Folks are always chiming in their opinion on the debate on if LeBron James can surpass Michael Jordan as the NBA’s greatest player of all-time. Phil Jackson, who used to coach Jordan, says that James has the tools to do so.
“He’s got all the physical attributes,” Jackson said Waddle and Silvy Show on ESPN 1000. “He is a player that can play four positions. Except for perhaps the center spot, which he hasn’t (been) given a shot at yet, he can play those other four positions quite well. This is unique; Michael could play three and was very good at all three of those, but as a power player that LeBron can become, I think he has an opportunity to explore and advance some of the status that he has already gained.”
James has accomplished a lot more than Jordan at age 27, even winning a title before him. Both also have had a season no one has been able to come close to: winning an NBA title, MVP trophy, Finals MVP and an Olympic gold medal in the same year.
However, the biggest factor for James to really surpass Jordan is how many championships he can win. Jordan, as we all know, has six rings. James will need five more to equal him.
“Winning six championships is an elusive thing out there, and they haven’t won two yet,” Jackson said. “But he’s kinda got the smell of it, and even the Olympic experience this summer, he was the granted leader of that team and was the critical player when they needed something to happen in the final games. I think he’s there, I think he’s at that position. He’s got good things ahead of him and a lot of it depends upon if he’s gonna be healthy for the remainder of his career.”
Jackson says that James will need to work more with his post-game and being more accurate with his jump shots now, kind of like Jordan did by working on his footwork.
“I have a hard time judging the best player, but I do think that Michael had more moves in the post and he had more of a perhaps shooting touch with his back to the basket and all these kind of things that were part of his game,” Jackson said.
“LeBron has this train out of control when he gets the ball in transition that he can go coast-to-coast without anyone getting in his way, and if they do, he’s going to over run them. And he’s got the power with the body and he’s developed a left hand that’s extremely good. There’s a lot of things that you are seeing in the development of this player that leads towards that, but the ideal and the whole reason behind this is what kind of championships are you gonna get from a player like this? Can he match what Michael has done?”
The Miami Heat got one championship on their back already and have a good chance at creating a dynasty. However, Jackson thinks it will be a lot tougher for this Heat team this year with the revamped Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder trailing behind.
“It’s more difficult, it becomes more difficult, with each one you win,” Jackson said. “There is never really an easier path. You know the direction, you know what it takes, you know the length of the season and how to pace yourselves.”
The post Phil Jackson Says LeBron James “Has the Tools” to Surpass Michael Jordan appeared first on FootBasket.
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October 09, 2012
