One of the most difficult things to do in sport is to compare
players, yet it has become a staple of sport journalism and exposure. All of this talk about Michael Jordan
and the countless players that get compared to him has only strengthened my
frustration with the NBA. When looking at other sports, yes we may compare
certain players. However, it has never been to the magnitude of the NBA. I
understand the great impact that MJ had on the game and the sport industry, I can
appreciate that. With that in mind, I see this constant debate being fueled by
the egos and mindsets surrounding the NBA. Comparing players, especially those that competed in
different eras, is impossible. Also, I do not see the need to spark this debate
week in and week out. If comparisons such as this are going to be made, they
should be based on an entire career, once that career has ended.
Let’s look at baseball for example. When Mike Trout started
stealing bases and making great catches analysts started mentioning he looks
like a young Mickey Mantle. The difference between the two sports is that the
MLB did not harp on this and make it a constant storyline. Comparisons are
great and will always remain a part of the sport climate, however the need for
industry “experts” to overwork the activity can be exhausting. In conclusion,
why don’t we go ahead and let LeBron and Kobe finish their careers, then we can
re-ignite this great debate.
-Hunter Haas
Hunter
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you, the comparisons between NBA players has gone over the top. Also it does seem that the NBA does compare present players to past players more than any other major professional league. At least when sport journalists are comparing players for the MLB and the NFL they are comparing two present players against each other, such as Brady versus Manning. One reason I believe that the NBA is different is because there is one player that people think of when it comes to the greatest of all time, and that is Michael Jordan. In other sports there are so many great players, but there is not that one player that almost everyone can agree on that would be the greatest to ever play their game. MJ has a set such a high standard for basketball players, that when any player even shows the potential of reaching those heights, they are compared to him. On a closing note, I do agree with you that we should at least let LeBron and Kobe finish their careers before we start comparing, but the likeliness of that happening is slim to none.
-Tyler Jester
I never really gave it much thought, but you are completely right. The comparison between players is much more prevalent in the NBA than other sports. You almost never hear of a quarterback being the "next John Elway" or some other elite player from the past. However, the constant comparison between Michael Jordan and any other human that has ever picked up a basketball is always being fueled. The NBA has changed so drastically over the past few decades that any comparison between athletes of different areas will have to be scrutinized. It would be nice if the Skip Bayless's and the Stephen A. Smith's of the world could just let Lebron be Lebron, MJ be MJ, and give everyone's ears a rest.
ReplyDelete-Andrew Hayes
Hunter—
ReplyDeleteWhen looking at the overall message that you are trying to communicate, I have to say that you really opened my eyes to things that I have never even contemplated before. I would have to agree that the comparison of players in different eras is next to impossible. In fact, I would even say that there is no stable metrics to do any comparisons the way sports analyst do them today. What I didn’t notice until now is the way you describe the NBA of being the ones to “over-compare.” Again, though I would agree with you, I just don’t see this battle ending any time soon. If done right, it shouldn’t end. But with that being said, people will always want to debate the best player to ever live and no one will ever agree on who that is. So I guess I will end it with this: Kobe or Lebron? Ha.
-Alex Solis
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in terms of comparing players from two different eras, especially in a sport like basketball. To play off of what you already noted, what Michael Jordan did in terms of the impact he had on sports and the media in general, will be very hard for a sports enthusiast to look past. He was the first of many things, and revolutionized a different era of basketball. Even if someone does have a better career statistically, in general, people will still continue to name Jordan the greatest of all time. Also agree with you about waiting till someone’s career is completely finished to even begin comparing. There's a reason why it's easy to say someone like Kobe has more rings than Lebron, because Kobe has played more years of basketball and has had the opportunity to win more rings. Unfortunately I think this way of analyzing and comparing players’ especially in basketball will not end any time soon.
-Anthony Tacey
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned about the frustration of how numerous athletes are getting to MJ is kind of getting to me as well. Yes, there are some good basketball players in the NBA currently but I don’t think everyone will ever amount to how MJ played or will become as great as MJ was. I think in the future once Kobe and LeBron are done with their basketball careers it will be better for them to compare their careers to MJ’s. It is hard to do it week in and week out like you mentioned because their stats could easily go up or down when playing ball. I personally think that LeBron could possibly pass MJ once his career is finished but it just really depends how LeBron continues to play in the future. Finally, I do have to agree with you that the NBA does put it a little over the top when comparing players to other players. I hardly see the NFL or MLB drag it out on who is a better football player or baseball player. They tend to let it go until a career is actually finished.
-Lindsey Landversicht
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you are saying here. The experts of the NBA always make comparisons with players from different eras. Sports change so much over the years that it is almost impossible to compare sometimes. For instance, Babe Ruth is widely considered as the greatest player of all time. With this being said, I do not think he would be able to hit Major League pitching in today's day and age. This is a little bit different in the NBA. The NBA in my opinion is based on so much athletic ability and individual players. This is why players get compared so much, because individual players carry the teams and are faces of the franchises. Since the NBA relies so much on athletic ability, it is hard to compare players because now there is so much knowledge and technology about working out and nutrition that the players twenty or thirty years ago did not know about. This is why players should not be compared so much that are in different eras, and especially in the NBA.
-Tad Margolies
I totally agree with what everyone is saying about the difficulty (if not impossibility) of comparing players from different eras. It can only ever be speculation. But the biggest thing that gets overlooked is the context in which someone plays. Lebron and Kobe have both built their careers upon what Michael Jordan and others before him accomplished. Because of Jordan, the NBA became globally significant. I also remember someone on a Cleveland Talk Radio station saying that one basketball player can have a much greater impact on a team than a baseball or football player. That was clear when Lebron first came to Cleveland. The turnaround was almost immediate and quite dramatic. And yet, I am skeptical that an outstanding baseball or football player could ever have that kind of an effect (although I'm hoping that Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn have such an impact on the Indians). I'm not sure if that's what fuels the debates. Maybe it's about Nike getting more air time.
ReplyDeleteDr. Spencer
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree in that the NBA does over abuse comparisons to MJ. I do think there is a reason for this. Over Christmas break I met a division one college athlete, he played for Colorado and was a db there. Currently he is on track to graduating and hopefully going to the NFL. One thing he told me about the difference between basketball and football players is our competitiveness. Although we are both competitive in nature it is different. With basketball people personal see the faces of who is doing what nonstop. So I feel that this competitiveness does not stay within the limits of your current opponents but also past legend. I feel that journalist hype of Kobe and LeBron to put a fire underneath them to reach nothing less then a legendary status. In football on the other hand we see comparisons but rarely an everlasting discussion of players who resemble legends. I feel that we need to appreciate the current athletes for their own style because one day we will be the older generation and may want that LeBron vs Kobe era versus Kyrie vs. Rubio.
Greg Gantt