Will there be another Michael Jordan ever? And even if a player lives up to that potential, will they leave a legacy like the 6x NBA champion? These are some questions that remained unanswered ever since Jordan bid farewell to the game. And although there have been players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, none of them could have a majority agreement from the basketball community about having a Jordan-like legacy.
6x NBA All Star, Blake Griffin, has shed some light on the reason for LeBron James not getting the due recognition. And the reason there will possibly be no other Michael Jordan. “I don’t know that we will allow anybody to be Michael Jordan anymore. Cause it’s every. We just, like, nitpick and nitpick. And I felt this way about LeBron early on, especially when he went to Miami. People were so against him,” Griffin stated while appearing on ‘WEDU’.
The Los Angeles Clippers legend believes that even if people do not like James as a person, they should not act ignorant about how good a player he is. Blake Griffin further stated that involvement of personal bias when judging a player based on their game is unfair. “That’s what I hate is when people really, like, rag on somebody for not being a good basketball player just because they don’t like maybe who he is as a person,” he explained.
It is worth mentioning that though LeBron James has surpassed Michael Jordan in terms of total career points, many don’t see the King as the better player. He also has stats that indicate him being a more well-rounded player, in-fact statistically better than the Chicago Bulls legend. Mike leads in points per game (30.1). But James has better stats at assists (7.3) and rebounds per game (7.5).
But then people like Aries Spears commenting that even if LeBron James scores 80k points, he would still not be as great as Michael Jordan reflects that all these efforts fall short to create a stature similar to Jordan.
Why LeBron James fails at achieving a Michael Jordan like legacy
One of the primary reasons can be the constant nitpicking by the basketball community, as mentioned by Blake Griffin. And the social media explosion in the last decade has even worsened the problem. While it has created more opportunities for easier popularity; it has also brought the bane of unwanted hate.
The Klutch Sports Group founder, Rich Paul, has a similar opinion on the technological advancement that has taken place. “LeBron is the first player to have to deal with a 24-7-365 news cycle of sports and opinions from those who are not even capable or carry the expertise to give a valid opinion,” the super agent stated on a podcast with Gilbert Arenas.
Another reason for LeBron James getting hate is claims of him lacking the ability to lead his team to the championship on his own. This perception first started building up after the King moved to Miami Heat from Cleveland Cavaliers. It was alleged that he formed a super-team of sorts with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. He received severe criticism for this move. And even more for publicizing it through a TV special called ‘The Decision’, where he made the announcement.
