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Finals appearances are a stat? If a finals appearances counts as an accomplishment than doesn't losing in the finals sorta cancel out the appearance? How many times do we hear people brag about Magic making the finals 8 times? I only hear about him winning 5 rings.
How do we adjust for Jordan taking two years off in his prime? The Bulls probably win two more rings if he doesn't retire. That would give him 8 appearances and 8 wins. At the minimum 7 rings in 8 years...a level of dominance that only Russell could hope to claim.
LeBron is a better all around player than Jordan was. Leave rings out of the equation since it doesn't amount to greatness. Some of the worst players have rings.
LeBron is a better rebounder. He was also more versatile in speed and hops.
Unlike track and field, players aren't ranked by metrics, so it's hard to stack players against each other. Ring numbers is the layman's way of comparison, but as we know, it means nothing.
LeBron is a better all around player than Jordan was. Leave rings out of the equation since it doesn't amount to greatness. Some of the worst players have rings.
LeBron is a better rebounder. He was also more versatile in speed and hops.
Unlike track and field, players aren't ranked by metrics, so it's hard to stack players against each other. Ring numbers is the layman's way of comparison, but as we know, it means nothing.
The object of the game is still putting the ball in the basket. Jordan is arguably on another level when it comes to that. As far as all around game, in the playoffs, Jordan was often #1 or #2 on his team in assist and rebounds. That combined with a scoring load of 33.4 ppg on 50% shooting is what makes him the GOAT.
We had this same silly discussion a while back about Kobe.
It dissolves into fans wanting to project achievments out into the future when we don't know and it's premature to ask.
The 3 main criteria for the very top guys are:
-Championships (and competition)
-annual awards with all-nba teams being most important since MVP's are fickle team awards and all-star voting is garbage
-all-time totals like points, rebs, assists and so forth (longevity)
My one correction would be:
Points>>>>>>>>>>Assits/Rebounds
That is the way it seems anyways. And it's not really a way of thinking I agree with. All you ever seem to here about is points, points, points. Meanwhile, you got a guy like Lebron who scores with the best of them but is also an assist machine. His overall numbers are probably most similar to Bird. Slightly better play maker than Bird was. Bird was a better rebounder. Both were good scorers.
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