In the 2018 NBA All-Star game, LeBron James proved that, despite his admiration for all current NBA stars, his main obsession is with the legendary Michael Jordan of yesteryear.
With his 33 years and 24 days under his belt, LeBron James broke the NBA record for youngest player to achieve 30,000 points in a game last month against the San Antonio Spurs. In the world’s most prestigious basketball tournament, he is also the youngest player to ever Һit the 10,000 and 20,000 point milestones.Just weeks after cementing his place in NBA history, James continued his stellar play in the All-Star game, which featured all of the league’s greatest players, and he won his third All-Star MVP trophy. Despite facing intense competition from younger, more driven teammates, the Cavaliers leader continued to shоck everyone by racking up titles and records in his final years of the league.For context, let’s revisit the events of June 19, 2016, the day of game seven of the historic championship series between the Warriors and the Cavaliers. Cavaliers captain LeBron James and superstar Kyrie Irving led the team to an incredible comeback from behind 0-2 and 1-3 to tie the game at three points, extending the series to a deciding game.
James and his colleagues put on a show to remember at Oracle Arena, the spiritual home of the Warriors and frequent site of opponents’ humiliation at the hands of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson. The final score was 93-89 for the Boilermakers, thanks to three-pointers from Irving and free throws by James with 53 seconds remaining.In the midst of his euphoria over the Cavaliers’ first NBA title, James opened up about his professional goals, including chasing after the “Chicago ghоst”—the moniker that the adult Ohio star has for him. Michael Jordan, the legend.

“Mike is the reason I wear number 23,” James revealed. It was Mike who made me love basketball. I used to think Michael Jordan was perfect when I was a kid watching him play basketball on television. Becoming Mike was always out of my league. Because I never believed anyone could compete with Mike, I simply did my best to follow him.

When it came to certain professional measurements, LeBron actually outperformed Mike. James not only set numerous scoring records, but he also averages far more rebounds and assists than Jordan did. James has a significantly higher average point per game than Jordan (20) if only his current season—his fifteenth overall—is included.For whatever reason, James’s “aging process” seems to be going more slowly than Jordan’s. But it’s also easy to see how this could be due to the fact that modern players, like Michael Jordan, have access to superior treatment that makes use of a lot of technology, which allows them to stay at peak performance for longer.

Every year, LeBron finds inspiration in the fact that Mike is undeniably the king of the finals. On six occasions in the last series, Jordan came out on top. “Alone and defeated” he fought in the most heroic of close defeats. Another unique thing about Jordan’s six NBA rings is that they are split into two trebles, one from 1990–1993, and the other from 1995– 1998.James has more finals appearances than anybody else, with eight during his stint with the Cavaliers and the Miami Heat. A five-time defeat befell the Ohio-born superstar. At one point, James stated his intention to continue playing until he was 40 years old, the same age at which Michael Jordan announced his retirement. If he is successful, the four-time MVP still has almost six years to catch up to the Chicago classic in terms of rings. The tense here is still future tense, though. Also, Jordan owns five NBA championship rings at the age of 33.

While it’s true that drawing comparisons is pointless, James’s view of Jordan as a “ghоst” to emulate offers a unique opportunity for personal growth. Despite having some of the best individual statistics in the NBA, many analysts think James should study up on Jordan’s defensive strategy.

While Jordan has been named to the All-NBA Defensive Team seven times, James has been named to the squad six times. The greatest player of all time is the only NBA champion to ever get both the Most Valuable Player and Best Defensive Player awards in the same season (1987–88). Despite the difficulty of the task at hand, LeBron may still try for 2.3 steals per game, which was Jordan’s average (James averages 1.6 per game).