If 08-10 LBJ played in 96-98 would he...

[catch24]

Give me EmJay. Heart of a lion; skill of an assassin.

[KenneBell]

IMO 96-98 Jordan was a slightly better player than current Kobe, whereas Lebron right now is clearly a better player than current Kobe..

Production and efficiency wise, '11 Kobe is about the same as '98 Jordan.

Lebron pretty much blows them out of the water in those categories.

Jordan would have over LeBron what Kobe has over him, playoff experience, leadership, skill, and clutch play, only to a greater extent.

I'd definitely pick MJ if I was going to have a one season championship run.

[HB40TheNextStar]

And if JR Smith played in the 60's, he would be Big O.

I don't get it. What game are we playing?

[sekachu]

I would take peak lebron over aging jordan.. I cant believe some of you are acting like it's not a comparison.

It is not a comparison if you based on their athleticism, I think MJ has a great postup game that make he better than lebron

[Micku]

I don't think he'll be consider the best in 96. But other years, probably. I dunno. I wonder how he would play though. Shaq was killing it when he was healthy. So if ISH forum would've existed, then Shaq would be the star in the raising, more so than LeBron.

[knickscity]

Production and efficiency wise, '11 Kobe is about the same as '98 Jordan.

Lebron pretty much blows them out of the water in those categories.

Jordan would have over LeBron what Kobe has over him, playoff experience, leadership, skill, and clutch play, only to a greater extent.

You mention efficiency yet Jordan for his career, shot 50%.

How is LeBron more efficient?

The bold cements why Jordan was better than Lebron has been ever so far.

[KenneBell]

You mention efficiency yet Jordan for his career, shot 50%.

How is LeBron more efficient?

The bold cements why Jordan was better than Lebron has been ever so far.

I was talking about '98 Jordan. '09-'11 LeBron has been pretty damn efficient.

I think he might get a boost if he played with that shortened 3 line MJ had in 96-97.

[knickscity]

I'd definitely pick MJ if I was going to have a one season championship run.

This is classic.

[KenneBell]

This is classic.

Why?

I wouldn't pick a 32-34 year old Jordan if I needed a franchise player for 5 more years. Just saying.

[knickscity]

I was talking about '98 Jordan. '09-'11 LeBron has been pretty damn efficient.

I think he might get a boost if he played with that shortened 3 line MJ had in 96-97.

I see what you did.

Jordan isn't even known for 3pt shooting. If anything that brought his efficiency down, not up.

You talking about 98 yet mentioned three years to support your argument.

LeBron is not, will not, cannot dethrone Jordan in anything substantial.

[knickscity]

Why?

I wouldn't pick a 32-34 year old Jordan if I needed a franchise player for 5 more years. Just saying.

I wouldn't pick Duncan over Kevin Love right now either.

But if you gonna compare the players don't pick their oldest years to compare someone's prime.

Use prime vs. prime.

[RedBlackAttack]

James still has yet to prove that he can turn his style of play into a championship. He is a dominant player, but 'dominating' does not necessarily mean championships. Call '96-'98 Jordan 'aging' or whatever, but he was the unquestioned leader and best player on a team that won three straight titles.

Frankly, LBJ doesn't deserve to be in this conversation at the moment, especially with the way he exited the playoffs last season.

[che guevara]

Depends. You could go either way with '96 MJ, '97 maaaaybe, but '09-'10 Lebron was definitely better than '98 MJ. This isn't prime MJ we're talking about, he was not the same player he was before baseball. Lebron gives you better production in every category on significantly better efficiency. In the '09 playoffs, Lebron was playing at a level much higher than MJ ever played at post-baseball. People acting like it's not even close should remember that this isn't prime Jordan we're talking about.

It should also be mentioned that Lebron would benefit hugely from the pulled in 3 point line from '96-'97.

[Harion]

Lebron would be Malone if he played in that era. always getting close but never getting past Jordan.

[che guevara]

Lebron would be Malone if he played in that era. always getting close but never getting past Jordan.

Malone was eliminated 17 times by teams without Jordan on them. Let's not act like Jordan was the only reason he couldn't win a ring. His production and efficiency consistently dropped in the playoffs (sometimes significantly), something that doesn't happen with Lebron.