Sunday, May 29th, 2011 at 11:06 am  |  70 responses

LeBron James ‘Gracious, Humbled’ by Pippen’s Comments

LeBron acknowledged Scottie Pippen’s controversial comments, but refused to stand entirely behind them. Via Yahoo! Sports: “Scottie Pippen thinks LeBron James might become a greater player than Michael Jordan. James isn’t so sure – but he’s also not ruling out the possibility. ‘Mike’s an unbelievable player,’ James said Saturday. ‘I got a long way, long way to be mentioned as one of the all-time greats. Not even just Jordan – there are a lot of great players who have played in this league: Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and all these guys that are floating around with multiple rings. Bill Russell. All of these guys who have pioneered the game for myself and [Dwyane Wade]. I’m gracious, humbled by Scottie’s comments with him being a teammate of his and seeing Michael on a day-to-day basis. But as far as me? I don’t know. I’m not going to sit here and say I’m better than Jordan or if I’m not better than Jordan. It’s not about that.’ Pippen made his comments on a radio station Friday morning. ‘Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to ever play the game,’ Pippen said. ‘I may go so far as saying LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game.’”

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  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    Consider the source, Bron Bron. Pippen is FULL OF ISH!

  • Will Lee

    pippen should just admit he was on crack that night

  • BMJ

    Notice he still couldn’t be humble enough to say “I’m not going to sit here and say I’m better than Jordan” and just leave it at that….he had to add “or if I’m not better than Jordan”. You’re not. Get a ring(s), simultaneous MVP & DPOY and then you’re in the discussion…

  • http://www.slamoline.com Max

    Everybody knows BO$H! is the GOAT what they talking about Lebron and MJ pff.

  • Darryl

    LMFAO. LeBron better than Mike? What? LeBron not even better than Kobe man. Be serious. SMH.

  • http://slamonline.com Tae

    Cosign Darryl. Couldnt have said it better

  • the truth

    Lebron way better than kobe…RIGHT NOW anyways

  • AD

    Lebron will be better than jordan. once he wins this ring watchwhat happens

  • http://fkjslf.com Jukai

    Jordan best scorer all time? Uhhhh forgetting JJ Reddick maybe?

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    In other news Ted Williams (homeless radio guy hired by Cavs) agrees with Pippen.

  • cball

    I don’t think you cab be the best player ever when yo momma has dinner plans wit delonte west

  • karma

    When it comes to pure scoring, Kobe (in his prime) is hands down better than Lebron. Kobe used to have games where he’d put up 45, 52, 43, 39, etc. There was a stretch in 2007 when he scored 60+ points for THREE straight games. Do you know how ridiculous that is? Lebron James hasn’t scored 60 once in the span of 8 years. Granted, Lebron’s a better overall player than Kobe was due to his size and athleticism at that size, but Kobe’s offense was better than Lebron’s (or even MJ’s actually) while Lebron gets a slight edge defensively – or their tied.

  • Dagger

    Karma, I agree with you on Kobe being probably the better scorer in his prime, but I’m not sure if Lebron couldn’t put up those point totals. I think there’s only a select few players in NBA history who would ever have considered putting up so many shot attempts on a regular basis; Kobe was one of them, and Lebron isn’t. Kobe’s point totals were largely a function of his ability to score, but they were also a result of a combination of poor teammates and selfishness.

  • Bill Sunday

    Karma lets not get too carried away now about kobe with the 60 points three games straight. I don’t see how you can say kobe offense is better than jordan when kobe only averaged 30+ points for a whole season 3x while jordan did it over his entire career. Don’t get me wrong kobe had one of the greatest scoring seasons with the 4 straight games of 50+. However, kobe has three worst 50 point efficiency games in nba history

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    LMAO JJ Reddick. Y’all know Mr. “Shut It Down” Kwame Brown is the greatest.

