Player poll shows LeBron James is gaining ground on Michael Jordan in GOAT debate, but Bulls star still aheadJordan holds a slim lead in the latest player poll

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In May of 2020, ESPN polled a group of 600 NBA fans on the debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan for the title of greatest basketball player of all time. The fans picked between the two players in 17 different categories ranging from “better overall player” to “who would you rather have a drink with.” Jordan won all 17 categories, some by wide margins. On the “better player” front, Jordan received 65% of the vote.

A lot has changed since then. The poll was released at the height of Jordan-mania as The Last Dance aired on ESPN. Months later, James went on to win his fourth NBA championship. Since then, he’s become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, hit the 40,000-point mark and broken several other records. Now 39, James is playing in his 18th NBA postseason as the Los Angeles Lakers battle the Denver Nuggets in the first round. In other words, James has spent the past few years strengthening his case against Jordan.

It seems as though the basketball-viewing public has noticed, and that doesn’t just mean fans. The Athletic has conducted an anonymous poll of NBA players on a number of matters in each of the past two seasons. When 103 players were polled in 2023, 58.3% of them named Jordan the greatest player of all time. James finished in second at 33%. Kobe Bryant was a distant No. 3 at 6.8%. What we see here is a pretty similar result to the fan poll, but with Jordan losing a little bit of luster in the years that have passed since.

On Monday, The Athletic released its 2024 poll, and suddenly, the two legends are neck and neck. Jordan finished at No. 1 with 45.9% of the vote. James finished No. 2 at 42.1%. Bryant was again a distant No. 3 at 9.8%. For the first time in a major poll, James is within striking distance of Jordan.

There are a number of possible explanations for this. Obviously, a 133-person poll does not necessarily reflect the views of the wider world. The players polled this time around might simply prefer James, whereas last year’s batch preferred Jordan. The NBA’s player pool gets younger every year, so in all likelihood, the 2024 batch is more familiar with James as a player than Jordan.

But it’s also possible that the gap between the two icons is simply narrowing. James, now 39, is in his 21st NBA season. Jordan played a total of 16. Jordan retired after his age-39 season. James is still an All-Star posting far better numbers than Jordan did as a Washington Wizard. While we do not know how much longer he will play, it seems likely that he continues to set records for the next few years at least.

Where Jordan and James will ultimately fall compared to the other is ultimately subjective. There will never be a true consensus, especially if James continues to improve his case with time. But this polling data suggests that if Jordan once had a significant lead in this race, that lead has now been trimmed. He may still be in front, but at this rate, there’s a reasonable chance that one day, James is ultimately viewed by the majority as the greatest player of all time

Big Shot Rob’ Blames LeBron James for Lakers’ Game 2 Collapse

LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers walks back to his bench while playing the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter during game two of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs.

Seven-time NBA champion Robert “Big Shot Rob” Horry pinned the blame on LeBron James‘ repeated isolation plays at the top of the key as the main culprit of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ collapse in Game 2.

“For me, the first thing I ever learned when I got into this league, [Hakeem] Olajuwon came to me and he was like, ‘Keep it simple,’” Horry said on the Spectrum SportsNet’s postgame show. “Down the stretch, the Lakers didn’t keep it simple.”

Jamal Murray’s buzzer-beating jumper capped a Denver Nuggets’ 20-point comeback to take a commanding 2-0 lead and won for the 10th straight time against the hard-luck Lakers on April 22.

anthony davis is a 4x all-nba defensive team selection and a 3x league leader in blocks and jamal murray looked at him guarding him one on one with the game on the line and was like “you are so fucking dead bro” 😭😭😭😭😭 what an absolute menace

Watch on X12:42 am · 23 Apr 20249790ReplyRead 108 replies

It was the second-largest blown lead by the Lakers in the playoffs since 1997.

‘That’s Not Winning Basketball’

Horry said the Lakers deviated from what worked in the first half, which enabled them to grab the huge lead over the Nuggets.

