Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers: The G.O.A.T. Breakdown- There Can Only Be One

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:38 p.m. ET

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Dec 26, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) looks on during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

“There’s No Similarities In Our Game At All.” -LeBron James

LeBron has swept the nation once again, not with his play, but with his words. As a nineteen year old kid being drafted number one overall, LeBron has played his whole career seemingly always being compared to the legacy of the great Michael Jordan.

LeBron has grown from that 2003 number one overall draft pick to be in the middle of his fourteenth season of an illustrious career. While talking to reporters at the Cleveland practice facility, LeBron was asked, as he is turned 32 today, if he had studied any film on Michael to determine how he was able to be so dominate for so long. LeBron responded:

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“No I haven’t … He was much more of a scorer. At that point he did a lot of post work (later into his thirties). Our games are just different. His body is different, my body is different than his. You recognize the dominance that someone had at that age, but there’s no similarities in our game, at all.”

This brings us to an interesting topic, how similar are LeBron James and Michael Jordan? LeBron might think they are completely different, but I have reason to believe that there is only one Greatest Of All Time among us.

Nov 11, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) stands on the court against the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James – The G.O.A.T.

Michael Jordan – The “Artificial” G.O.A.T.

I think LeBron was right. Michael Jordan and himself are completely different players. I think that, that is exactly why he is going down in record books as the greatest of all time. The best comparison that has been recently attributed to the likes of Jordan is Kobe Bryant, but there is only one reason why Kobe will never surpass Air Jordan.

They are too similar. When Jordan is brought up, most people talk about his ability to score at will or his tenacity. The problem is, that was it. LeBron James has been gifted skills beyond what MJ did back then.

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Both players were great in their time. There is no founded argument to say that the NBA was tougher back then or now. The difference, as Scott Gleesen put it

“The real difference comes off the court. Jordan entered the league when both Magic and Larry Bird had popularized basketball — essentially rolling out the red carpet for Jordan to become bigger than basketball. Then factor in the perfect timing for marketing Jordan on a global scale. The shoes, the Gatorade. Be. Like. Mike. In this regard, Jordan had it easy. LeBron has had to deal with far greater expectations than Jordan ever did. While MJ became Air Jordan, he never had expectations to become Air Jordan. He was drafted third overall in the 1984 NBA draft. James was the easiest No. 1 pick in NBA draft history after getting hyped as “The King” and “Chosen One” when he was in high school.”

Many people comeback with the argument of a “killer instinct”, that Michael and Kobe possessed, but LeBron didn’t. Need I remind you that he led a closet of role players to an NBA Finals.

Feb 3, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) gets a high five from his teammates guard Kyrie Irving (2) and forward Kevin Love (0) after scoring during the second half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. Hornets win 106-97. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Cavaliers and the legacy of LeBron james

While Kobe and Michael came into the NBA with that passion and that instinct, LeBron developed his, and it was right in front of our eyes. LeBron won his championships with less.

There will be little championships as remembered as the one LeBron brought back to Cleveland for their first championship in the history of the league. He stated “I will be back” to “This is for Cleveland”, LeBron has shown time and time again the intent of his career, to bring the Larry O’Brien trophy to Cleveland.

Many of NBA teams have won championships in the past, 65 times to be exact, and many will win them in the future, but this one, this one will go down in the record books as one of the top championship series’ ever played in the game.

Ready for a bold statement? LeBron will win more rings than did Jordan. Wait, what? Yes, I did just say that. LeBron has been to six straight Finals appearances, while he only went 3-3, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s been to six! I don’t think that is it completely insane to say that he could potentially win three to four more rings and multiple MVP’s and Finals MVP’s on top of that.

LeBron is without a doubt different from Michael Jordan, but it’s what makes him different, that makes LeBron James the greatest basketball player to ever live.