Picture of Jersey numbers of Michael Jordan (Left), Kobe Bryant (middle), and Lebron James (right). The Xavierite
One day, I was laying on my bed scrolling through Instagram, and came across this video of someone singing. The music entered. It was the instrumental of That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars then the vocals followed. When I heard the first words I was confused. I didn’t know if I should laugh, be amazed by the singing talent, or in deep thought. It was someone remastering the lyrics to that song with lyrics about how great LeBron James is.
We all know in sports that there are people titled the greatest of all time. For football it’s Tom Brady, for hockey it’s Wayne Gretzky, but it will forever be a Jordan versus James debate for basketball. When I hear the greatest of all time, I think of someone who has accolades, accomplished great feats, and done things that no one else has done. There’s always been a select few of people that have done these things, but what happens when there’s so many people who have done such similar things.
One thing I’ve found so interesting about the Jordan and James debate is that no one talked about Kobe Bryant. Maybe I’m a delusional casual when I say this, but not putting Bryant in the debate is crazy. As far as rings go, Jordan has six rings and James has four, but Bryant has five. Even so, I’ve heard some people say he isn’t on that tier, which I think is crazy.
Another thing that I find even more interesting about this debate is that both Bryant and Jordan three-peated. I’d say a three-peat is pretty convincing in a greatest of all time debate. I bet some people reading this are probably punching the air, and probably thinking that I don’t know basketball. In reality, I’m just going off the facts and it is what it is.
I bet I’m enraging the mob of LeBron fans, so let me even the playing field. In terms of accolades James has too many to count on one hand, but I’ll point out the important ones. As long as the NBA has been around, having the most points in NBA history is nothing shy of amazing.
James with four NBA Finals Championships has four Finals MVPs, which is insane. Being on one of the biggest stages of them all and being named the most valuable player every time you appeared is crazy. Other notable accomplishments James has is the all-time leader in assists, a Rookie of the Year Award, and a six-time Defensive Player of the Year Award.
James has also done one thing that has never been pulled off before in NBA history, which is pulling off a 3-1 comeback in the NBA Finals in 2016. This moment is probably the most iconic moment in NBA history. The infamous “Blocked by James!” came from this game, as well as the “Cleveland, this is for you!” also came from this game.
How could you ever forget about the frame of James trying to usher J.R. Smith went away from the rim after grabbing a rebound off a missed free throw. I remember being 12 years old and watching this go down, definitely one of the best basketball moments I’ve witnessed. I remember coming to school, months after this game, and people were still talking about it.
That 2016 team had a great team overall. Having James and Kyrie Erving is already crazy. James can play just about any position there’s not a whole lot of players who can do that. On top of Erving’s ball handling and scoring made that team so lethal. One thing people say about Jordan, Bryant, and James is that they never had help. Bryant was teamed with arguably the best center in NBA history in Shaquille O’Neal. That duo has one of the most iconic highlight tapes in sports history.
At that point, you might as well have had them two on the court because they were so dominant. Jordan had Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen which was one of the most versatile trio in NBA history. Being able to score, defend, and spread the rock all in one team is crazy. No team could possibly be made that versatile in just three people.
In all, the term greatest of all time is subjective. People who say Jordan or Kobe are the greatest of all time are usually from older generations, and those who argue James are usually younger unless you’re Shannon Sharpe. If you ask me who’s the greatest of all time. I’m going with my guy Luka Doncic. High fly, sky dive, gold mine, Lakers in 5.