The debate about whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest player in NBA history remains ongoing. The Chicago Bulls drafted Jordan the mid-1980s, and he went on to dominate in the ’90s, winning all six of his NBA titles.
James was the top overall pick in 2003. The NBA in the 1990s was certainly different era, both on and off the basketball court. James’ longtime friend and sports agent Rich Paul offered his thoughts on how the current basketball era has presented a tougher set of circumstances for the Lakers superstar.
Paul argued that today’s new cycle was something Jordan did not have to contend with during his playing days.
“Mike transcended the game. When Kobe came, Kobe was a silhouette of Mike. That’s everything, which is great. But LeBron is the first player to have to deal with a 24/7/365 news cycle of sports and opinions from those that’s not even capable or carry the expertise to give a valid opinion,” Paul said during an appearance on “Gils Arena Show.”
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(L-R) LeBron James and Michael Jordan attend the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on February 20, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
Paul added that Jordan faced considerably less criticism during his career, saying the Bulls all-time great only had to deal with a critique from sports columnist Peter Vecsey.
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“In addition to, ‘I’m not really gonna do it how y’all want me to do. I’m probably going to decide how I wanna do it.’ We all know that don’t go over well, right? And so then, you have this environment in this sports society that’s created and so now you have to root against. That’s a whole other thing Mike never had to deal with because his hardest critic was probably, Peter Vecsey.
“I just think LeBron’s antlers is in platinum, and Michael Jordan’s may be in gold. Why? Because he had to be compared to Mike….