“What I mean by that is on the offensive end they started to do all these little screens and all these trickeries to try to get the mismatch,” Horry continued. “You know where the mismatch was? [Anthony Davis] on the post. For me, you have to understand mismatches.

LeBron is 39 [years old]. Yes, he’s one of the best players ever to play this game [but] he had no advantage [Monday night]. That [isolation play] at the top got them in trouble. You know why? Denver was able to rest on the defensive end. They sat there and waited on LeBron to make his move and then they went in — I love LeBron to death — but to me, that’s not winning basketball.”

James had the hot hands in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 26 points, but he missed a wide-open 3-pointer with 16 seconds left that set up Murray’s game-winner.

Maybe instead of complaining about the refs, LeBron James should have just made that wide open 3…

…which ironically was open because he pushed off and got away with it. https://t.co/WwjzHCQzTl pic.twitter.com/bl8jJAlC8g

— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) April 23, 2024

“I know people are going to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 me for saying this because I’m talking about LeBron James,” Horry said.

‘We Totally Forgot Anthony Davis’

Davis feasted on Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in the first half with 24 points on 11 of 12 shooting from the field. But in the fourth quarter, he only had one attempt, which he missed, in 10 minutes.

“[Davis] was cooking but then you go away from that and to me, you got to understand it ain’t about ‘Me’,” Horry said. “It’s about ‘We’ in the playoffs and you got to go to the advantage and [Davis] in the second half — who had the advantage throughout the first half — we totally forgot about him.”

Davis led the Lakers in the loss with 32 points and 11 rebounds but he was also dumbfounded by their second-half collapse.

“We have stretches where we just don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor,” Davis told reporters after the loss. “Those are the ones that cost us. So we got two days to get it right right and come ready to win Game 3.”

Nuggets’ 2nd Half Adjustment

After the Lakers repeatedly milked the Davis-Jokic mismatch on ball screens in the first half, the Nuggets made adjustments.

They switched their best interior defender Aaron Gordon on Davis while Jokic slid to the much smaller Rui Hachimura on defense in the second half.

It worked wonders for the Nuggets as the Lakers’ offense became stagnant.

Los Angeles had 17 assists in the first half but only dished seven in the second half.

The Lakers only had two assists in the fourth quarter courtesy of James, who finished with a game-high 12. But James also hoisted half of the Lakers’ 18 field goal attempts in the pivotal fourth quarter. He made 5 of 9 while the rest of the Lakers went 3 for 9.

“There’s a lot of things that went on in this game,” Horry said. “You can bring the substitution pattern on on the coaching staff, you can bring LeBron’s ISO and you can blame [Davis] for not taking the ball in the post.

There are so many things you can point out and when you’re in a playoff game and you have a lead like that, you don’t need to be fancy on the offensive end. Just be simple. Get it to the mismatch.”

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LeBron James threatens to expose MVP voter who already outed himself

It’s a little strange, considering Gary Washburn already outed himself 10 years ago.

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY SportsNBAONLINE OUTLETSBy Sam Neumann on 04/22/2024

LeBron James was one vote shy of being a unanimous MVP — that vote went to Carmelo Anthony instead.

Nearly a decade later, James still harbors ill will towards the voter, who prevented him from becoming the first one to win the unanimous award. Shaquille O’Neal suffered that same fate in 1999-2000, receiving 120 of 121 votes. It wasn’t until Stephen Curry (2015-16) that someone was unanimously named the MVP.

And James feels like he was robbed of becoming the first. He hasn’t particularly taken kindly to it and seemingly threatened to expose the voter who did so.

“I also had an opportunity to be the first unanimous MVP if I’d gotten all 120 votes,” he said. “But I got 119.”

“I know who the one vote was,” James added. “He voted for Carmelo… It was a writer from Boston – of course. I know his name, too, but I ain’t gonna give him that light just yet. I’ll wait for the doc on that one.”

The problem is that everyone already knows who the voter is — Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

At the time, James thought it was a writer from New York, but that wasn’t the case.

“It’s probably a writer out of New York who didn’t give me the vote,” James said during the award ceremony, via ESPN. I know the history between the Heat and the Knicks, so I get it.”

