Steve Kerr believes LeBron James is more Scottie Pippen than Michael Jordan

“The irony to me is that LeBron is not Michael. LeBron is actually Scottie,” former Bull and current television analyst Steve Kerr said Monday on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “He’s so similar to Scottie in that defensively he was just a monster, could guard anybody, really more of a point forward than scoring guard. Scottie always loved to distribute the ball. That’s really where LeBron’s preference is.

“Phil Jackson used to call Scottie a ‘sometimes shooter.’ Sometimes they would go in, sometimes they wouldn’t. That’s how it is with LeBron. He’s a great talent and a great player but you can see his flaws as a basketball player. He doesn’t have an offensive game that he can rely on: no low-post game, no mid-range jump shot so when the game really gets tough he has a hard time finding easy baskets and getting himself going. That’s what Michael did in his sleep so that’s why the comparison is wrong.”

We all know Steve Kerr is pretty anti-LeBron. He made it clear all of the Bulls series and all of the Finals that he was certainly not on-board the LeBron James and Miami Heat bandwagon. Quite the opposite, so the comments don’t surprise me.

The NBA is the most insecure professional league I have ever experienced as it constantly needs reassurance on it’s position in the world and you can’t go more than a week without comparing one player to another, most of the time comparing a retired player to a current player.

The argument can never be won because there is no true criteria that is used consistently. People constantly use the number of championships as the best judge of a player, which is truly ridiculous considering there are 11 other players on the roster, I never once saw Michael Jordan score all of the teams points, grab all their rebounds, make all the steals and blocks and play all 48 minutes. If you did please send me footage.

Until I started watching sports like the NBA and the NFL I had never been exposed to this constant need to compare. In Australia we do it only when it is necessary, such as at the end of a historic career, not when someone first comes into the league. You have to earn respect in Australia, and whilst that is also true of the USA, LeBron has not earnt the right to be classified in Jordan’s league, yet it doesn’t stop anyone from saying it.

The best description mentioned of LeBron James is that he is part Magic Johnson part Michael Jordan. That is not comparing him historically to either player, simply that his game is reminiscent of those two guys. In the end the argument will not be solved, at least not for another 5-10 years, so let’s get over this obsession that is overshadowed the playoffs entirely and focus on what is actually important.