| 30 May 2011
Scottie Pippen renewed a debate that must have LeBron James fans absolutely giddy.
"...LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game..."
Whoa there.
One'd think that this'd be sacrosanct territory, especially given that it's a former Bull making the statement, and one who is considered to have played Robin to Michael Jordan's Batman. I guess Pippen has his own reasons for saying this - whether he believes it or not.
But basketball purists, never fear. No-one will ever come close to touching MJ's legacy... regardless of actual on court talent. For what it's worth, I think Jordan to be far superior to LeBron. I think that the biggest difference is simply their passion, their hunger. But these discussions, they all amount to opinion. Kobe Bryant's much closer on that, but LeBron has the better all round game.
However, some things aren't opinion, and are facts that pretty much mean that Jordan will never NOT be GOAT because of the following...
- People tend to get nostalgic over the past. Our generation grew up with Jordan, and his dominance occurred at a perfect point in time. Bird/Magic had just made the NBA hugely popular, and Jordan took the torch from them, and it burned even brighter.
- Our access to athletes these days is far, far more comprehensive. The microscope's on players with far greater intensity these days than it was in Jordan's time: their flaws, their mishaps are on display, on a pedestal with a full array of spotlights on them - something Jordan didn't have to deal with to the same extent. The guy was a complete ass, and I doubt we'd hold him in the same regard if we knew as much about him as we do LBJ/Kobe (for example). Nowadays, I hear quite a few anecdotes of his own team mates wanting to beat the crap outta him after practice (most recently, Will Perdue saying so on ESPN's NBA TODAY). With this in mind, any player reaching high enough on the lofty summits will never be deified the same way Jordan was. No-one experienced this more than Kobe Bryant in his halcyon years.
- It's in the NBA's best interest, and marketing machines (such as Nike) to have Jordan approach more a godhead status, and sustain it over everything else. His mythology still fuels the game to an extent that I don't think we'll ever see again.