Washburn explained in an article published in the Globe a day later that he was the voter who cast his vote for Anthony instead of James.

Why my MVP vote this year was Carmelo Anthony http://t.co/05aj2oePeq via @BostonGlobe

— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) May 6, 2013

Washburn argued that Anthony was more impactful for his team during the 2012-13 season than James. The columnist credited Anthony with reviving the Knicks, who at the time secured their first division title in almost 20 years. He reasoned that the Knicks wouldn’t have made the playoffs without Anthony, whereas the Miami Heat had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh alongside James.

He also predicted James would eventually be the NBA’s first seven-time MVP, emphasizing his vote wasn’t biased toward James. The irony here is that would be the last time that the now-39-year-old James would be voted as the league’s Most Valuable Player, so it’s understandable that he would still be up in arms over the fact that he was “robbed” of being the first unanimous MVP in league history.

But saying that he knows the voter by name when everyone knows that Washburn was the one who did it implies that James knows something that everyone else doesn’t. Trying to expose someone who already exposed themselves seems like a weird justification. You don’t have to agree with Washburn — and many people don’t — but it’s not like he hid behind anonymity and waited to release a tell-all book a decade later.

It should also be noted that James assumed that the voter was from New York, which was later proven wrong not even 24 hours after he made his acceptance speech. He now knows that the writer is from Boston but refuses to shine a light on the fact of anything else other than he knows his name. Perhaps this was his selling point in revealing some unknown information to be seen when this “doc” comes to light; perhaps not.

It’s a little strange, considering Gary Washburn already outed himself 10 years ago.

LeBron James rips NBA replay center in expletive rant after Nuggets top Lakers with buzzer-beater

Jamal Murray hit a shot as time expired

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

LeBron James was upset with NBA officials, specifically at the replay center, after the Denver Nuggets topped the Los Angeles Lakers 101–99 thanks to a Jamal Murray buzzer-beater on Monday night.

James was upset replay officials overturned a foul on Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., with the league saying he made marginal contact with Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell on a second-half play. James made his frustrations known.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, #23, walks off the court after a loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” James said. “D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on the drive. What the f— do we have a replay center … it doesn’t make sense. It makes no sense. It bothers me.”

James left the press conference after that.

Los Angeles blew a 20-point second-half lead which ended with Murray’s game-winning shot. Murray hit the shot over Lakers center Anthony Davis.

Jamal Murray, #27 of the Denver Nuggets, guards LeBron James, #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers, in the second quarter during game two of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Ball Arena on April 22, 2024 in Denver. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

“I just lost my balance and fell. I think A.D. was in my way or somebody was in my way and I just heard everybody scream and that’s how I knew it went in,” Murray said.

Murray missed 13 of his first 16 shots before hitting the most important one.

“I told my teammates when I was struggling, ‘I’m gonna look for y’all,’ and every single one of them told me to keep shooting,” he said. “They told me to stay aggressive and keep looking for it, keep hunting and when I had the ball with two seconds left, I knew once I had made a couple, the next one should go down, as well.”

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, #23, and Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, #50, eye the ball during the second half in Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Game 3 is set for Thursday night back in Los Angeles.

Former NBA Star Shares Harsh Truth for LeBron James and Lakers

This former NBA star believes the Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble

The Los Angeles Lakers have two of the best players in basketball, but their production outside of LeBron James and Anthony Davis can be very inconsistent. During a recent episode of Gil’s Arena, former NBA star and Memphis Grizzlies guard Gilbert Arenas shared a harsh reality for James and the Lakers, saying teams can take them out simply by cutting off their best player.

“If you’re cutting out the perimeter, Jokic just goes down low. If you try to double, everyone knows how to cut… With the Lakers, and a lot of teams, if you cut off LeBron, no one knows how to do anything else… If [Anthony Davis] was like Jokic, ‘I’m gonna play down low, and then I start eating here.’ Eventually they’re like, ‘Oh sh-t. Now I’m gonna double.’ Now it’s, ‘Here Rui, here Prince, ya’ll get open shots.’ There’s these different types of games they can play, and Jokic is showing you all of it in the same game. Different quarters he is doing something different.”

