With the whole world waiting to hear LeBron James‘ decision in free agency this week, it makes sense he was the topic de jure when Myfoxal spoke with Celtics forward Gerald Wallace at Childersburg High in Alabama for his basketball camp. When the subject of James and the all-time greats came up, Wallace was quick to point out ‘Bron lacks the “fight” of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Most people — ourselves included — consider Michael Jordan the GOAT, and Kobe as a top-10 player of all time. While the LeBron – Kobe comparisons have been flowing for years now, with screeching hysteria coming from both sides of the debate, Jordan comparisons are — and probably always will be, until the MJ generation shuffles off this mortal coil — totally unfair.
“Jordan never had an off night,” Wallace said. “He found many ways to contribute to the team, and I’d say Kobe [Bryant] is pretty much the same. You can put Lebron in that category. I think what separates LeBron from Kobe and Michael Jordan right now is that he doesn’t have the attitude or the fight that those guys had. For me, he’s not willing to take over a game, demand a game or put the game all on his shoulders. I would like to see him get to that one day, but right now I don’t think he has that, and that’s what Michael Jordan and even Kobe has.”
Wallace seemed to admit his natural bias. Most Jordan acolytes who grew up during his heyday in the 1990s simply fan’t fathom the type of perfection and dominance Jordan achieved while winning six titles in eight years.
“I grew up in the ’90s,” Wallace said. “I grew up in the Jordan era. I’m a Jordan baby, and to me he will always be the greatest player that I’ve ever seen play. I had an opportunity to play against him at the end of his career, which wasn’t the same, but I’ve even played against him in practice and had an opportunity to talk to him. Watching him on TV growing up, he’s the greatest player I’ve ever seen.”
Us too, and maybe Jordan and Mamba do have more fight than LeBron, but he’s got height and weight on both of them and probably passes better than both do, too. Despite James’ four MVP awards, two Finals MVPs and two titles, in the minds of many basketball fans, he’ll always just be a pretender to the throne.
One thing you can’t argue: LeBron is the best basketball player on the planet still, and you can tell by our breathless refreshing on Twitter for the last 10 days, hoping he’s come to a free agency decision. Apologies to Kevin Durant, who is 1A to ‘Bron’s No. 1 spot in the league, but James has earned admittance into the MJ-Kobe discussion.
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Do you agree with Wallace?
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