Charles Barkley says LeBron James can become better than Michael Jordan – NBA News
As the debate regarding Michael Jordan and LeBron James continues to grow stronger now that James is officially an NBA champion, there are few people in the world who will take the bold step of saying that someone can surpass Jordan
as the best player in basketball. Charles Barkley, close friend of Jordan, has done just that.
Jordan is considered the greatest basketball player to ever play the game. His list of achievement is so long and extensive that it would require a full article just to cover them. However, some of his biggest achievements are
6 NBA championships, 6 time NBA Finals MVP, 5 time regular season MVP, 10 time scoring champion, Defensive player of the year and rookie of the year. It is hard for any player to overcome or surpass Jordan in the achievements category. However, LeBron James
is proving to be a close competitor to Jordan, and if Barkley is to be believed, James can be better than Jordan.
"I do think he can be better than Michael. I thought I would never compare somebody to Michael Jordan. But this guy, LeBron James, he does everything well. Michael did everything well. LeBron James is just bigger, stronger, faster.
That's the only difference,” said Barkley on the first episode of NBA TV’s “Open Court” that debuted on Tuesday.
James won his first NBA title and third regular season MVP award last season, and became the only player after Jordan to have won the regular season MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in one year. With
him at the peak of his career and finally in a team where he is comfortable and has the support that he needs, many are predicting James to achieve his true potential now, stating that his achievement up till now have only been a small trailer of what is yet
to come. After winning his first NBA championship, James has entered the elite group of basketball players with championship rings and proven that he can handle the pressure at the highest level. Having done that, he has now earned the legitimate right to
be compared to Kobe Bryant or Jordan, although he still has a long way to go before he accomplishes what they have accomplished.
“Unfortunately for LeBron, now that the monkey is off his back, he is going to be compared to two people: Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. So now the question is how many championships can he get? We all know he is a competitor,”
said Shaquille O’Neal.
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