“If you’re cutting out the perimeter, Jokic just goes down low…With the Lakers, if you cut off LeBron, no one knows how to do anything else. Because there’s no “in-out” game…”Gilbert Arenas on why the Lakers offense isn’t built for the playoffs pic.twitter.com/Y2EL0SfAji

— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) April 22, 2024

For Arenas, he believes Jokic and the Nuggets are simply on a different level than the Lakers right now. This was the case in last year’s Western Conference Finals despite Los Angeles hanging around in all four of those games, and could very well be the case again in this year’s rematch.

NBA players discuss why they choose LeBron James of the Lakers above Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate.

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Michael Jordan is still the greatest of all time in the eyes of NBA players, but his lead over LeBron James is narrowing.

On Monday, The Athletic released the results of its annual player poll, and 45.9 percent of the 133 players who responded regarding the GOAT question picked His Airness. That was followed by James at 42.1 percent and Kobe Bryant at 9.8 percent

Sam Amick of The Athletic noted Jordan’s lead over James is much smaller than it was in the same poll in 2019 (73 percent to 11.9 percent) and 2023 (58.3 percent to 33 percent). While part of that can be explained by younger players entering the league who grew up watching James and are only familiar with Jordan through highlights, some of the players who picked the King discussed their rationale.

“I’d say LeBron,” one player said. “Just to be able to do it for 20 years, it’s insane. I think it’s more of a longevity thing that you have to look at there, and (how) still every year he’s playing at the highest level. With the highest expectations (placed on him), he had everything to lose in terms of coming into the league.

“It would’ve been very easy for him to underachieve and not meet those expectations, I think he’s far surpassed them, all of them, somehow. … Being on the floor, the closer you are to the game, the more of a sense (you get) for how great LeBron is, how he sees things, how he talks. His impact on the game, his gravity on the game is felt.”

Amick noted those who voted for James consistently pointed to his longevity, which isn’t surprising.

After all, he is 39 years old and just completed his 21st season in the league. While he may not be the same player he was at his peak, he still made the All-Star Game for the 20th time in his career this season and helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the playoffs by averaging 25.7 points, 8.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić were the only other players in the league to average at least 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds this season.

That longevity allowed him to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record last year, further cementing his legacy as an all-time great.

“Who would I draft in an all-time draft?” one player said. “That’s the way I look at it, you know what I’m saying? Some people look at it like, ‘Who do I want taking the last shot?’ Blah, blah, blah, all this other sh–. But in an all-time draft, I’m choosing LeBron. Why? I get 20 years of greatness, and I get somebody who plays one through five (point guard through center). And let me just say, the person I choose No. 2 would be Shaq (O’Neal), the most dominant player of all time. So in my GOAT debate, I would go 1-2 like that. And this is coming from a Kobe (Bryant) fan.”

Another player highlighted that longevity.

“(LeBron) for sure,” he said. “I think him being able to literally do everything and win (titles) with so many different organizations (the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Lakers) and also having the most points in his career, along with figuring out how to have longevity in his career. Everybody’s looking to have longevity, and he figured it out. He figured it out at the highest level. It doesn’t make any sense.”

James is still chasing Jordan in titles (six to four), NBA Finals MVPs (six to four) and league MVPs (five to four), but even that might underscore the difference between the two.

Jordan’s peak might never be matched. Even retiring for nearly two seasons to play baseball didn’t prevent him from winning six championships during an eight-year span and taking over both the league and popular culture as a whole.

But he played 14 seasons that were interrupted by multiple retirements. James has continued to play at an incredible level across 21 different campaigns and doesn’t look like he will be falling from the ranks of the league’s All-Stars anytime soon.

Jordan’s peak or James’ longevity?

It is a question that has split the NBA community, including the players.

