Chicago Bulls: Why not just appreciate Michael Jordan, LeBron together?

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. But do we really have to disparage the greatness of LeBron James to prop him up, or can both be great at the same time?

Back on November 1, 1994, a bronze statue dedicated to Chicago Bulls legend/demi-god Michael Jordan was unveiled outside of the United Center after his first retirement. If you remember, that statue contained the inscription “The best there ever was. The best there ever will be.” after he completed his first three-peat.

Never mind that at that point, Jordan only had three titles instead of the six he would eventually win. In 1994, Bill Russell still had his 11 rings, Kareem Abdul-Jabber had already won six and Magic Johnson, whom Jordan defeated in 1991, had earned five.

And never mind Wilt Chamberlain, who, despite winning just two titles, was arguably the most dominant player of all-time.

Nope. Jordan’s transcendent greatness was enough to vault him to the top of the podium without all those accolades.

People could, did and still do argue the merits of those other players atop basketball’s pantheon, but Chicago Bulls fans didn’t need to see anymore. They knew they had seen. So why was it too early to proclaim their guy the greatest of all-time?

And of course, when he returned just a year and a half after retiring and added three more rings to his cupboard, what else was there to talk about? Two three-peats? Averaging over 30 points a game with the Bulls? Perfect 6-0 record in the Finals?

Jordan had become that guy whose skill set and credentials had made his resume to be “the GOAT” basically so unimpeachable that it could never be duplicated. And it still hasn’t been.

So, why mention all of this?

Mainly for this reason: Michael Jordan doesn’t need you to champion him. His resume speaks for itself.

In 1994, calling him the greatest of all time might have been a reach in terms of accolades. And interestingly, the only way to really make that argument then was to point to the fact that Jordan was simply better at basketball than everyone else before him.

Funny…isn’t that the exact thing people get mad about in relation to comparing LeBron James to Jordan, Kobe Bryant and other greats?

In fact, so much of the criticism surrounding James and the idea that he could be the greatest is just history repeating itself. People from the older generation don’t want to give the younger generation props. As if the more physical rules in the 1990s would’ve stopped LeBron James from stuffing Bill Laimbeer through the rim or knocking him into the front row on a freight-train drive to the rim.

But I digress.

Besides, even advanced stats suggest that Jordan still maintains the slight overall numerical edge over LeBron. You can debate all the other intangible stuff (LeBron leaving Cleveland for Miami, his 3-5 Finals record, his weaker conference but tougher Finals opponents and worse overall supporting casts). Whatever. It’s all relative.

What’s absolute, though, is that Michael Jordan has the greatest NBA resume of all time. And therefore, he’s likely to remain the greatest player of all time until further notice. LeBron, Kobe and any that come after will likely never achieve such incredible results.

As such, can we just get back to appreciating the great basketball we’re seeing from an all-time great player in LeBron James (as much as your Bulls fandom will allow, of course)?

Honestly, why are we constantly comparing the two as if it’s apples to apples? Why do we need an updated graphic every time LeBron hits a game-winner just to prove that he’s “clutch”? Why does “6-0” end every argument when winning titles is a team accomplishment, not an individual one (that bothers me about every sport, truthfully)?

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Let’s at least try to see the forest for the trees here.

Much like Jordan, LeBron’s career has evolved from failure into something unbelievably special. And both have given us moments time after time that few, if any, can ever duplicate.

LeBron is not Jordan (he’s almost the anti-Jordan, in fact), but being Michael Jordan is not a pre-requisite for greatness. He had to learn how to be a killer, while Jordan had to sacrifice some of his assassin instincts to lift his teammates. They started on opposite ends of the spectrum and even now are totally different players. But they’re starting to merge into two sides of the same coin, though Jordan does remain on top in my mind and many others.

So why can’t we appreciate both? Why must we disparage one of these guys to lift the other up? Truthfully, it’s silly.

Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time. I had his poster on my wall as a kid. I practiced his moves on the blacktop. And to this day, I still re-watch his games and get chills.

But LeBron James is slowly becoming my favorite player of all time. I never thought I’d see someone master basketball anywhere near that level ever again, but here it is. And on top of that, regardless of what you think of the flopping and passive-aggressive antics, he’s one of the greatest ambassadors basketball has ever had and genuinely seems like a good dude.

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I don’t feel the need to defend Michael Jordan’s legacy, nor do I feel like making LeBron the GOAT when I don’t believe he is. LeBron will never win the resume argument with Jordan without a whole lot of contextualizing.

But instead of trashing LeBron for not being Michael Jordan, I’m just trying to enjoy seeing a level of basketball awesomeness I never thought I’d see again.

Just don’t try to sell me on Kobe being better than LeBron. Get out of here with that.