Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Boys Competing With Men

By:Johnny Hinz

So, the big question around the NBA has been;LeBron or Kobe? Some may say its King James, while others will argue for Mr.Bryant
Ok, granted...Los Angeles has given Kobe a much better enviorment to succeeded in. With the help of key players;Bynum,Fisher,Gasol, and Odom. It was a lot easier to produce a winning record.
In LeBron's case, his was not given as much talent to work with in Cleveland;Ilgauskas, West and Varejao just weren't cut out for the job.
During regular season play, i guess we can conclude that LeBron was the star of the league. Although they had eerily similar records(65-17, 66-16) Lebron came out on top along with winning the MVP Award.
These two phenomenal records left both teams with a number one seed going into their bracket of the playoffs. From this point on it was going to be determined who would thrive in the spot light.
It turned out LeBron and his Cavaliers could not even make it to the NBA finals! While being knocked out in the Semis by the Orlando Magic(would have even been a sweep if not for that miraculous shot), The Lakers were still on top of their game as they won the battle against the Nuggets-lead by no other then Kobe Bryant.
This just proves it, even though he may still be young, LeBron is incapable of- not even winning, but getting to the big game(swept by the Spurs)...He has yet to suceed in the NBA Finals, and that is a problem. How are you going to claim to be the greatest player in the league, and not have a ring to show for it ?
With this being said there is no way you can even put him in the same boat as Kobe. Kobe Bryant has rings to show for his hard work, along with being in the process of getting another right now. The proof is in the pudding, Kobe straight out came to play when it mattered most. LeBron flat out choked again!
Now here's the catch, while all this madness is stirring in your head about whose better and what not, one name has often also been compared. The man, the myth, the legend-Michael Jordan. Some may also even say that their answer to the first question (LeBron or Kobe) is better then Michael. This cannot be further from the truth. Even though in my opinion Kobe came out on top of the polls, it was still a close race.
Now when you start comparing Jordan to these two, to find out who the greatest player of all time is. That is where your all wrong my friends. Michael Jordan is by far the greatest player to ever pick up the ball. Comparing to my analyse of the other two athletes, Jordan was highly capable of carrying a team. He also has the metal to show for it. Many of us have only heard about the man, and not actually seen him play. Which is not a problem, most likely he was before your time, or before you developed a love for the game. But if you have actually seen him play, you would know that this individual was his own dynasty!
Along with the rest of the Bulls, Michael Jordan won six Championships in eight seasons(91,92,93,96,97,98) Along with already having his team crowned the world's greatest, he was awarded the NBA Finals MVP all six times averaging above 27 points per game each final series!!
Okay, now you may say,"Yeah he was good on the Bulls, but what happen to the Wizards?". Well, although his time was through with being a star. He was still Michael Jordan, so obviously the Wizards wanted him, but truthfully he was washed up. The only reason he came back was to give it another shot, to prove his dedication,commitment, and love that he had for the game.
His second coming should not even be remembered! It didn't make sense. Although he might have ruined his name in Washington, he will always be remembered as the man he was in Chicago. This man was unreal! He was ridiculously good.
With all this being said, there is no possible way, he should even be compared to another athlete of his time or another. Michael Jordan is the face of professional basketball, and he always will be.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

who did this article? cogs

tebow15gators@aol.com said...

Hinz