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Aррreciating the Endurіng Love Between Lebron Jаmes аnd Hіs Wіfe

LeBron James, the phenomenal basketball player renowned for his exceptional talents on the basketball court, also shares a heartwarming love tale outside the game. His enduring love story with his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson James, is truly a relationship to look up to. The love story between LeBron and Savannah started back in their […]

LeBron James, the phenomenal basketball player renowned for his exceptional talents on the basketball court, also shares a heartwarming love tale outside the game. His enduring love story with his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson James, is truly a relationship to look up to.

The love story between LeBron and Savannah started back in their teenage years in Akron, Ohio. Despite facing the pressures of fame and LeBron’s busy NBA schedule, their relationship has remained strong and steady. They got engaged on New Year’s Eve in 2011 and exchanged vows on September 14, 2013, in a grand wedding ceremony held in San Diego, California. The event was graced by numerous celebrities and athletes, reflecting the couple’s significant impact and reach.

LeBron and Savannah’s love story is truly heartwarming because of their dedication to helping others in their community. Through the LeBron James Family Foundation, they work tirelessly to impact the lives of underprivileged children. Whether it’s offering scholarships to students pursuing higher education or founding the “I PROMISE School” in Akron, their charitable work reflects their mutual values and determination to make a difference for the better.

LeBron Jаmes on the Lаkers рlaying theіr fіrst home gаme ѕince Aрril 9th

LeBron Jаmes exрresses аnticipаtion аs the Lаkers geаr uр for theіr fіrst home gаme ѕince Aрril 9th, hіghlіghtіng the рalрable exсitement ѕurrounding theіr return to fаmiliаr terrіtory. Wіth а ѕenѕe of eаger аnticipаtion, LeBron аcknowledges the enthuѕiaѕtic ѕupport from theіr loyаl home fаns, emрhasizing the ѕignificance of reсonneсting wіth the vіbrant energy of the аrenа. […]

LeBron Jаmes exрresses аnticipаtion аs the Lаkers geаr uр for theіr fіrst home gаme ѕince Aрril 9th, hіghlіghtіng the рalрable exсitement ѕurrounding theіr return to fаmiliаr terrіtory. Wіth а ѕenѕe of eаger аnticipаtion, LeBron аcknowledges the enthuѕiaѕtic ѕupport from theіr loyаl home fаns, emрhasizing the ѕignificance of reсonneсting wіth the vіbrant energy of the аrenа. Aѕ the teаm рreрares to ѕtep onto theіr home сourt onсe аgаin, LeBron’ѕ wordѕ refleсt а сolleсtive eаgerness to embrаce the eleсtriс аtmosphere аnd сhannel іt іnto а ѕpirited рerformance.

LeBron Jаmes on the Lаkers рlaying theіr fіrst home gаme ѕince Aрril 9th

LeBron Jаmes exрresses аnticipаtion аs the Lаkers geаr uр for theіr fіrst home gаme ѕince Aрril 9th, hіghlіghtіng the рalрable exсitement ѕurrounding theіr return to fаmiliаr terrіtory. Wіth а ѕenѕe of eаger аnticipаtion, LeBron аcknowledges the enthuѕiaѕtic ѕupport from theіr loyаl home fаns, emрhasizing the ѕignificance of reсonneсting wіth the vіbrant energy of the аrenа. […]

LeBron Jаmes exрresses аnticipаtion аs the Lаkers geаr uр for theіr fіrst home gаme ѕince Aрril 9th, hіghlіghtіng the рalрable exсitement ѕurrounding theіr return to fаmiliаr terrіtory. Wіth а ѕenѕe of eаger аnticipаtion, LeBron аcknowledges the enthuѕiaѕtic ѕupport from theіr loyаl home fаns, emрhasizing the ѕignificance of reсonneсting wіth the vіbrant energy of the аrenа. Aѕ the teаm рreрares to ѕtep onto theіr home сourt onсe аgаin, LeBron’ѕ wordѕ refleсt а сolleсtive eаgerness to embrаce the eleсtriс аtmosphere аnd сhannel іt іnto а ѕpirited рerformance.

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