As part of a long-form piece on Sports Illustrated that was published Tuesday morning and written by Sports Illustrated writer Lee Jenkins, the man who broke LeBron’s return to Cleveland in 2014, King James let it be known his desire for immortality.
During a Nike summer camp for high school athletes in which LeBron is watching a replay on the big screen with the camp host and the hundreds of campers in attendance, after the final seconds tick off and LeBron is basking in the glow of the elusive title for his hometown that he won just a month and a half ago, a camper ask LeBron what his motivation is now that he has won a title for Cleveland.
Here is his response according to Jenkins:
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/760446411355848704
He then proceeded to explain how he has always idolized Jordan and how their journey’s have been different. Here is an excerpt from Jenkins story:
“My career is totally different than Michael Jordan’s,” he (LeBron) says. “What I’ve gone through is totally different than what he went through. What he did was unbelievable, and I watched it unfold. I looked up to him so much. I think it’s cool to put myself in position to be one of those great players, but if I can ever put myself in position to be the greatest player, that would be something extraordinary.”
The article shares behind the scenes details of how the Cavaliers made history by coming back from a 3-1 deficit and won Game 7 on the road. How LeBron is training even sooner than usual this off-season as the Warriors acquiring Kevin Durant (allegedly) seems to be the impetus.
Here is the full article: LeBron James chases the ghost from Chicago and basketball immortality
LeBron James has played more seasons and has much more mileage compared to Michael Jordan at this stage of their careers. Here is a snapshot of their careers at the age of 31:
LeBron:
Career Stats (13 seasons): PPG: 27.2 REB: 7.2 AST: 6.9 FG% 49.8 FT% 74.4 3P% 34
PER: 27.7
Accomplishments:
-3 NBA Titles
-3 NBA Finals MVP’s
-7 NBA Finals Appearances
-4 Regular Season MVP Awards
-10 All-NBA 1st Team Appearances
Jordan:
Stats (First 9 Seasons): PPG: 31.4 REB: 6.1 AST: 5.6 FG% 51.1 FT% 84.4 3P% 24.8
PER: 29.5
Accomplishments:
-3 NBA Titles
-3 NBA Finals MVP’s
-3 NBA Finals Appearances
-3 Regular Season MVP Awards
-7 All-NBA 1st Team Appearances
LeBron has the advantage of entering the NBA earlier (and no gambling problem) but their numbers are pretty similar at the age of 31. It will take a pretty incredible final act to be able to truly match the GOAT in Michael Jordan, but if anyone can catch a ghost it’s LeBron.
