By: Martin Rand, III
Date: June 13, 2011
The NBA Finals are over and once again LeBron James is not on the winners podium. For some players, making it to the NBA Finals can be viewed as a great accomplishment; but for for a player who proclaimed a dynasty was in order before taking a single shot in a Miami Heat jersey, losing in the NBA Finals is a colossal failure.
The sad part is when James announced this "dynasty" he thought the Heat were going to be greater than the Chicago Bulls of the 90s. He was going to be Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade was going to be Scottie Pippen and Chris Bosh was going to be either Horace Grant or Toni Kukoc, whichever three peat you decide to use; and that's why when he was spewing out the number of titles the Heat were going to win he stopped at seven, that's one more than the Bulls won and one step above Jordan in James' eyes. However, the fact of the matter is, James will never be greater or on the same level as Jordan for one main reason and it that has nothing to do with basketball on the court.
The main reason James will never be Jordan is because he has no honor. I'm not just talking about "The Decision" debacle that aired last July or that over-the-top pep rally that happened the next day, although that did add fuel to the flame. The mere fact that he left Cleveland lowered his honor level. No matter where he went, the people were going to hate the move because it's not want Jordan would have done.
People forget that the Bulls were a team at the bottom of the league when they drafted Jordan and had never done anything before he got there. Jordan played during the age of free agency and had the opportunity to leave Chicago but stayed there wanting to put that team and city on his back to win a title. Jordan himself said he wanted to beat the Pistons, the Celtics and the Lakers and would never had imagined joining those teams.
When he finally got over the hump and beat those teams, it was an honorably victory because he stuck through the bad times and losing in the playoffs and made it to the other side on top. Another thing James can never said he did. He was satisfied with getting the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals without winning it all.
Of course, there are some on the court reasons that back up why James will never be Jordan. You know real tangible numbers that people can see and judge him on against Jordan. The biggest is he is now 0-2 in the NBA Finals and didn't play well at all when his team needed him the most. Not saying he has to win every time he makes it to the finals because Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Kobe Bryant lost in the finals multiple times; but James isn't chasing either of those players. He wants Jordan's spot and Jordan was 6-6 in the NBA Finals.
James is one of the best players in the league right now and will go down as one of the best players to ever touch a basketball. However, once he left Cleveland, he automatically took his name out of the running for the next Jordan because it is looked at as taking the easy route. He could win as many titles as Wade wins for him; but the concept of him being better than Jordan is just that: a concept and it will never come to fruition. When it comes to sports, when you're an all-time great player, how you win a championship trumps just winning a championship any day.
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Categories:
Lebron James,
Martin Rand III,
Michael Jordan,
Sports
