LeBron James can score 65 points tonight and lead the Miami
Heat to back-to-back NBA championships, go on to win the next seven Finals in a
row and he still won’t be greater
than Michael Jordan. Well, at least not in the court of public opinion. For the
same reason no baseball player will ever be better than Willie Mays, Jim Brown
is the greatest running back, Marvin Gaye will always be the greatest soul
singer, Rakim or Biggie will alternately be considered the G.O.A.T. and
Christopher Reeves will always be
Superman, regardless of how will Henry Cavil and Dean Cain played the role.
Generational ownership.
Generational ownership grants the copyright of greatness to
those who witnessed or came of age during a particular time when other folks
were doing great things. Thing about it, old Black folks are always telling you
how things were so much better when they were doing such and such and how so
and so is much better than this new boy you listen to. God forgive you, but I know there were times
when you wanted to slap an elder when they made some thirty year comparison
that wouldn’t stand up anywhere outside of that space you were in. But they’ve
earned that right. Or have they?
People are the catalogs of history, but there are flaws in
every system and personal bias goes a lot further than a missed decimal point.
There are older cats who swear Dr. J is the greatest there ever was, almost as
if they stopped watching basketball after June 19, 1984 and they never saw
Michael Jordan play a day. That’s because the reaction they received from The
Doctor reminds them of a greater, simpler time in their lives or that was the
height of their fandom. Logic is completely disregarded when these
conversations are being held; stats and facts are bent to whomever they benefit
at the time and the most microscopic blemishes are blown completely out of
proportion because losing the title of “the greatest ever” in your generation
almost seems like you’re losing a piece of yourself or the significance of that
time in your life is diminished a little. People are stupid.
Evolution creates the space necessary for greatness to
expand and its definition redefined, constantly. Michael Jordan exceeded the
standard of greatness in basketball in ways people never imagined. Think, at
the time, Dr. J, Magic and Larry were widely thought to be at the top of the
all lists along with Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar.
Nearly 30 years later, those names are usually running behind Jordan’s in
sentences that include the words best and ever. So why is it so impossible to
believe that LeBron James could one day supplant Michael as the greatest player
of all-time? The impact of Michael Jordan around the world is only surpassed by
Jesus and Muhammad Ali and when Jesus comes back, I’m sure a few church folks
will say he was as good as the first time, because the first time is usually
all that matters to people.
LeBron James is the most physically gifted athlete ever.
Point blank. He’s bigger than most power forwards, but outruns point guards and
has the tools to reshape the game in his image. However, over the course of his
nine year career, there’s been a question of mental toughness because of his
(perceived) inability in the big moment. There’s been talk of him lacking the “clutch gene” many great
athletes demonstrate, like he didn’t score 25 straight points against the
Pistons in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals or as if he doesn’t
average 33.8 points per game in his four career game sevens. The man is
28-years-old, playing in his third consecutive NBA Finals, but we’re discussing
his legacy when he may have ten years left to play.
It’s truly unprecedented. We’ve never had this discussion
about any other athlete while still in the prime of his career; the Kobe/Jordan
comparisons were based in similarities and Kobe’s drive to be considered greater
than Michael Jordan. LeBron didn’t ask for any of this. He’s gone out and
played team ball to a fault, deferring to Dwyane Wade in times when he should
take the team on his back. But that’s the way he plays the game, think of how
he sees the court and how he flies around defensively, his impact on the game
is much greater (most of the time) than his scoring. We want dominance. It’s
what we’re used to as a culture, conquerors. Most of us want LeBron to assert
his dominance on a game from the jump ball and step on his opponent’s neck
until their eyes pop out in submission.
Are you not entertained?
If the Heat do the unthinkable and lose on their home court
tonight, LeBron’s Finals record will fall to 1-3 (the same as Dr. J) and the
Big 3 era in Miami will largely be considered a failure. The scrutiny in the
next five months will be unbearable and the criticism LeBron directly receives
will be undeserved, but it will come. He’s simultaneously the most heralded and
vilified athlete and I believe it all really weighs clumsily on his head like
his headband. It’s impossible for him to shrug the comparisons, criticisms,
acclaim, slings and arrows off as he plays one-on-one against history. A
history he can never defeat, because much like how I believe Henry Cavill did
an excellent job in Man of Steel,
Christopher Reeve is still Superman to me.
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