Why All the LeBron James Hate?

Recently I watched a video of analysts debating if LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan. This has been a popular debate ever since James won the championship this past June. Whether James is better than Jordan is still up in the air, but that is not the focus of this article. I want to prove how awful some of the counter arguments are for Jordan being better than James.

The first counter argument is that LeBron has never had to face future Hall of Famers throughout the playoffs, unlike Jordan. Well, that argument is invalid. James had to face Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Carmelo Anthony. Even Paul George and Dwight Howard could also have an argument made for themselves. So the idea that James has never had to face Hall of Fame players in the playoffs is false.

Another knock people are putting on James is that he allows Kyrie Irving to close out a game. The one shot that is on everyone's mind is the three Kyrie hit in the NBA finals that basically clinched Cleveland their first championship in franchise history. But for those that always point that out, check out game 6 of the 1993 NBA finals. It wasn't Jordan who hit the game-winning three to win the Chicago Bulls a third straight championship. Nope, it was John Paxson. And how about 1997 NBA finals game 6 when Steve Kerr hit the game-winning shot. Once again it was not Jordan taking the big shot it was his teammate. Seems like these situations are lost in these debates, but clearly not taking the last shot does not make someone any less of a basketball player.

Whether people like it or not LeBron is a great player. Trying to find every reason to make him seem like the inferior player is just ridiculous. If you are still not convinced LeBron is in the same room as Jordan read my article Michael Jordan and LeBron James. I compare James career so far to Jordan's whole body of work. LeBron is on track to pass him in a lot of categories if he stays healthy. The truth is James and Jordan are two different players and both play in different eras. That is why the only comparisons that can be made are their career accolades.

Can LeBron take home the MVP?

Last season Stephen Curry was the first ever unanimous MVP in NBA history. Behind Curry in the voting order was Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James. James has been in the top 10 for MVP votes since he arrived to the league. Being in the MVP discussion is nothing new to James. The real question that fans have is will he win another MVP award? It is uncertain, but next season he has a real chance.

With Kevin Durant joining Stephen Curry one of the two players numbers will suffer, if not both. With that said a drop in Curry's production will keep him from winning another MVP trophy next season. Curry's teammate Durant has a better chance at winning it, but he will have to become the alpha dog on the Warriors.

Unlike the Durant and Curry, LeBron is clearly the alpha dog on his team. And seeing that James has been healthy just about every year, he puts himself in a position to take home the MVP. It won't be easy for James. There are a lot of young rising star in the league that will find themselves in MVP discussion. Players like Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Paul George will be in the discussion. Kevin Durant and Steph Curry will have votes. And if the Timberwolves or Pelicans have a good season, Karl-Anthony Towns or Anthony Davis could find themselves in MVP voting. The list goes on and on. But it all comes down to how well each players team performs.

That is where James has the advantage. Playing in the East means lower level of competition for the Cavaliers. This ultimately helps the with achieving the number one seed. This year though the competition will be higher. The Raptors will be back towards the top again this season and so will the Celtics. And after a big off season, the Pacers will likely be competing for the number one seed in the East. James team should not worry though as they have now built up chemistry that would be missing from those three teams.

Not just the teams play, but James individual play is most important in him winning MVP. James averaged 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists last season. As usual these numbers are impressive and if he can keep those numbers around 25, 7, and 7 he has a real shot at winning MVP. Truthfully this year the MVP is really up for grabs. Every year there seems to be a favorite or top three, but this year it can go to anyone depending on how their performance impacts their teams performance. For now I have LeBron James as the front runner for MVP with Paul George in a close second. Paul George has a chance to beat out James due to his team. His team has added a lot of great pieces this offseason and it will help him on offense. His numbers should improve as well as his teams wins. But if James is going to win another MVP before his career is over it would be this season.

Michael Jordan and LeBron James

LeBron James and Michael Jordan will continue to be compared well after James retires. The question that will always be asked is who is better?

