Chicago Bulls: Drew Gooden mentions what separates MJ from LeBron and Kobe

Former Cavs big man Drew Gooden shared his take on the comparison between LeBron James and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.

The month of June was very friendly to the Chicago Bulls and their faithful throughout the 1990’s. On the day of June 14 alone, the Bulls would win the title in 1992 and 1998. In the 1992 NBA Finals, it was a triumph over the Hall-of-Fame guard Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers. And then in 1998, the Bulls came out on top over the legendary duo of big man Karl Malone and point guard John Stockton in a six-game series win over the Utah Jazz.

The key driver to the Bulls winning both of those NBA Championships in the 1990’s, among the six total rings they got that decade, was all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan. He along with the likes of Hall-of-Fame forwards/big men Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, and Toni Kukoc, pushed the Bulls to become one of the most dominant dynasties in the modern history of professional sports.

That often leads to debates as to how Jordan stacks up with the best NBA players we’ve seen in the last two decades. Really since the turn of the century, we’ve seen two or three players roll through the NBA that can be argued among the top 10 greatest of all-time. You could argue for the likes of Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant, etc., but there’s only a couple of names that really stick out.

Those names that do stick out include former Los Angeles Lakers greats Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal and the Cleveland Cavaliers/Miami Heat/Lakers superstar forward LeBron James. Most often, the “GOAT debate” rages on between Jordan and LeBron. At this point in time, MJ and “King James” would have to be widely considered the two best players in NBA history. But there’s always an argument to make for other legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, etc.

A former teammate of one of those two aforementioned all-time great players, ex-Cavaliers power forward/center Drew Gooden, gave his thoughts on the comparisons in a piece with NBC Sports Chicago last week. He essentially shared that it was that killer instinct and accountability from Jordan that led to his undefeated record in the NBA Finals, and his nearly spotless resume in the playoffs when he suited up for the Bulls.

LeBron does have some really impressive runs in the playoffs. But he also already holds more losses than wins in the NBA Finals. It will be interesting to see how the chips fall this year once the season resumes at Disney World, with games planned to start on July 31.

LeBron has a very realistic shot at getting his fourth ring with the Lakers this year. But the clock is running out on his ability to chase the six rings that MJ holds. Nevertheless, both had great careers worth celebrating instead of antagonizing and scrutinizing.