LeBron James has become a force to be reckoned with in the history books. James’ career numbers, rings, and accomplishments have him in the very elite of NBA history.
James is not done, however. As he put it, he is still chasing the “ghost” of Michael Jordan to become the greatest player in NBA history. Whether he gets there or not is an interesting debate but there is no doubt that he has become very close to reaching that level of greatness.
Jordan’s former teammate B.J. Armstrong knew about LeBron’s comments. The former Bulls’ point guard had some sage advice for James, via Chris Broussard of ESPN:
“Chasing a ghost is in make-believe land,” Armstrong told ESPN.com in a telephone conversation. “That’s far-out, that’s unattainable, that’s something you can’t achieve. This ain’t no ghost. If you want to do it, there’s a blueprint. It’s possible. There’s only one way to get there. It’s not possible for him to do what Jordan did because the circumstances are different, everything is different. What is possible for him is to be bigger than every situation that’s put in front of him, to dominate every situation that’s in front of him….
“This is to LeBron James: If you want to be the best, get rid of the comparisons,” Armstrong said. “Get rid of all the comparisons that are out there. That’s what Michael Jordan did. Jordan realized that in order to be the best, you had to get rid of all the comparisons.
“When you compared Jordan to somebody else, it made him more and more upset. That was with guys who played before him, guys he was playing against and guys in the future. He got upset every time [the media] got on TV and started comparing him to other people.”
This is brilliant advice from B.J. Armstrong. LeBron will never be Jordan simply because Jordan existed first. Players, like fans, often get caught up in cross-era comparisons that are so difficult to objectively debate.
LeBron could very well become the greatest player of all time; some may even say he’s already there. But his best chance of reaching that status as a pseudo-god among NBA fans is indeed to ditch the comparisons. By becoming his own version of the “ghost” that was Michael Jordan, LeBron James can reach that level of immortality.
