The debate was raging earlier in the season much to the dismay of those who actually saw watched Jordan play. Some talking heads were trying to elevate LeBron beyond Jordan, calling LeBron James as the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). Some of those who weren’t quite ready to accept LeBron as GOAT were saying that were LeBron to defeat the Golden State Warriors that it would elevate him above Jordan.

The media is quick to prop up people and then they are even quicker to tear them down. Look at Ronda Rousey. Before being demolished by Holly Holm, the talking heads had her in talks as the greatest athlete in the world. Feminists had propped her up so high that they began to believe that Rousey would be able to destroy men twice her size. They even had discussions about Rousey being able to defeat the boxing champ, Floyd Mayweather. All of that quickly changed when Holly Holm, a former boxing champ, stepped into the ring with Ronda and nearly killed her. I mean it was like a crime scene.  

What does all of this have to do with LeBron James and his greatness? It has everything to do with LeBron James. The same people who were touting Ronda Rousey as an invincible fighter with superior boxing skills are the same people who have been propping up LeBron James for years. It seems that in the NBA, they need to create drama to bring interest to the sport. The NBA needs to have a face of the league and they promote the crap out of that person. LeBron James has been the face of the NBA for many years and after defeating the Golden State Warriors last year, with the help of the league, LeBron made it public that he was “chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan.”

The talking heads jumped all over it. As ridiculous as the conversation was, you had those LeBron James fanboys who were posing as objective analysts ranting and raving about LeBron. In their eyes, James could do no wrong. People like Shaq, who let their personal relationship with LeBron cloud their judgement nearly got into a fist fight with Charles Barkley, simply because Barkley was giving an honest assessment of what he saw.

You had the likes of Colin Cowherd, who seems to worship LeBron, constantly piling heaps of praise on LeBron no matter what LeBron does. You had the likes of Shannon Sharpe, who might actually be LeBron’s biological father, based on the fact that this man seems to be one of the biggest cheerleaders for LeBron. Someone needs to do a DNA test because Sharpe’s affection towards LeBron is not normal. One can’t forget the clueless Nick Wright, who actually believes that LeBron has already surpassed Jordan. The list goes on and on.

The NBA has changed the rules to favor LeBron. There was a flopping rule that came out several years back and for a little while, it seemed like the league was going to try to enforce it, but it didn’t last long. Flopping has been in issue in the league for as long as anyone can remember, but due to the fact that LeBron is the “King” of flopping, the refs stopped enforcing and fining players. LeBron is literally built like a football player and he uses his size to run over players and the refs turn their eyes and blow their whistle against the defender.

In Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals, we saw LeBron run over Curry and the refs called the foul on Curry. We saw LeBron shove Iguodala out of bounds in front of the refs and LeBron got away with it. We saw LeBron kick Iguodala in the nuts in front of the refs and they let it go. We saw LeBron acting as a spoiled brat and slamming the basketball in anger/frustration in front of the refs, a move that would get any other player a technical foul, and the refs did nothing.

During the game, we saw many fouls committed by Cleveland that were overlooked and every little thing that Golden State did seemed to put Cleveland on the free throw line. The NBA is not scripted, BUT the referees do as much as they can to get the desired outcome. In Game 3, they refs were doing everything possible in order to help Cleveland win one. The goal was to try to get this series to be more competitive, and since Cleveland isn’t talented enough to hang with Golden State, the refs resorted to trying to help Cleveland win one game.

It’s a lot like last year when they suspended Draymond Green and in essence ended up killing Golden State’s momentum. I’m not saying that something shouldn’t have been done about Draymond, but why didn’t they suspend him during the OKC series, where he kicked Adams in the nuts on more than one occasion? It’s because they wanted a rematch between Golden State and Cleveland. Had they suspended Draymond in the series against OKC, then it would have been justified to do so in Cleveland and the fact of the matter was that the kicks against OKC were much more brutal that the minor tap for LeBron’s disrespect. The NBA has done everything possible to help LeBron succeed. The problem is that LeBron has become delusional. He thinks that he did it all himself, when in fact it is the NBA who has instructed the refs to aid LeBron any way they can.

Take away LeBron’s size and he is just an average player. He is a great passer, but just an average to subpar shooter. Every now and then, he can get hot at the 3-point line, but for the most part that is a shot that you want him to take because the odds are in your favor that he’s going to miss. Add to the fact that LeBron is so focused on what type of legacy that he will leave behind that he seems to be afraid to shoot the ball at critical stages of the game, opting to pass the ball instead and you wonder how anyone in their right mind can compare James to Jordan. The only thing that they have in common is the first letter of their last names. That’s are far as the comparison should go.

Jordan was a very skilled player. LeBron, not so much. There is a reason why everyone is trying to be like Mike, but I don’t know anyone who’s trying to be like LeBron, unless they are talking about joining up with some other great players on a different team to win a championship.

As a disclaimer, I actually used to be a fan of LeBron, but his higher than thou attitude and lack of accountability become too much to tolerate. He seems unwilling to accept any type of criticism. Take the time when Barkley criticized him on his “whining” and asking if LeBron wants all of the good players on his team, and LeBron comes back with personal attacks on Barkley, which was absolutely not called for. From what I hear, LeBron is 6’9” and 250 to 260lbs. Any little tap and LeBron acts like someone just shot him. Any little foul and he acts like he needs an ambulance to take him to the ER. These are not characteristics that one equates with greatness. To be called or call yourself “The Chosen One” and “King” and then act like that is nonsensical.

Jordan was a great player. He was never afraid of the big moments and thrived and excelled in those moments. That is just one aspect of his legacy and greatness. He never ran into the corner and threw the ball to his teammates and then pray that they make the shot and save him. Jordan always wanted the ball in his hands. If he was double teamed and there was a capable teammate who could take the shot, i.e. Pippen, Kerr, etc., he would pass the ball. LeBron seems to just want to pass no matter what because he doesn’t want to deal with the criticism if he misses and he doesn’t want to have to go to the free throw line and potentially miss when the game is on the line.

For the record, I think that LeBron is a very good player, but the NBA has helped him to get as far as he has gotten. The NBA has enabled him to elevate his game by allowing him to do just about anything he wants on the floor with little to no repercussion. In essence, LeBron is used to playing bully ball. He was able to push around little Steph Curry last year, but now that they have Durant, LeBron is trying to come up with every little excuse possible to save his so-called “legacy”.

Jordan would have relished the matchup. When the game was on the line, he would have wanted the ball in his hands to shape his own destiny. Hopefully, this Golden State decimation of LeBron and his Cavs will finally put an end to those silly comparisons between Jordan and LeBron. The truth of the matter is that there was never ever any legitimate comparison between them. LeBron can try as much as he wants to imitate Jordan, but he will never come close to the real article.