will be revered until the end of time.

LeBron James will be sensitive because he won’t.

Nuff said.

Hey LeBron, time for you and your fans to face the music that’s playing in your Beats By Dre headphones.

Jun 5, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) enters the stadium before game one of the 2014 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports