Michael Jordan got proctected more than LeBron from NBA

[000078ude54]

The constant threads to discredit Jordan and/or elevate LeBron etc above him need to stop.

Jordan is the greatest player ever and it's seriously not up for debate. Ever. The numbers alone cement it.

The recency bias is out of control.

Especially when an entire theory is taken from a couple of out of context quotes and with a little digging you can see from the true numbers where Lebron was a far bigger beneficiary.

I'd like to add re: protection by the refs/NBA, LeBron is the one having fans removed from arenas because words. If he couldn't handle a couple of Indiana Pacers fans in 2022, the Knicks fans Jordan faced in the early '90s would trigger a meltdown.

[sp6r=underrated]

I don't think anyone will disagree with you that superstars get superstar calls. Something worth mentioning is that generally refs let defenders get away with more against bigger, stronger players. LeBron was ~250-260 throughout most of his career. MJ was 6'6 and ~205 to 210ish lbs. Shaq and Dwight dealt with this issue too, to a greater degree.

Yup, on the court MJ got slightly more protection and it was for the reason you outlined: Referees will allow defenders to foul more to neutralize size but not speed. MJ's game was more reliant on speed so he got more of the benefit of the doubt.

Off the court, MJ was comically protected by the NBA. They first tried to cover up his foibles, which are enormous, and when they leaked created a BS narrative that him being a bullying degenerate gambler is due to him being the ultimate competitor. In reality lots of players are just as competitive as he was and don't have his characters flaws.

He's just an a*&hole

[mccluskey]

The constant threads to discredit Jordan and/or elevate LeBron etc above him need to stop.

Jordan is the greatest player ever and it's seriously not up for debate. Ever. The numbers alone cement it.

The recency bias is out of control.

agreed and no amount of LeBron's constant passive aggressive whining about his legacy is ever gonna change that.

[sp6r=underrated]

The constant threads to discredit Jordan and/or elevate LeBron etc above him need to stop.

Jordan is the greatest player ever and it's seriously not up for debate. Ever. The numbers alone cement it.

The recency bias is out of control.

Lebron had a similar if not better peak and his career has lasted 25% longer.

[GSWFan1994]

I wonder how many people posting here were born after 1998.

[000078ude54]

The constant threads to discredit Jordan and/or elevate LeBron etc above him need to stop.

Jordan is the greatest player ever and it's seriously not up for debate. Ever. The numbers alone cement it.

The recency bias is out of control.

Lebron had a similar if not better peak and his career has lasted 25% longer.

The numbers say otherwise.

And Vince Carter played 22 seasons. Career length is irrelevant.

[twyzted]

I don't think anyone will disagree with you that superstars get superstar calls. Something worth mentioning is that generally refs let defenders get away with more against bigger, stronger players. LeBron was ~250-260 throughout most of his career. MJ was 6'6 and ~205 to 210ish lbs. Shaq and Dwight dealt with this issue too, to a greater degree.

Yup, on the court MJ got slightly more protection and it was for the reason you outlined: Referees will allow defenders to foul more to neutralize size but not speed. MJ's game was more reliant on speed so he got more of the benefit of the doubt.

Off the court, MJ was comically protected by the NBA. They first tried to cover up his foibles, which are enormous, and when they leaked created a BS narrative that him being a bullying degenerate gambler is due to him being the ultimate competitor. In reality lots of players are just as competitive as he was and don't have his characters flaws.

He's just an a*&hole

What there was no secret that for instance Jordan went to atlantic city to gamble night before a game or any of the other things “they covered up”

If i heard about in Iceland in the 90s before the internet then sorry then this conspiracy stuff holds no ground.

[scrabbarista]

I believe Jordan is the best ever, but I don't stress if you say LBJ or KAJ or whatever. Those guys (esp. LBJ) have valid arguments. I don't think they're the right arguments, but they at least exist.

Jordan was the biggest superstar because he was the best player ever and his game was probably the most beautiful/entertaining ever. So, even if we grant that he got the most protection (I don't take a side on it), we might just be saying he got the most protection because he was the best - not he was the best because he got the most protection.

[Black Jack]

Jordan did get more protection than anyone, ever. Indisputable.

