Jeremy Skopal Professor Greene English 1302.w00 6 February 2014 LeBron James or Michael Jordan? LeBron James is known as the best basketball player in the world, although some would argue Michael Jordan was the best, MJ no longer plays and their style of play is a lot different making the two almost incomparable. LeBron is also one of the most criticized players in the history of sports because of the way he left the Cleveland Cavilers. He promised the people of Cleveland that he was not leaving until he brought an NBA championship to the city. Instead of doing so, he left for the Miami Heat where he has now won two straight NBA championships.
Fast forward to present day and 16 NBA championships later, The Los Angeles Lakers are the NBA’s most valuable franchise, beating out the New York Knicks (Badenhausen, 2012). What adds to this accolade is that in the present season of 2012-13, the Lakers have kick started the season with a multibillion dollar Time Warner Cable television deal (Badenhausen, 2012). In addition, Kobe Bryant and The Los Angeles Lakers are “most popular” amongst NBA fans in the world (Ozanian, 2010). Organizational Strengths and Weaknesses: A. Huge access to resources.
Ever since the re-alignment of divisions with the addition of the expansion Charlotte Bobcats, the Miami Heat have been moved to the newly created Southeast Division, in which they have dominated due to the addition of Shaquille O'Neal (from a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 offseason) and the emergence of Dwyane Wade. However, in its prime this rivalry was bitter and marked by players on both teams giving their best efforts in every game. Both teams were almost evenly matched every time they played. During the 2010-11 season the rivalry has seemed to have been reignited with the re-emergence of the Knicks since the arrival of Amar'e Stoudemire in New York and their midseason acquisition of Carmelo
I think he found a different technique when he blocks lay-ups and jump shots. It was said by Jeff Van Gundy, the former coach of the Houston Rockets, “Lebron’s, competitive spirit and skill set make him, unquestionably, the most premiere player In the league. In this paper I will talk about why Lebron is a better player by comparing their stats, high school careers, and as a person In general. Kobe and LeBron do not have the same stats I will prove this by showing you there averages for this year. LeBron a 6’8, 250 pound monster, he averages 29.7 points per game, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists, with an amazing efficiency of 32.4 percent.
As great as Michael was, no one can win alone. He had support from a strong bunch of role players which was led by Scottie Pippen who himself was a star. Scottie Pippen was a six time all-star and was Jordan’s robin (NBA.com). Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the best one-two punch the NBA had ever seen. The Bulls had pure shooters such as John Paxton and Steve Kerr who would knock down 3-point shots when they were needed (Wikipedia.org).
With enough calendar left for 66 games, a considerable boost from the 50-game schedule cobbled together after the lengthier, costlier 1998-99 lockout. (Aschburner, 2011) This makes fans happy, a sigh of relief that there will be a basketball season. Overall, the NBA lockout was a tough time for players, fans, and employees. The NBA lockout had many twists and turns and finally there was an agreement that was reached. The lockout could have been avoided, making this unsettling for fans and
Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr.(T-Mac) (born May 24, 1979) was an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association(CBA). Entering the NBA after graduating from high school, McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star. He led the league in scoring in 2003 and 2004. McGrady was ranked on SLAM Magazine's "Top 75 Players of All-Time" in 2003. McGrady was drafted ninth overall in the first round of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.
Early in the NBA’s existence, the NBA and the NBA Players Association (NBAPA) followed a rule that prevented an athlete from being drafted until four years after he had graduated from high school. It wasn’t until 1971 that the rule was challenged in federal court by a 19-year old named Spencer Haywood. Haywood was raised in extreme poverty roughly an hour outside of Jackson, Mississippi. A talented basketball player, as a teenager, he helped the 1968 United States Olympic basketball team win a gold medal. Then in 1970, just three years out of high school, Haywood signed a six-year contract with the Seattle Supersonics worth $15 million.
He did not make his junior high basketball ball team, and just barely made the junior varsity team as a sophomore. Although, he couldn’t make varsity, he worked as hard as he could to make it the next year. He felt very achieved when he made the team is junior year and was a starter his senior year. Even though Bill was not
Kobe Bryant has been in the league for 17 years of his life now just playing basketball. Kobe Bryant has spent almost half of his life in the NBA. We can all say that Kobe Bryant is literally the Greatest of All Time. He’s been in the league longer than Lebron to know what and what not to do while playing his opponent, he knows how to be a clutch factor for his team and bring in championships. Here’s where people say “But after Kobe lost Shaquille O’Neal he struggled to find another championship win.” This is a true statement but at the same time what is player without there big man?