In an interview with Lee Jenkins earlier in the month LeBron James talks about the NBA finals and his experience. But at one point LeBron says, "My motivation, is this ghost I'm chasing. The ghost played in Chicago." That's right James is talking about the greatest to ever play the game, Michael Jordan. James goes on to say, "My career is totally different than Michael Jordan's. What I've gone through is totally different that what he went through. What he did was unbelievable, and I watched it unfold. I looked up to him so much. I think it's cool to put myself in position to be one of those great players, but if I can ever put myself in position to be the greatest player, that would be something extraordinary."

"If I can ever put myself in position to be the greatest player, that would be something extraordinary."- LeBron James

LeBron James is finally acknowledging the elite company he is in. The problem is LeBron only has so much time left in the NBA to achieve more. To get a better understanding of where LeBron is in comparison to Michael Jordan here is a table below showing their career achievements. Of course LeBron will be adding to these categories, but the purpose of this chart is see how far behind James is. I will include the age at which Jordan retired.

Michael Jordan and LeBron James' Achievements

Achievement	Michael Jordan	LeBron James
Age	40	31
Seasons	15	13
Championships	6	3
MVP's	5	4
Finals MVP	6	3
Finals Record	6-0	3-4
All Star	14	12
Points	32292	26833
Rookie of the Year	Yes	Yes

Looking at these categories LeBron James is not very far behind Micheal Jordan. Both have had very successful careers. The thing that really hangs over James head is his finals record. James has had more opportunities to win yet has less rings than Jordan. Even if LeBron were to tie Jordan in championships, it would take him more seasons than it took Jordan to win six championships. To be honest this is just a minor detail due to the fact that people do not really remember players losing. What they will remember is how much they accomplish and right now James still has the opportunity to tie or pass Jordan. It comes down to how serious he is about chasing Jordan's ghost.

Jordan's Finals vs James' Finals

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Just how good was Jordan? First here is Jordan's 1993 NBA finals averages. 41 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. This is is arguably Jordan's best statistical NBA finals. Now if that wasn't convincing enough here are his averages from the 1991 NBA finals. 31.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 2.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. Jordan was a scoring machine and was just about unstoppable in every finals appearance he made. His performances earned him Finals MVP during both of these seasons and every other finals he played. Also Jordan never played a game 7 in the NBA finals. That shows just how dominant he and his team was in the 90's.

Beck Diefenbach/AFP/Getty Images

There is no doubt that LeBron is the best player in the NBA today. To compare him to Jordan is not as far fetched as critics make it out to be. Critics are constantly questioning LeBron James and his ability to take over games. James had his best finals performances in his last two finals apperances. In the 2015 NBA finals James averaged 35.5 points, 13.3 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. LeBron really had to carry the team in the 2015 NBA finals being that he was without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. In 2016 he had a fully healthy team yet the Cavaliers found themselves in 3-1 hole. James made sure he did everything possible to turn his teams fortune around. He did so and went on to win the NBA championship and Finals MVP. During last years NBA finals LeBron averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game. Those are incredible numbers. Those numbers are very similar to Jordan's, if not better.

Different Era's

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Really comparing both players is very hard. Stats do not tell the whole story. LeBron James is a much different player than Michael Jordan. He even stated this in his quote. LeBron James also plays in a different era of basketball that is less physical. No one knows for sure whether or not James would succeed playing in a different era. And the same goes for Michael Jordan. All these hall of fame players continue to say that players today wouldn't succeed during their era. Would Stephen Curry be as effective playing during the 90's or 80's? Maybe or maybe not. Now put Gary Payton in today's NBA and tell him to stop Stephen Curry. Would he be able to stop him? Maybe or maybe not. The reality of the situation is no one will ever know. What everyone should do is just enjoy what is happening in the NBA right now. Golden State and Cleveland is slowly becoming rivalry. Both teams are on a collision course for another NBA finals show down. And if this season holds as much excitement as last season, basketball fans are in for a treat.

The Verdict

No one knows for sure if LeBron James will ever be as good as Michael Jordan. James has a body of work that if he retired tomorrow he could be considered a top 10 player of all time. By the time LeBron James is done in the NBA he will most likely be considered a top three player all time. For now James has made it clear that his mission is to be the best player he can be. By doing this James will be put in the same category as Jordan one day.