  • cheesewiz

    if im gonna take anybodys word for this, its gonna be pippens .. damn, he played wit jordan for 10+ seasons, i think he knows jordan better then all of us

  • http://Slamonline.com Datkid

    I agree with karma..bron will never be that selfish…and really he will never need to be, his teammates will never be that horrible again

  • Demigod

    Sure it is Wades team but Bron is the Man in Miami. Kobes offence was never better than MJs + M.J. was more clutch than anyone of them. Kobe just put points up never givin a umph about winning. Bron is king & You are G@y !! Fishy ? Craw-man !! where you at ?

  • Thor

    @Bill, Karma said Lebron, not Jordan. And he’s right about that, Lebrons most effective move is when he explodes past someone and draw an andone running layup. besides that and dunking, he’s not that gifted. But he has a workers mindset and gives himeself an opportunity to improve on it all, and will. In that sense he has a chance to chatch up to MJ, but because of his stupid acts and personality he will never get the same praise and love as Jordan AKA mister Prototype. Believe that! And believe that him joining up with wade and bosh, neither will help his individual legacey.

  • http://www.walshsportsblog.com Darren

    If he’s not the Number 1 on his team, he cant be the Number 1 in the league or in history. I thought this was already agreed on.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Angel of Stern

    its hilarious that some people still think lebron is only the second best player on the heat…

  • http://www.slamonline.com Angel of Stern

    that takes a real hardcore hater

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    Mr. “Shut It Down” Kwame Brown is the greatest

  • JTaylor21

    I have a strange feeling that crack is back in style after reading some of the comments.

  • T-Money

    A lot of MFers really hate this man. Wow. Y’all blinded by your hatred.

  • HEARTof IOWA

    Pippen had to be doing coke when he made these comments..I don’t believe he would’ve made these comments if Mike hadn’t already given his intro into the Hall Of Fame. If I was MJ i wold wait untill Dennis Rodman is inducted, agree to appear, and ROAST Scottie’s ass..Without Mikes assistance i don’t see Scottie as top 50 player..Maybe 51..swap him out with my man Dominique who was snubbed wrongfully from the list..

  • http://www.walshsportsblog.com Darren

    Remember that story about Pippen shouting at a Slam reporter when he only made it into the 30′s in the mag’s list? LMAO

  • T-Money

    And Darren, you can’t be serious if you don’t think LeBron isn’t the best player on this Heat team. Are you secretly Skip Bayless?

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    Lol I’m totally kidding, JTaylor. Just calm down. I literally made up the “Mr. Shut It Down” line.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Who is a better player than LeBron on the Heat? Eric Spoelstra? Pat Riley?

  • Dre

    Damn… idiots still dogging LeBron. he should want to be better than MJ. That is not a bad goal to shoot for. Idoits are talking about because he didn’t just leave it at that when he said he is not saying he was better than MJ. Lebron haters… please shut up and crawl back under a rock and watch him win this chip.

  • Elvis Freshly

    I’m a huge MJ fan but you guys… Lebron just MIGHT be a better O/A player then Jordan.

    who am I kidding ahahahahhaa not in a million years

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    “Idk joe but im willing to bet you could play a game of basketball with the stomach flu and be successful before you could with a hurt elbow”- me arguing with a fellow student about Lebron James vs. Michael Jordan. Are you kidding me?

  • monkeyball

    A lot of people forget that MJ doesn’t have the greatest personality. He f-ed up a number of times during his playing career (gambling, in particular). Read The Jordan Rules sometimes. Yes, he’s the greatest ever, but the idea that he’s better than Lebron because he’s a better person is just silly.
    Speaking of, can someone tell Lebron that one should never refer to oneself as “gracious”?

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    @monkeyball yeah MJ was a colossal douchebag at times.

