Column: LeBron and Jordan can't be compared

When the dust settled on the Miami Heat’s 95-88 victory against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of the NBA Finals Thursday evening, the ongoing debate concerning LeBron James’ legacy only intensified.

And the discussion continues to be centered on one particular question.

Is James the greatest player of all time?

It’s a question that formed soon after the Akron, Ohio, native jumped straight from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School to the NBA, spending his first seven seasons in the league with his home state Cleveland Cavaliers.

Since his entry to the professional ranks, the comparisons to Michael Jordan began.

James’ selection to wear the No. 23 only added fuel to the fire, as did his appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a prep star with the phrase “The Chosen One” attached.

What began as simply a comparison for conversation’s sake has transformed into a media circus, the scrutiny of which has reached unparalleled heights (see “The Decision”).

Along with Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, Kobe Bryant and Tony Romo, James has joined the club of the most scrutinized individual athletes on the planet, though he may be the most polarizing of them all.

Fair or not, the most overlooked conclusion that no single individual even seems to consider is that James truly cannot be compared to Jordan. The two, while both rare breeds, play two distinctly different styles of basketball with two significantly contrasting attitudes.

Jordan, like Bryant, possessed a killer instinct that was unmistakably intimidating to opponents. Jordan was going to will his team to victory and he achieved that feat countless times by slashing the proverbial jugular.

James does not possess that trait.

The 28-year-old reminds many of a combination of Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Oscar Robertson. James enjoys facilitating and setting his teammates up to score. Perhaps no other all-star enjoys passing the ball as much as James.

And when James is in assist mode, you’d be best served to pay close attention because the aesthetic beauty of his setups is unlike anything the NBA has ever seen.

One of those moments arrived during a Team USA exhibition game against the Dominican Republic last summer.

After corralling a turnover at his team’s end of the court, James fired a 70-foot bounce pass to a streaking Kevin Durant, who threw down the dunk at the other end.

While James certainly could have barreled down the court for his own slam like a freight train on the loose, the 6-foot-8, 250-pound freak athlete finds a unique joy in tossing a perfectly timed lob or firing the most precise pass so that a teammate can score.

Whether James truly wants to be Jordan will never be known.

But if that was a desire of James’ at any point, he permanently destroyed his chances of doing so by ditching the Cavaliers to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

The so-called “Big Three” have now won back-to-back NBA championships, with James being honored as the Finals MVP each time. But regardless of how many titles the three may win together, they won’t elevate James to Jordan’s pedestal in NBA lore.

The media will continue to make the Jordan comparisons because that’s what attracts readers, listeners and viewers, but if you’re among those who understand the comparisons can’t be fairly made, you’ll be able to simply enjoy the beauty of a tremendous basketball player’s game.

­— ckillore@indiana.edu