Making it to the NBA Finals is a great feat. Though for the greats, it?s just a part of the process, with their main goal being winning the championship. Most of the time, when two teams make it to the Finals, only the winner is appreciated. As there is no such reward for the runner-ups.?
6-time champion, Michael Jordan has played in 6 Finals, winning them all. Whereas, LeBron has played in 10 Finals, winning 4 of them and runner-up in the rest.?
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Though it?s all about winning, playing in 10 NBA Finals is no joke.
LeBron James and Jordan?s journey to the Finals
Michael Jordan?s journey to 6 NBA finals wasn?t easy. Initially, Jordan and the Bulls beat their long-time rivals, Detroit Pistons. For MJ, each playoff brought challenges, with at least one team taking a toll on them. Although Jordan and the Bulls always had the best of their opponent every single series. As Michal Jordan never let any team force a game 7 against the Bulls.?
For LeBron James, his road to each NBA Finals wasn?t as easy. In his first Finals appearance in 2007, playing for the Cavs, LeBron was just 22 years old. After the 07 Finals, LeBron went on a run, playing in the NBA Finals for 8 years straight, from 2011 to 2018. Quite recently LeBron and the Lakers beat the Miami Heat in the 2020 Finals, which got LeBron his 4th ring.?
Jordan?s 6 Finals versus LeBron?s 10 Finals
Both the players have shown their greatness, either by winning 3 straight championships two times or playing in the finals every year for 8 years. Though which is better??
Marcellus Wiley, on Speak For Yourself, said, ?Well Michael Jordan was either in the Finals, Jordan was boom or bust. I?m either going to the Finals or I ain?t even gonna make the playoffs, or I?m gonna have a super early exit.? as he explains how the six Finals appearances went for Jordan.
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?So if you take LeBron James? biggest bartering chip, which is, yo… I was either the best team in basketball or the second-best team in basketball for 9 out of 10 years?? said Wiley, defending LeBron.?
Though one can say that both the accomplishments are not fully equal, team support and a different era come into play here. Both the feats are tough to achieve in any era.?
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LeBron, 37 is still putting up amazing performances. It will be interesting to see how far he can lead his team this year.