All you need to know is the flagrant foul was created to protect Michael Jordan. It was never an actual rule until the pistons vs bulls matchups in the late 80s. It was introduced after Detroit eliminated them once again in the 1990 season. It was literally invented to limit the pistons physicality against him. The flagrant foul was not even a thing before this. Like literally not even a rule that existed for damn near half a century of nba basketball before this time

OK but the Pistons were mega dirty and something needed to be done. It wasn't sustainable to let them continue that playing style. I remember seeing Scottie go up for a dunk and I one of the Pistons bigs, not sure if it was maybe Mahorn just snatched him out of the air, literally. It was crazy so the rule changes were needed.

Unregulated Zeke, Mahorn, Laimbeer, Rodman, Salley were just incredibly dirty even for the 80s

[HMFFL]

I remember countless times in the playoffs when I would wonder if I would see Lebron get called for a foul. It was a huge disadvantage to any of his opponents even if the East at the time was the weakest I can remember.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

[KembaWalker]

LeBrons career FT rate is much higher than MJs, even in recent seasons where he attempts like 6+ 3pts per game. whats sad is that LeBron isn't even that coddled from the refs compared to other guys in the league now, though he is much more than MJ ever was

[NZB2323]

I don't think anyone will disagree with you that superstars get superstar calls. Something worth mentioning is that generally refs let defenders get away with more against bigger, stronger players. LeBron was ~250-260 throughout most of his career. MJ was 6'6 and ~205 to 210ish lbs. Shaq and Dwight dealt with this issue too, to a greater degree.

Yup, on the court MJ got slightly more protection and it was for the reason you outlined: Referees will allow defenders to foul more to neutralize size but not speed. MJ's game was more reliant on speed so he got more of the benefit of the doubt.

Off the court, MJ was comically protected by the NBA. They first tried to cover up his foibles, which are enormous, and when they leaked created a BS narrative that him being a bullying degenerate gambler is due to him being the ultimate competitor. In reality lots of players are just as competitive as he was and don't have his characters flaws.

He's just an a*&hole

What about Jordan’s gambling is degenerate? He had a lot of money, and he gambles. It’s not like he was losing money and didn’t have enough to provide for his family. He’s the richest NBA player of all time.

[sp6r=underrated]

I don't think anyone will disagree with you that superstars get superstar calls. Something worth mentioning is that generally refs let defenders get away with more against bigger, stronger players. LeBron was ~250-260 throughout most of his career. MJ was 6'6 and ~205 to 210ish lbs. Shaq and Dwight dealt with this issue too, to a greater degree.

Yup, on the court MJ got slightly more protection and it was for the reason you outlined: Referees will allow defenders to foul more to neutralize size but not speed. MJ's game was more reliant on speed so he got more of the benefit of the doubt.

Off the court, MJ was comically protected by the NBA. They first tried to cover up his foibles, which are enormous, and when they leaked created a BS narrative that him being a bullying degenerate gambler is due to him being the ultimate competitor. In reality lots of players are just as competitive as he was and don't have his characters flaws.

He's just an a*&hole

What about Jordan’s gambling is degenerate? He had a lot of money, and he gambles. It’s not like he was losing money and didn’t have enough to provide for his family. He’s the richest NBA player of all time.

If Jordan was merely a very rich doctor he'd be bankrupt from his gambling long ago. Arguing he's not a degenerate is like saying an alcoholic billionaire isn't a degenerate drinker because he can afford doctors to keep his liver entact.

[lakerz12]

Now adjust for era and the differences in what was considered a foul.

The league today is softer in general. I think if today's refs went and called an MJ game, they would probably give him 10+ FT's per game using today's standards for what constitutes a foul.

Offensive players are more protected in general today. They are allowed freedom of movement and defenders are held to a higher standard of not touching them.

[40 Guzzle]

When people talk about the Bad Boys it's usually about destroying dudes who attempt to score in the paint but overall physicality is never mentioned, like being off the ball and cutting sideline to sideline and catching at least 3 stray elbows and a semi-headlock

Riley is one to talk, his perimeter defense as a Knicks head coach was to aggressively hand check for 48 minutes, the refs can't call all of it so they have to adjust and lower the bar on what is and what isn't an on the ball foul

[NZB2323]

Yup, on the court MJ got slightly more protection and it was for the reason you outlined: Referees will allow defenders to foul more to neutralize size but not speed. MJ's game was more reliant on speed so he got more of the benefit of the doubt.

