Did you see the game last night?
Yeah.
Has Lebron ever lost a finals..
Yeah.
How many?
Two.
Did Jordan ever lose in the finals?
No.
Even if he was hot, sick, tired, hungry, cramping or possibly dying did Jordan ever sit the last 4 minutes of a finals game?
No.
Is that why he never lost?
No. 4 minutes is hardly the whole story.
A lot of people seem to have forgotten all the things that were once common knowledge. Almost none of this is truly original or mind-blowing. But due to the epidemic of long-term memory loss that has apparently swept the nation, I will do everyone the service of a little refresher.
The reason he never lost is because regardless of the score.. Regardless of his own physical condition... Regardless of odds, reason, expectation or air conditioning he refused to lose. Anyone who saw or even merely heard of Jordan knows that. But somehow as we ride high on the fresher accomplishments of Lebron many have forgotten that no one could will Jordan to do anything but Michael Jordan, and that is because his will is better than yours. No one had to coax Michael. No one had to fix Michael or motivate Michael. He never danced, paraded, or had a "Decision" moment because he knew everything he needed to long before you did. He was simply better than you, that's it. He knew he was better than you because he worked harder than you. Thought quicker than you. And didn't listen to you or anyone, not even his body when it told him to quit. That's because quitting is never an option when you're the best. He was and always will be, the ultimate champion, the essence of spirit in competition... And, of course the greatest athlete any of us have ever seen.
When Michael kept losing to the Pistons he didn't decide he could never win in Chicago. He didn't say "hey! I'll join... Barkley, Magic, or Bird." He just kept fighting. He was determined to do it on his own. Yeah, of course the addition of Scottie Pippen helped. But did he or anyone in the world for that matter know what Scottie Pippen was? Lebron knew what Wade and Bosh were. He knew they were great players. He knew that he would win championships if he played with two of (arguably) the top ten current players in the game. Bosh has been reduced to a REALLY good role player with the Heat but don't you remember what his stats were with the Raptors? On any other team he's the number one guy, the cornerstone. Michael didn't need the satisfaction of having a sure thing because the surest thing for him was his OWN talent, drive and ambition.
He wanted the satisfaction of having more rings than you. In his mind could he REALLY be the best if say he joined Magic who already had rings? If Lebron never wins another title Wade will always have one more ring. Being the competitor he was, and still is, do you think he could have ever put himself in a position to possibly always have "one less ring"? And if he did, the NBA would have to ban him from arenas because he'd be 86 rolling into stadiums on a wheel-chair yelling "PUT ME IN COACH!"
If there's one major difference separating Jordan from James it's not talent. By all means Lebron may actually be more talented than Michael ever was. He's certainly more physically gifted. Michael simply has more guts than Lebron, and finally last night he proved it to the world for the first and probably not the last time.. That he is no Jordan.
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