Barkley comparing LBJ VS MJ on open court

KobeBeanBryant · Post #1 » by **KobeBeanBryant** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:39 pm

I really agree with Barkley LeBron talent wise is as good as MJ and with 4-5 ring I have no problem ranking him as the best player ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veLnaeDb_KE

LeBosh Wade · Post #2 » by **LeBosh Wade** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 11:52 pm

wrong.
lebron will most likely (90%+) never reach Jordan's level in terms of legacy. No one has and no one probably will.

TheDon008 · Post #3 » by **TheDon008** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 1:31 am

F WHAT EVERYONE SAYS.

LEBRON IS BETTER THAN JORDAN.

ifrosty13 · Post #4 » by **ifrosty13** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 3:13 am

I could care less honestly.. The only comparison I care about is championships.

AAAAA1 · Post #5 » by **AAAAA1** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 3:29 am

Well Lebron def can be better than Jordan. He just had as season as good as Jordan's best season so he's already there in terms a basketball. He just needs about 4 or 5 more rings to be considered the best of all-time.

EscapoTHB · Post #6 » by **EscapoTHB** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 3:50 am

The funniest thing in that segment was Jordan's boy Kenny Smith blowing a gasket that anyone would dare ever compare anyone to Jordan. Plus you know as a New Yorker, Kenny probably has Melo as better than Lebron anyways.

His whole reason for saying Lebron will never be better than Jordan is because Jordan won his titles without playing with anyone else who needed a double team.

To which I'd have countered: then why isn't Hakeem the best player of all-time?
Ring count
Oh so why isn't Bill Russell the greatest of all-time?
His teammates
Hakeem then

So on and so forth. The rules are completely arbitrary and change all of the time. When Lebron was in Cleveland people would say he couldn't be the best player because he had no titles. But he didn't play with another player of even Ron Harper's level. But nobody cared about that. Now that he's with Wade and Bosh--it's "oh but the teammates"--when Kobe has never won a title with less than the most talented team in the league.

I think you just have to judge it with your own eyeballs. I watched most of Jordan's career. And I've seen Lebron's career. Lebron is the best perimeter player I've seen besides Jordan. And it's not even close. The best players I've seen are Lebron, Hakeem, Shaq, Jordan, and Duncan--which is doing pretty well for Lebron.

DWadeno3 · Post #7 » by **DWadeno3** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 5:45 pm

ifrosty13 wrote:I could care less honestly.. The only comparison I care about is championships.

This. Aside of that, the comparison is getting tired, especially when Barkley of all people is bringing it up. The sole reason he's discussing it is to use it against him if we fail to repeat this year. I clearly remember other words from his fat a**: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2010/07/charles-barkley-lebron-james-michael-jordan/1#.UHhVo65-Pd4

Talk about being a phony b****, not that I don't hate the guy enough for criticising our fanbase.

EscapoTHB · Post #8 » by **EscapoTHB** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 2:54 am

I like Barkley when he's not talking about the Heat. Just as a dude, he seems like one of the better ones out there. When he talks about life and how to treat people, I think he's pretty on point a lot of the time. And he cares about things bigger than basketball.

I'd rather hang with him than someone like Michael Jordan who is a complete **** by all indications.

Miami-is-LeBron · Post #9 » by **Miami-is-LeBron** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 2:46 pm

The fact that after only 1 ring people are already flipping the switch and making the jordan argument should tell you right there that if lebron wins a few more rings he will go down as the greatest of all time

narmerguy · Post #10 » by **narmerguy** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 3:32 pm

Miami-is-LeBron wrote:The fact that after only 1 ring people are already flipping the switch and making the jordan argument should tell you right there that if lebron wins a few more rings he will go down as the greatest of all time

Let's not go crazy. People were having the same discussions when Kobe won rings 4 & 5.

DieHardBallFan · Post #11 » by **DieHardBallFan** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:12 pm

I will say this.

Currently as far as Legacy goes, Lebron is FAR off.
Currently as far as who is a BETTER player, Lebron is in his sight and can match / surpass.

Legacy is the difference, 6 /6 finals, 6 finals MVPs. Leaving the sport for an entire season, coming back to win the chip, get MVP and dominate? Jordan just has an unmatched legacy.

With that said, there is nothing about Jordan at this point that someone can truthfully say Lebron doesn't have a CHANCE at surpassing.

