‘The Last Dance’ has given every sports fan something to look forward to on Sundays as it documents the last season, as well as the rise of the dynasty, of the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. Naturally, this has led to some debate about Los Angeles Lakers superstar, LeBron James.
The debate between LeBron and Jordan for who is the greatest of all-time was already prevalent in the NBA community and this has further driven the divide. The younger crowd that didn’t see MJ play oftentimes siding with LeBron, with virtually everyone else siding with Jordan.
Personally, I do not think it is much of a debate. While I think LeBron is more talented offensively in more things than Michael Jordan (rebounding, passing, three-point shooting), there should not be a debate. Michael Jordan is the greatest of all-time.
However, some have swung way too far on the other side of the spectrum, saying that LeBron James could not have survived MJ’s era, especially the Bad Boy Pistons.
News flash: LeBron James would have survived in MJ’s era, and would have still been dominant.
The latest installments of ‘The Last Dance’ documented how the Bad Boy Pistons were the one team that Jordan and the Bulls just could not get through and that Jordan and the team tirelessly spent the ’90 offseason working out to not only get better but to add physicality to match up with the Pistons.
Detroit punished Jordan, more than they punished other teams (which was already a lot). With LeBron being the face of the NBA that Jordan was back then, we can safely assume that Detroit would have had the same gameplan: attack LeBron James.
It would not have worked.
Would LeBron play worse against a physical defense like Detroit that emphasized attacking him? Absolutely, but every star played worse against Detroit. That is why they won two championships and have the reputation that they have.
First of all, the learning curve for LeBron would not have been as sharp as it was for Jordan. Yes, LeBron is not used to that physicality in today’s NBA, but he is also six-eight and is the NBA equivalent of a freight train.
Jordan had to put on weight and strength to better matchup against the Pistons. LeBron already has more weight and strength than Jordan had after he worked out tirelessly.
While Jordan is the better individual scorer, LeBron has the weight and ability to muscle his way to the hoop in a more brute-force way than Jordan, which would have helped his chances.
Most importantly, though, LeBron is a better facilitator. This “attack LeBron” method would not have been as successful as LeBron is much better at getting his teammates involved. We actually saw in those episodes how Jordan finally started to trust John Paxson in the ’91 Finals as the Lakers were keying in on him on defense and leaving Paxson open.
LeBron would not have needed that realization from Phil Jackson. While his own personal scoring probably would not have come close to Jordan’s in those series, he definitely would have done a better job at getting his team involved, which would have forced Detroit’s hand with their style of play on LeBron.
It is important to note: LeBron is a really bad free-throw shooter for a superstar, so that definitely would have been something that would have hurt his chances against the Pistons. But with the facilitating and a better three-point shot, LeBron could have limited the number of times he got to the line.
And this is indicative of the entire era that Jordan played in. There are two extremes: one that says LeBron would not have survived in the 90s when hand-checking was still allowed, and those that say that Jordan simply played with milkmen and that the modern-day talent is much better. Both are absurd.
While I think there is more star power top-to-bottom in 2020, the idea that Jordan played against bad competition is laughable. However, so is the idea that LeBron would not have survived in Jordan’s more physical era.
LeBron James is an athletic freak of nature, for one. He would have been a more-menacing Charles Barkley, who did just fine for himself in the 90s. If you planted current-day LeBron in the 90s then sure, it would be a learning curve, but I am in the school of thought that superstar athletes, like LeBron James and Michael Jordan, would adapt and dominate in any era.
LeBron James has had his moments where criticism is well-deserved, such as his cramp game. And while nobody might ever be able to match Jordan’s will to win and mental toughness, the idea that LeBron would have folded in MJ’s era is outright silly.