December 11, 2024

Who is Better, MJ or LeBron?

I have seen both Michael and LeBron play live and countless times on TV. Yes I was even the moron who watched LeBron play in a televised ESPN2 high school game at famed Pauley Pavilion. In that game LeBron should have received at least three offensive fouls, but he scored 21 points on 8-24 shooting while leading St Vincents to a victory over the then #4 in the country Mater Dei. I said then to a couple of hoopaholics that this phenom out of HS would never be a true force in the NBA. This was the final year HS players could come out and apply for the NBA draft. LeBron went #1 overall to the Cavs which I found hard to believe because Carmelo just won a National Title at Syracuse and went #3 and going #4 and #5 were Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

Well fast forward a few years and LeBron just held the MVP of the NBA to 6% shooting when he guarded him in the 2011 NBA Eastern Conference Finals. 6’8″ LeBron can play all five positions if need be. Could MJ do that? LeBron is a monster at his size and I have to believe MJ would have major issues checking him if they went head-to-head.

I know MJ has six rings, but they were in a completely different era. LeBron is the most dominating player I have ever seen and I saw Wilt, Kareem, Jerry West, Magic and Larry in person too.

Jordan Buys Bobcats

Michael ‘Air’ Jordan has reached an agreement to be the new owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. BET founder and current owner Bob Johnson of the Bobcats announced earlier this morning that he would sell the organization to Jordan. It was only a couple of weeks ago that speculation began on the sale of the team so negotiations progressed very quickly. One of the main reasons the deal was done so fast is due to lack of interest from other parties. George Postolos president of the Houston Rockets was speculated as the only other person of note interested in purchasing the team. Jordan has his work cut out for him considering the Bobcats have not won more than 32 games in their first four seasons, but they are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference so things could be looking up.

Greatness Turns to Bitterness

If you saw the NBA Hall Of Fame induction ceremony last night you arguably witnessed the best class ever to be inducted at one time. You had the classiest of class Jerry Sloan, David Robinson, John Stockton and C. Vivian Stringer receiving their accolades and induction into the Hall of Fame. All the while the drama of this 3 hour celebration was building up to when they announced, “the Greatest of all time” Michael Jordan.

jordan

Here is where a celebration went off the rails and turned into Michael’s personal diatribe. Not that he schooled everyone on the court, won rings and MVP’s and became the top money earner for endorsements ever. He decided to let the world know he was mad and he wasn’t going to take it anymore.

He started off by going after the coach who cut him from the varsity as a North Carolina schoolboy and even brought in the man Leroy Smith who made the team just to call him out.

Jordan then proceeded to call out Isiah Thomas, who allegedly orchestrated a “freeze out” of Jordan in his first All-Star game. He stated in his speech, “I wanted to prove to you, Magic [Johnson], Larry [Bird], George [Gervin], everybody that I deserved [to be there] just as much as anybody else, and I hope over the period of my career I’ve done that without a doubt.”

He then transitioned into bringing in old Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy and Jordan called him, Pat Riley’s “little guy,” who accused Jordan of “conning” players by acting friendly toward them, then attacking them in games.

Jerry Krause was not there because he was boycotting Tex Winter not being inducted, so he says, but Michael took a dig at him while thanking the ownership past and present and saying, “Jerry Krause, uhem, I know I didn’t invite him here.”

Lastly, Utah’s Bryon Russell was on Jordan’s list. Jordan recalled meeting Russell while he was retired and playing minor league baseball in 1994. Michael spoke of how Russell insisted he could have covered him if Jordan was still playing which obviously bothered the greatest of all time. Russell later in his career got two cracks at Jordan in the NBA finals and he was the defender when Jordan hit the clinching shot to win the 1998 title which Jordan said he relished this even today.

On a side note Michael, why not start off your speech by acknowledging your former business partner from the Charlotte Bobcats who had just died in a plane crash earlier that day. I thought for the “Greatest of All Time” it might go down as “One of the Worst All Time” speeches.

Michael Jordan NBA Hall of Fame Speech Video:

Kenny Rogers Got Game

Kenny “The Gambler” Rogers has a pretty impressive country singing career, but did you know he is also an outstanding basketball player? This video from 1988 taken at a basketball event during Kenny Rogers Classic Weekend displays just how much game Kenny Rogers has after he head fakes Michael Jordan out of his shoes and bangs home a 15-footer. It’s hard to believe just 20 years ago NBA players were content wearing daisy dukes on the basketball court.