Lebron has a good 8+ seasons left in him. That is a **** load.
You got mentally unstable people like Stephen A Smith saying this:
"Even if Lebron wins 8 championships the fact he LOST 2 will never have him in the same breathe as Jordan"

That is one of the worst/ ignorant statements I have ever heard a sports analyse say.
To say making the finals and losing in anyway should tarnish winning multiple ones? Just straight up DUMB.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUNumhrZDnA

Full open court episode for those who missed it^

AAAAA1 · Post #12 » by **AAAAA1** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 7:12 pm

Lebron's never lost in the first round of playoff's. Jordan did. Some should tell Stephen A. Smith that.

He's acting like going to the final's and losing isn't an accomplishment, Lebron made it to 2 Finals apperences before 26 while Jordan never made it till he was 28.

Isnt going to the Final's and losing better than leaving in the first or second rounds?

Woolyy · Post #13 » by **Woolyy** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:18 am

LeBron James is going to go down as the greatest player to ever play the game. Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West have all said something similar this.

LeBron led a HORRIBLE Cleveland team to the Finals BY HIMSELF in 07. His performance in 2011 was bad to watch, but I honestly believe it was more fatigue than anything (thank god for Shane Battier).

Talent wise he's already surpassed Kobe Bryant, and his all around game is like a fusion of Magic Johnson and Oscar. If LeBron can get himself 3-4 total championships with another MVP or two, I'm putting him down as the GOAT.

And don't hand me this ring **** either. Horry > Jordan.

DieHardBallFan · Post #14 » by **DieHardBallFan** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:33 am

One thing I think will never get appreciated as Woolyy mentioned, the completely horrible team Lebron led to the BEST record in the NBA multiple times and to an NBA finals. It really does not register with my brain. It's like ejecting steroids into an entire baseball team, automatically making them all better and contenders. But in this case the steroids are Lebron James leading your team.

Derrick Rose led a decent / mediocre roster to a best record in the NBA twice, he gets ALL the praise in the world and an MVP. Lebron does one move the fans do not like? Everyone forgets the amazing feats he achieved. As a basketball fan first, it REALLY bothers me.

Woolyy · Post #15 » by **Woolyy** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 12:25 am

DieHardBallFan wrote:One thing I think will never get appreciated as Woolyy mentioned, the completely horrible team Lebron led to the BEST record in the NBA multiple times and to an NBA finals. It really does not register with my brain. It's like ejecting steroids into an entire baseball team, automatically making them all better and contenders. But in this case the steroids are Lebron James leading your team.

Derrick Rose led a decent / mediocre roster to a best record in the NBA twice, he gets ALL the praise in the world and an MVP. Lebron does one move the fans do not like? Everyone forgets the amazing feats he achieved. As a basketball fan first, it REALLY bothers me.

LeBron literally should be the reigning MVP 4x in a row IMO. Nobody wanted LeBron to win anything his first year in Miami.

EscapoTHB · Post #16 » by **EscapoTHB** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 4:08 pm

And now he's adding a skyhook!

420 · Post #17 » by **420** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:45 pm

I'll withhold my judgment until Obama weighs in on the issue.

ennui · Post #18 » by **ennui** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 11:11 pm

Lebron has a top 3 peak of all time. Jordan has a top 2 peak that coincided with a minimum of three championships. We've established their impact is comparable, now Lebron has to win multiple championships while continuing to be dominant in order to fulfill these lofty comparisons.

I don't put too much stock into the previous blemishes on his resume because he has a long career ahead of him with untapped potential, even now.

Tien · Post #19 » by **Tien** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:45 pm

Miami-is-LeBron wrote:The fact that after only 1 ring people are already flipping the switch and making the jordan argument should tell you right there that if lebron wins a few more rings he will go down as the greatest of all time

This is what will happen.

Mars · Post #20 » by **Mars** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:03 am

420 wrote:I'll withhold my judgment until Obama weighs in on the issue.

Flashback:

Shortly before his break-out speech at the 2004 Democratic convention in Boston, Barack Obama looked out over the crowd and told Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendell, “I’m LeBron, baby. I can play on this level. I got game.”

After watching the speech, Mendell himself looked out over the crowd in wonder and said, “Yes, Indeed. Tonight, Barack, you are LeBron, baby.”

Somehow “I’m Dirk Nowitzki, baby” doesn’t have the same ring …

Here’s how Mendell recounted the conversation in “Obama: From Promise to Power,” his 2008 biography of Obama:

“After Obama and I slipped through a security checkpoint and he momentarily broke free from the entourage, I sidled up to him and told him that he seemed to be impressing many people of influence in this rarefied atmosphere.

“Obama, his gaze fixed directly ahead, never broke his stride.

"'I'm LeBron, baby,’ he replied, referring to LeBron James, the phenomenally talented teenager who at the time was shooting the lights out in the National Basketball Association. ‘I can play on this level. I got some game.’"

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