The Problem with LeBron, Kobe and Jordan Fans

Usually I write a little introduction, but its not needed tonight. If you saw the All Star game you saw Kobe block LeBron James not once, but twice down the stretch. This event, which was so insignificant because it happened in an exhibition game, sent Twitter into a sh*t storm. It was incredible. Seriously, some of the most ridiculous banter over an exhibition game. Our society needs help, but that topic is for another day.

The Twitter eruption that took place got me to thinking about what makes us as fans so loyal to these players and what problems arise from this. Kobe's two blocks generated so much buzz about him being better than LeBron and LeBron being better than Kobe and for some reason Michael Jordan came up. I can't reiterate how crazy this sh*t was. It made me think though about the issues I have with fans of Jordan, LeBron and Kobe. 

Before I get into it I want to give my stand on the whole thing. First things first, I do not like Kobe and everyone that is a friend of mine knows that. With that said though, I respect his game and think he is one of the best ever. LeBron is my favorite player right now and I honestly think he has a chance to be the greatest of all time. Jordan is the best of all time, hands down, and its not even close at this point. Lastly, I am a Knicks fan and have been since I came out of the womb and my dad told me this was the way things had to be. 

The Problem with LeBron Fans: 

This is a simple one. LeBron fans, since he was a 16-year-old in high school, have been too quick to crown him the best. A lot of LeBron fans are too young to have seen Jordan and too lazy to do their homework. They haven't seen the game tape of MJ so they can't fully comprehend how great he was. They don't know he had the best fadeaway of all time or that his mid-range jumper was untouchable. They don't know how fast he was or how crafty he was on the defensive end. They've never taken the time to study the tape and see what so many older heads rave about. For the casual fan its cool not to do your homework, but if you're going to argue LeBron verse Jordan you have to. Otherwise you're just living up the the belief that Americans are ill informed. 

The Problem with Kobe Fans: 

The problem with Kobe fans is also their most endearing trait. Kobe fans are ride or die. They rep Kobe no matter what. Kobe drops 81 they're there. The Lakers are on the verge of not making the playoffs and they refuse to jump ship. Its respectable how loyal they are, but also annoying at times. Kobe can go 3/17 with eight turnovers and Kobe fans will still find someone else to place the blame on. Kobe can take 10 bad shots in a row then hit three turn around jumpers and they proclaim, "Black Mamba!" Really? 2010 NBA Finals, game seven, he shot 6-24. They won, but Kobe fans don't mention how bad he played. Nor do they mention Pau Gasol's 19 points and 18 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive end. All I hear from Kobe fans is the five championships. I'll give you that, but you have to give me the fact that the first three came with the most physically dominant player of the last 25 years. Sub Allen Iverson for Kobe on those Lakers teams and I think they still come out with at least two rings(see there is some of that Kobe hate coming out). But for real, T-Mac and Vince Carter could have probably even paired with Shaq to get a couple rings. He was just that good back then. With all that said, Kobe's one of the best ever and I will stop.

The Problem with Jordan Fans:

They refuse to believe that someone better can come along. Don't get me wrong, its going to be damn near impossible for someone to reach Jordan's level, but its possible. We seem to forget that LeBron James is only 28-years-old. This guy gets better every single year and is in the middle of his prime. Its not inconceivable to think LeBron could win three of the next four championships and maybe a few more after that. If LeBron wins even three or four rings total playing at the level he's at we have to discuss him in the Jordan conversation. His skill level and dominance of opponents is just too great not to consider. I used to think that no one could ever top Jordan, but LeBron is the best since him in my opinion. He still has at least 10 more years of game left in him and will probably break a number of significant records when its all said and done. Right now its too early to say he can be better than Jordan, I'll admit that, but this notion that no one can ever be better than Jordan is just silly. The world is going to go on for billions and billions of years. Believe me, its possible he can be dethroned, but I bet we will all be dead by then.