Off the court, MJ was comically protected by the NBA. They first tried to cover up his foibles, which are enormous, and when they leaked created a BS narrative that him being a bullying degenerate gambler is due to him being the ultimate competitor. In reality lots of players are just as competitive as he was and don't have his characters flaws.

He's just an a*&hole

What about Jordan’s gambling is degenerate? He had a lot of money, and he gambles. It’s not like he was losing money and didn’t have enough to provide for his family. He’s the richest NBA player of all time.

If Jordan was merely a very rich doctor he'd be bankrupt from his gambling long ago. Arguing he's not a degenerate is like saying an alcoholic billionaire isn't a degenerate drinker because he can afford doctors to keep his liver entact.

And if Americans lived in 3rd world countries we’d be bankrupt by the amount of money we spend on tv/steaming services. Jordan is fine with his money. Us criticizing Jordan for not being good with his money is like an obese person criticizing Michael Phelps for eating too much food.

[sp6r=underrated]

What about Jordan’s gambling is degenerate? He had a lot of money, and he gambles. It’s not like he was losing money and didn’t have enough to provide for his family. He’s the richest NBA player of all time.

If Jordan was merely a very rich doctor he'd be bankrupt from his gambling long ago. Arguing he's not a degenerate is like saying an alcoholic billionaire isn't a degenerate drinker because he can afford doctors to keep his liver entact.

And if Americans lived in 3rd world countries we’d be bankrupt by the amount of money we spend on tv/steaming services. Jordan is fine with his money. Us criticizing Jordan for not being good with his money is like an obese person criticizing Michael Phelps for eating too much food.

And Charlie Sheen is a model of clean living since he can afford top drugs.

Sorry, I don't think just because you're rich you get to live the live Caligulia without at least getting the label of degenerate.

He's a degenerate

[The Rebel]

I don't think anyone will disagree with you that superstars get superstar calls. Something worth mentioning is that generally refs let defenders get away with more against bigger, stronger players. LeBron was ~250-260 throughout most of his career. MJ was 6'6 and ~205 to 210ish lbs. Shaq and Dwight dealt with this issue too, to a greater degree.

Yup, on the court MJ got slightly more protection and it was for the reason you outlined: Referees will allow defenders to foul more to neutralize size but not speed. MJ's game was more reliant on speed so he got more of the benefit of the doubt.

Off the court, MJ was comically protected by the NBA. They first tried to cover up his foibles, which are enormous, and when they leaked created a BS narrative that him being a bullying degenerate gambler is due to him being the ultimate competitor. In reality lots of players are just as competitive as he was and don't have his characters flaws.

He's just an a*&hole

The numbers clearly show that Lebron has a higher free throw rate, had less foul calls against him despite 280 more games, and has been kicked out of less games than Jordan so please make a coherent argument that anybody has been more protected than Lebron.

[sp6r=underrated]

I don't think anyone will disagree with you that superstars get superstar calls. Something worth mentioning is that generally refs let defenders get away with more against bigger, stronger players. LeBron was ~250-260 throughout most of his career. MJ was 6'6 and ~205 to 210ish lbs. Shaq and Dwight dealt with this issue too, to a greater degree.

Yup, on the court MJ got slightly more protection and it was for the reason you outlined: Referees will allow defenders to foul more to neutralize size but not speed. MJ's game was more reliant on speed so he got more of the benefit of the doubt.

Off the court, MJ was comically protected by the NBA. They first tried to cover up his foibles, which are enormous, and when they leaked created a BS narrative that him being a bullying degenerate gambler is due to him being the ultimate competitor. In reality lots of players are just as competitive as he was and don't have his characters flaws.

He's just an a*&hole

The numbers clearly show that Lebron has a higher free throw rate, had less foul calls against him despite 280 more games, and has been kicked out of less games than Jordan so please make a coherent argument that anybody has been more protected than Lebron.

On the offensive end Lebron is similar to Shaq. The refs allowed him to get fouled chronically to make up for a size advantage.

[The Rebel]

Jordan did get more protection than anyone, ever. Indisputable.

Not only is it disputable, it is flat out wrong.