  • dbanderson1

    Lebron may be the best athlete the league has seen as far as size and his athletic abilites. But Jordan changed basketball and set records against intense physical play…with defenses such as the “bad boys”…the league was way more physical back then and jordan has 130 games of 30 plus points in the post season…ridic! kobe is second with only 80…jordan was a monster. I dont recall jordan flopping…lebron act hurt to draw a foul, if Jordan did that he would of scored 90 a game. #touchfouls didnt exist in the mid 90′s.

  • http://www.twitter.com/dfrance21 DFrance21

    Jordan has reached that mythical legend status. No matter who does what after him, most people will never dare to say a player is better than MJ. For one LeBrons career is only half way over this shouldn’t even be a discussion until he’s done playing. Secondly, its extremely difficult to compare players from different eras of basketball. Too many variables to factor in.

  • blackricktheruler

    Jordan: 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 49% FG, 84% FT, 33% 3PT and 2.3 steals
    James: 27.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 48% FG, 74% FT, 33% 3PT and 1.7 steals

    These are their career numbers as of now.The only thing LeBron is missing is the rings.That’s about to change.

  • MrSuper

    http://youtu.be/wP-EIeGW4lk

    In his eighth or ninth game into the league. He got better after that!

    Now lets see if James can get past Dirgler…

  • Demigod

    word ^^^^^^

  • Mike From Spain

    @ blackricktheruler -> If that counts the Washington Wizards seasons for Jordan’s stats, then I say Lebron will probably not surpass Jordan in ppg. Maybe Lebron will have more apg, but that will be all.

  • Conoro

    Between the three (Prime Kobe v. Prime Jordan v. Current James): Scoring- Kobe; Rebounding- LeBron; Passing- LeBron; Defense- Jordan; Pressure Ability- Kobe/Jordan. LeBron has a lot of time to elevate his game, but it will never match either Prime Kobe or Prime Jordan. No way in Hell, he just doesn’t have it, naturally. Everyone has to consider that he gets so much of what he does off of travels. It’s actually ridiculous.

  • Mike Benhaim

    Yes, it is premature to make these claims, but if your only argument is the 6 championships, then stop talking about Michael, and compare everyone to Bill Russell. The league, and CBA, are such that 6 championships may never happen again. Think about the dollars and the egos, and tell me you will have another such dynasty. No chance. If he wins 3, I will consider him a stud. Already he led the Cavs to the finals with nothing and no one. He is currently the most dominant non-center in history.

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    I can’t believe that Lebron fan I was arguing with actually believed Lebron had a hurt elbow. He said playing with the stomach flu would be easier. Wow.

  • JOHN

    For you Jordan worshippers, he wasn’t the prolific scorer that Chamberlain was. Did he ever score 100 points in a game or 81 like Kobe? No. Chamberlain averaged 50 in a season and all that without an assist from the officials who called fouls on anyone close to Jordan as he plowed into the lane. Remember that he was in the league seven years before he got his first ring and he never got even one without Pippen.

  • Hambone

    Lebrons not even better than pippen

  • giogolo

    @JOHN how many did chamberlain had (chips?) and who did he team up with to get it?

  • giogolo

    I like how lebron is as an athlete. waaaaaaaaaaay o ve kobe both as a person and as an athelte. but to put him over Jordan. until I say the day a shoe company like Nike would o nad build lerbon his own line. than you’all can talk about Jordan not being the great. u can add ussel and chamberlain too and whoever else is there. an dont give sh1t talkabout differnt ers. cuz MJ revolutionized the way bbal shoes were used,and makreted..sold meh.

  • http://www.walshsportsblog.com Darren

    All I’m saying is that he can’t join Miami and be the main man ahead of Wade. I had him ranked as the best player in the league before, along with Bryant, but that can’t happen now. This was most people’s opinion before The Decision and nothing’s changed. Wade has been Number 1 since he was drafted, and has already won a title. Maybe these Heat fans who signed up last summer don’t know their history. As for Jordan, he played in an era where the opposition could damn near decapitate him when he drove the lane.

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    @John the only reason Wilt scored so much is because he camped the lane. All game,every game.

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