[SPORTS] STEPHEN A. SMITH: JAMES WOULDN’T SURVIVE PLAYING IN SAME ERA AS JORDAN

Smith Has His Doubts About The King

As great as LeBron James has been in his career, people who have followed his career will still hold against him his shortcomings and also his character in the face of adversity.

In a way, Stephen A. Smith alluded to that on Monday when the question arose if LeBron James would be as great as he is in this era if Michael Jordan was around.

LeBron James said recently on his HBO show “The Shop” that losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals was his “greatest achievement”, something that wasn’t lost on Smith.

“What I’m proclaiming is that those early years of LeBron James, and the suffering he endured because of it against specifically somebody like Michael Jordan, he would’ve never recovered from that. Because Jordan would’ve piled it on, year after year after year. And we would’ve been asking, LeBron, what you gonna do against this guy? And that’s the difference,” Smith said on “ESPN’s First Take”.

“When you look at LeBron in his career, Dallas, San Antonio, Golden State, there has been no one that LeBron James has gone up directly [against] where it’s you against them until Kevin Durant arrived in Golden State.

“And even then, we weren’t really looking at it (that way) because of the weapons that Kevin Durant had around him but I’m gonna still give him credit for averaging 35 and eight.

“All I’m saying to you is he hasn’t had that. If LeBron was playing in the era with Jordan it would’ve been, what you gon’ do against this guy? And this guy would’ve never allowed LeBron to elevate.”

In one of LeBron James’ most damaging moments in his NBA career, he lost to the Dallas Mavericks in six games during the 2011 NBA Finals where he had arguably the worst game of his career when he scored 8 points on 3-for-11 shooting from the field in Game 4 of that series.

James has compiled a 3-6 mark in the NBA Finals, having lost to Golden State three times and San Antonio Spurs twice in addition to the one loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

LeBron James responded to a promo featuring Michael Jordan on Sunday Night Football last night with a tweet saying “I’m ready!!!” for a game of one-on-one.

In the promo on NBC, Michael Jordan began the anticipation to the battle that will happen this Sunday when the Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady square off in a matchup of two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL.

What are your thoughts on if LeBron played in MJ’s era? Leave your comments below!