In a summer where there was absolutely nothing to watch either in theaters or on TV, The Last Dance was kind of my savior. And over the five weeks of absolutely exceptional television, I naturally began to reflect on both the incredible talent and legacy of Michael Jordan. The amount of admiration I have for a man who didn’t wear a Bulls uniform or win a single ‘chip while I was even alive is illogically immense. And at the heart of this documentary, and what filled up the most space in my head since it aired, was one question: What is the price of greatness?
When I began to compare M.J. to other players that are usually held in his company or at least his general tier, namely LeBron James, I came to a conclusion as to what I thought differentiated Jordan from the competition. While someone like LeBron James is the most competitive you can be while still being healthy, Michael Jordan was not. When you see the type of leader LeBron has made himself, he is someone who commands a team with a strong care and respect. He’s the type of man who his teammates will look back on in 20 years and still love. He’s The King, and we know no king, but the king in the league whose name is James. But Michael Jordan was so sickly competitive, and drove himself and his teammates so hard because he would not, could not lose. He didn’t know how to do anything but win, and if he didn’t, he’d find a way to next time. LeBron James is well. Michael Jordan was not. That is the price of greatness. That’s why Jordan is the GOAT.
I sat this with this in my head for the past few months, until recently when LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Finals. To the Lakers and Laker fans, congrats by the way. Despite what some will say, this championship is completely valid and LeBron and his teammates absolutely deserved it. Since then, post game interviews, TV segments, and online comment sections have been bombarded with the same stupid debate we’ve been having for the past decade: Who is the greatest of all time? LeBron or Jordan? And after subjecting myself to far too many of these headache inducing arguments (wayyyy too many screaming matches and clown emojis), I had a sort of epiphany and let me tell you why.
I’m not sure if you noticed what I did there when I described my rationale for why Jordan was the greatest, but more or less, I constructed a narrative. A story. And this may be the most common component of typical LeBron vs. Jordan debates, and is likely why they are the most toxic and pointless debates in all of sports. I’m not even saying that what I said wasn’t true, or that it’s actually the opposite, or even that I now think LeBron is better. What I’m saying is that this type of argument, no matter who you think is better, is often rooted more so in personal preference than fact, and holds validity like a fishnet holds water.
When a player reaches the status or level of influence of someone like Jordan or James, it becomes nearly impossible to discuss their accomplishments and skill level without conflating them with some sort of personal narrative, anecdote or perspective on their broader cultural impact. In fact, in fifty years, people may associate these two dudes with sneakers more than what they actually used said sneakers for. These men are some of the biggest icons in not only sports, but in world culture. You can’t compare them in the same way that you compare two roleplayers who play six minutes a game. These two players have inspired and impacted the lives of millions and millions of people, both in and out of the game of basketball. They’ve been with many of us since childhood. They are tied into people’s lives like a president, or even a family member. They are too big and represent too much for people to remove how much they like each player and everything they have done from their opinion on their game. This is where the debate gets toxic. They take a debate about two people they’ve probably never met and make it about themselves.
Perhaps the most ridiculous thing people do when arguing over this topic is pretend like it’s not close, or that their opposition is crazy for thinking differently. Can we at least have enough peace to admit that it’s these two and the rest? But no. A lot of people can’t even do that. They either act as if LeBron isn’t even top five all time, or that Jordan wouldn’t even start in today’s NBA. People will vehemently back the person they already decided to support so much that they will unfairly frame accomplishments of each player to fit their personal narratives without any nuance or fair judgement.
Many of the staple statistics of both of these men are not just good or just bad. They can be both. For example, a lot of people will take LeBron’s Finals record and either hold it up like it’s all great, or totally worthless compared to Jordan’s. Is four wins out of ten for James better or worse than Jordan going six for six? Well, it’s both. Some people frame it like making it to the Finals ten times isn’t an insane accomplishment. Conversely, others act like losing the majority of them isn’t a massive disappointment. Some will frame Jordan’s retirements, or the Bulls disbanding after the ‘98 championship as reasoning against him, and that’s definitely fair. However, they also ignore the fact that if he had stuck around, he may have between seven and nine ‘chips instead of six.
People do the same thing with teammates, claiming that LeBron or Jordan couldn’t have won without X, Y or Z. And you know what? It’s true for both. People act like each of them did it by themselves and the other had a superteam. You can’t win a championship by yourself, and they both had amazing teammates. Pippen and Rodman vs. Wade and Bosh would be a hell of a two on two game. Not to mention that if LeBron didn’t have Ray Allen and Kyrie Irving, and Jordan didn’t have John Paxson and Steve Kerr, they both wouldn’t have the same amount of championships they do now.
I think the most detrimental part of this debate is that it often leads to people disrespecting greatness by being so narrow minded. It seems that one really can’t admire the accomplishments of each of these men as individuals without somebody forcefully and unjustly bringing up the other one. What if every time you listened to The Beatles somebody spit in your face and asked “Why not The Stones?” These two men are not attached at the hip. It was mere minutes after winning the championship that a reporter already asked LeBron if he thought he was finally better than Jordan. I’d only be thinking “Jesus Christ can I have a second for myself? He retired seventeen f**king years ago.”
Can people not appreciate a second best? Imagine your significant other cooks you dinner, and out of the thousands of meals you’ve ever had, in all the years that you’ve been alive, this is the second best one. Are you gonna spit it out and tell them it tastes like s**t because one meal was marginally better? Or, more accurate to how people discuss this debate, if your S.O says “I actually prefer this one ,” are you gonna lock yourself in the bathroom, angry cry, and shadow box the shower curtain?
I love both of these players, and I certainly think they’re the two best to ever play. But they never got to play each other, so how could we truly know? Maybe they’re just the respective greatest in each of their eras. Their eras are different after all. LeBron plays in an era where three pointers are way more important, and Jordan played in an era where if you were from Detroit or New York, you were legally allowed to beat the s**t out of other players. People didn’t think there’d be someone else like Wilt Chamberlain, and then came Kareem. When people said the same about Kareem, then came Magic and Larry. Then Jordan, then Kobe, then Lebron. Down the line, somebody else will come.
Remember, at the end of the day, your, and everybody else’s opinion doesn’t matter. It’s not like every time somebody says Jordan is better, LeBron loses a dollar from his bank account. Whether it’s your friend, a teenager in a comment section or your coworker Bill, these two players are good enough that your only response to a disagreement should be “Good pick, I personally disagree.” Because Bill doesn’t know s**t. If he did, he wouldn’t be working with you. LeBron James and Michael Jordan are the two best players to have ever stepped on a basketball court. We are lucky to have them, and who’s better shouldn’t matter.
So just remember,
Be respectful, appreciate greatness…
And Jordan’s the GOAT, don’t f**king @ me. •
