With LeBron James’ stellar performance in the regular season and in the playoffs, a lot of fans and experts are again wondering if The King can now be compared to Michael Jordan.
James recently overtook Jordan in the all-time playoff scoring list in Game 5 of the Cavaliers’ series against the Celtics. Some are also saying James has gone in front of Kobe Bryant in terms of individual success.
In an interview, Jordan’s former teammate, Scottie Pippen, says he wouldn’t rank LeBron before Kobe.
“I don’t think he’s surpassed Kobe at all, no. And I don’t think he should be compared to either of those players (Jordan and Kobe) because they’re playing different positions. Kobe and Michael are both 2 guards. They’re both scorers. They’re mostly like a Kyrie (Irving) — they’re looking to score the basketball.”
Pippen added it was more appropriate to compare LeBron to Laker great Magic Johnson because of their similar style of play.
“I like to compare him to Magic. I think he plays a lot more like Magic, a lot more like myself — how I played, but obviously he’s more dominant than both me and Magic because of the way that he plays the game. His physicality, his athleticism surpassed Magic as well as me.”
In a separate discussion, however, Tracy McGrady told Pippen and Paul Pierce that he would rather have James in his starting five than Magic Johnson, which caused Pierce to react in disbelief.
Watch it here:
***
What are your thoughts on the issue? Has LeBron surpassed Kobe? Is he better than Magic? Can we compare him to Jordan?
