Thursday, October 4th, 2012 at 2:05 pm  |  126 responses

Charles Barkley Says LeBron James Can Be Better Than Michael Jordan


Charles Barkley has always bristled at the very idea that anyone could match (let alone surpass) his good friend Michael Jordan. But Sir Charles seems to have had a change of heart, and is now convinced that LeBron James could become better than MJ. Per the Sun-Sentinel (via NBATV’s “Open Court”, which resumes next Tuesday): “Barkley on LeBron James comparisons to Michael Jordan: ‘I do think he can be better than Michael. I thought I would never compare somebody to Michael Jordan. But this guy, LeBron James, he does everything well. Michael did everything well. LeBron James is just bigger, stronger, faster. That’s the only difference.’ [Shaquille O’Neal] on James’ future: ‘Unfortunately for LeBron, now that the monkey is off his back, he is going to be compared to two people: Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. So now the question is how many championships can he get? We all know he is a competitor.’”

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  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Exactly! Everyone knows that a full nba season takes a far far FAR greater toll on your body than a college schedule that consists of about 30 games. All of those extra minutes that Lebron logged in his first 3 seasons will affect him towards the tail-end of his career. Just look at the players coming straight outta high school who have played substantial minutes since day one. How are Kobe’s knees? How are KG’s knees? What about Jermaine O’neil’s? What a out T-Macs back and knees?

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    the same argument about James winning a title and Jordan having a bad supporting cast, can be made about the stats. Because Jordan had a worse supporting cast, he had to do more individually. So his stats were better.
    .
    All you can look at is a combination of everything, Stats + Success + Accolades (what am i missing? anything?) and judge based on that. Considering LeBron has the clear edge in 2 of the 3, and the difference in the third is completely minimal (and stats based, which again, is the only argument that people dismiss when arguing against LeBron) i think it’s pretty clear who you would call a better player to this point in their career, even if Jordan was more fun to watch.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    I don’t think he played like the superstar that he is when 100%. When healthy, he’s arguably a top 5 player in the NBA all-game every game! In last year’s playoff run, Wade struggled on both ends of the court. He said it, his stats support it, and his off-season knee surgery reinforces this.

  • danpowers

    to your first arguement: jordans stat-line or better: performance was also better than james stat-line was before the cavs put better players around him so that one stays “advantage jordan” to me.

    referring to your 2+3: do you think jordan wouldve done any worse in these categories on teams comparable to james’ teams against a comparable level of competition? i really dont think so. this is why i would step away from saying jordan was better but wouldnt go further then saying their were even in regards of “how good” they were and not about who was in the better situation to have more success.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    well you could say the same thing when LeBron is 35. It all evens out in the end. Which is the main reason I don’t see LeBron catching Jordan, simply because of what Jordan became from the ages of 28-34.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    The Cavs were better with worse players than Jordan was. As this has always been for me, being the best player on a more successful team trumps stats.

  • danpowers

    aight, i can live with this conclusion.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    hey i would like to say, thanks for having the ability to argue without resorting to some form of insults. i really enjoy our back and forth.

  • danpowers

    i know this is blasphemy for the game’s old school scholars but i gotta co sign sean on that one. bron surpassed bird already. there are not many things left that bird could do better than lebron

  • roscoe

    whn chuck talks sometimes it is good to remember the golden tip of “Flush early & flush often.”

  • Seain Kearney

    2 things that MJ can’t do that Lebron can…. 1. Lebron can play every position and match his competition…2 Lebron made a movie of his childhood because he grew up in the hood and showed everyone that he was going to be the next greatest.

    2 things that MJ had that Lebron didnt….MJ didnt grow up in the hood and 2 he was brought to the gym and was trained by trainers by his rich parents.

    Everyone is trying to compare apples to oranges… Lebron can gaurd anyone in the league even dwight howard or shaq, Rose, Durant, … no way in hell can MJ gaurd any of those players their either to tall or to quick. MJ was great at his position and really wasn’t much competition at his position except for when Kobe stepped on the floor and MJ wasn’t that quick compared to Lebron thats what makes him such a bad @$$ he wasn’t strong enough big enough or even quick enough. You put a match up against these 2 players in thier prime….MJ vs LBJ…NO WAY would MJ win…LBJ would stop him in the post/block his shots/ drive by him/ spin by him… lol i can go on and on.

    MJ was better at a few things…. but nothing that would make a difference in a game… maybe free throws.

    MJ had a great shot, dunk and players on his team… everyone also talks about Lebron having Wade and bosh…. dude MJ didnt do it himeself… Grant, pippen, just to name 2 players that are equal to wade and bosh, pippen is just as equal to Wade. Grant can gaurd bosh no problem those 2 are equal. so stop the BS and stop saying that MJ did it himself… NO ONE not even Lebron can do it himself.

  • roscoe

    u make points, but the trump card is Bron bron lost in the finals twice. mj never lost.

