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1984: Born after Michael Jordan. Had Lebron been born first, he'd have the Jumpman logo, the shoes, the movies and all the adulation Jordan currently receives. He also would have played against easier competition. He would not retire and would likely win 7-9 titles. He also didn't have the benefit of having Phil Jackson as a coach.
2003 - 2010: Gets drafted by a terrible organization. They failed to get him one All-Star/All-NBA caliber player the entire time he was there.
2011: The Mavs unleashed a zone defense the likes of which the League had never seen. Jordan never had to deal with a defense like this and even admitted himself that he would not have had the career he did if zone defense existed during his era.
2014: After finally getting help, Wade got old, and Lebron had to do it all by himself. The Spurs were inevitable that year and even Jordan's '96 Bulls would have lost in 5 games.
2015: Kyrie and Love get hurt.
2017-18: Lebron comes up against a superteam. No team in history could have beaten the '17-'18 Warriors.
2021: AD gets injured. This cost Lebron another ring.
2023-24: Lebron didn't get enough help. D-Lo has clearly not pulled his weight.
The Spurs and Mavs beat LeBron James a total of 3 times by daring him to make uncontested 18 foot jumpers, and he couldn't do it.
He's had the luck to join with two other All-Stars on a superteam and got 2 rings as a result.
He's had the luck to play for almost 2 decades injury free, meaning more chances to win a title than anyone since the early days when the league had only a few teams.
He played in the East where he alone was enough to punch a ticket to the Finals every year for almost a decade because the entire Conference was mediocre......zero rivals once he joined the Heat and the Celtics were broken up.
So, he's had some bad luck, and an incredible run of good luck too. He'd have his "6 rings" if his head space had been right in those early series against the Mavs and Spurs, to say either of those teams were inevitable champions is silly, IMO.
They punked James in a way Jordan would NEVER be.......they allowed him to take as many open shots as he wanted, just jumpers in isolation. Jordan kills that defense, he'd see it as a personal mission to destroy a scheme that disrespected his ability to score, and was a much better mid range player overall. James wilted against the pressure, got frustrated because it wasn't the way he liked to play.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Think about it.
1984: Born after Michael Jordan. Had Lebron been born first, he'd have the Jumpman logo, the shoes, the movies and all the adulation Jordan currently receives. He also would have played against easier competition. He would not retire and would likely win 7-9 titles. He also didn't have the benefit of having Phil Jackson as a coach.
He'd be playing against the great power forwards of the 90s (Barkley, Malone, Rodman, Kemp) in a completely different more physical style than he plays now. He would still encounter the great young Tim Duncan later in his career as well as Dirk Nowitski Kevin Garnet and Chris Webber. He'd also likely also be going up against the fantastic centers from the 90s night after night.
This "LeFlop" business wouldn't fly in the 90s. It would be interesting to see how he would do playing in that era of basketball posting up against those big men.
He'd be playing against the great power forwards of the 90s (Barkley, Malone, Rodman, Kemp) in a completely different more physical style than he plays now. He would still encounter the great young Tim Duncan later in his career as well as Dirk Nowitski Kevin Garnet and Chris Webber. He'd also likely also be going up against the fantastic centers from the 90s night after night.
This "LeFlop" business wouldn't fly in the 90s. It would be interesting to see how he would do playing in that era of basketball posting up against those big men.
But Jordan didn't play against Duncan, Dirk and Garnett for most of his prime. Lebron would dominate Stockton, Hornacek, Payton, Mugsy Bogues, Dumars, etc. He would be way too big, strong and fast for anyone of that era.
He's had the luck to join with two other All-Stars on a superteam and got 2 rings as a result.
He's had the luck to play for almost 2 decades injury free, meaning more chances to win a title than anyone since the early days when the league had only a few teams.
I wouldn't call that luck...
They planned to team-up for a while and LeBron staying injury free shows how much care he takes of his body, sure he got lucky with the genetics.
He'd be playing against the great power forwards of the 90s (Barkley, Malone, Rodman, Kemp) in a completely different more physical style than he plays now.
How many Small Forwards did the 90's have that could slow down LeBron?
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