Quote:
Originally Posted by tap2390
Sorry, but in no world was Lebron ever better than MJ. Especially not in the mental toughness and intangibles department. MJ wasn't a great teammate but he had a mental fortitude I've only seen Kobe, Dirk, and Duncan come close to matching since. MJ also played before the hand check rule and got absolutely pummeled.
Finals six years in a row is without a doubt a feat, but we all know that Lebron wouldn't have been able to do that in the West. Lebron chose the best situation for him by going to Miami then back to Cleveland. The fact that MJ accomplished what he did with the team he was drafted with speaks volumes.
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Not directing this towards you in particular, but holy shit do I
hate the "LeBron isn't 'mentally tough' but Kobe is" despite the fact that LeBron is better than Kobe at literally every single aspect of basketball, including clutch scoring. Kobe is basically Tracy McGrady except he got seven years of prime Shaq on his team. Without Shaq or Pau Gasol (the two guys who were the best players on all six championship teams Kobe was a part of) Kobe probably wouldn't have any rings. Would we be talking about his killer intensity and insane work ethic if he hadn't won as part of all-time great teams?
And as much as I love Jordan, and he's the reason I ever got into basketball like so many 20- or 30-somethings, but I don't worship at the altar anymore. He was a great, great, great player who paved the way for athletes all over the world, but he wasn't even the best player on the second set of three-peats. Scottie Pippen has got to be the most underrated all-time great the game has ever seen.
LeBron deserves plenty of blame for his teams not winning more championships than they did (which I think has way more to do with his front office influence than his actual play), but he's been 2-1 as a favorite in the series he's been in (0-4 as an underdog, assuming the Cavs lose this year). The only series the Cavs/Heat were favored in that they lost was against the Mavs.
TL;DR -- I'm bored of MJ idol worship and LeBron's Finals failures are overblown