  • BucsGatorsHeat

    Is it better to get to the finals and lose or get bounced in the first round like Jordan did several times. If you are going to say Bron failed in the finals, you need to acknowledge that on several occasions Jordan failed before even getting to the finals.

  • pposse

    it doesnt even matter how he played! he was still an established baller, and commanded the defenses attention. the game plan against the heat would not have changed if wade was all of a sudden more healthy. No one is saying lebron coattailed his way to the the championship, but having ball players like Bosh and Wade on a team with Lebron James is 5,000 times more than fans, players, gms should be asking for, and bc of that the comparisons to MJ should just really stop.

  • pposse

    what about the NBA experience factor/maturity? As it is, Lebron had the advantage (if he did which is most likely) of watching every single game tape of MJ, and all other players before and after. You couple that with Lebrons high maturity level as it is, those early years in the NBA definately helped get him to the point that he is at right now. I think a more fairer argument is to base the accomplishments off of NBA years rather than their physical age; its more relative. Then at this point in both of their career Jordan had 3 Championships (i think) and 3 MVPS which puts him ahead.

  • pposse

    he may not have performed like one, but he still was treated like one by opposing teams; you are what your treated like.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Phil Jackson>Spo
    Prime Pippen>Injured Wade
    Rodman>Bosh
    Agree or Disagree?

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Defenses didn’t have to double him as aggresively as they do when he’s healthy. When he’s 100%, he’s a top 3 slasher in the L. Constantly attacking the rim. He really struggled to get any kind off “explosion” with that knee injury. He was forced to settle for off-balanced fadeaways and floaters. And defensively, players like Barbosa,Westbrook, and Rondo were turning the corner on him at will. DWade was not the elite defender that we know him to be during last year’s playoff run. If fans like you and I acknowledge this, you know the scouts, coaches, and players on the opposing teams did as well.

  • pposse

    i agree most of that, but i am hesitant to say Rodman was better than Bosh. He rebounded better and he defended better, but as far as all around game, especially when considering offense, shooting percentage etc. Bosh has to be strongly considered. The original argument from Redd was about how Lebron signed to a team that was ‘manufactured’ in a way. I personally think that this has to be strongly considered when determining Lebron’s legacy; whereas MJ’s squad was homegrown. Rodman was the only major player that was acquired by the bulls via FA or trade and he was only there for 3 rings.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Redd’s original argument was that Lebron couldn’t create an all-star, which I strongly disagree with. Tell me, how have both Mo Williams and Big Z done before/since playing alongside Lebron? He took a team to the finals that had no business being there! And people wanna use that as a strike against Lebron because MJ was undefeated in the finals…ridiculous. Did Lebron join all-stars to get his ring? Yes! Magic, Bird, MJ, and even Zeke didn’t have to, because their GMs surrounded them with HOF caliber supporting casts and excellent role players. Agree or disagree?

  • pposse

    Pip did more than just prove himself, and i tread lightly when when talking about him, but i just don’t believe he would have been the type of player that he became if it wasn’t for Michael Jordan being there from the beginning. Even Phil Jackson, Phil Jackson was no one special before MJ. Lebron probably played with the biggest collection of bums (as far as nba talent goes) when in cleveland and mo became an all star, but when he left he completely went to a polar opposite type of team. I give MJ more than any GM/owner the credit for Pippen and Phil Jackson’s successes. You can never really say that about Lebron as it pertains to Wade and Bosh.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    I completely agree with you that Pip and Jackson were greatly influenced by Jordan. That’s not my argument. My argument is that time and time again, Lebron has shown that he makes his teammates better. DWade is a Mega star and Bosh is an all-star. My argument is that they were both severely hampered by injuries in last year’s playoffs, which forced Lebron to raise his level of play on the defensive end and offensive end to a height that hasn’t been seen in years. For the record, I think MJ is the GOAT, but for people to say Lebron is a champion solely because of Wade and Bosh is a damn lie. This is no knock on you, but to haters who would rather point to his past failures while simultaneously ignoring the historic year he has. Shit, even Larry Bird had to say that he can’t remember the last time a player had a better year than Lebron did last year.

  • fm moreno

    Jordan is History. Lebron will be… at the end of the day everyone will consider everything the both accomplished and did not, to compare them…. comparison will never halt … Jordan will still be great as he was and Lebron or Kobe will always be next to him no matter how good the both are… Michael Jordan brought NBA around the world. I know everyone figure this out that before LBJ and Kobe NBA debut…. all eyes were looking for the next MJ….. Now asked me, lets say Kobe retires right now, can I say who will be the next Kobe? knowing LBJ is still around….. asked the same way for LBJ, knowing NBA has Kevin Durant….

  • lawrence.xuaowefawoeg

    I think that Barkley is right, LeBron is really just bigger, stronger, faster.

  • http://www.facebook.com/joseph.l.turner.9 Joseph L Turner

    You wanna compare greatness, who closed more playoff games and won titles. Don’t forget what you felt as you watched those games. Now who gives you the greatest memories.

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