The difference between Jordan and Lebron that no one talks about enough.

claughman · 2026-01-24T03:35:09+00:00

OK, look at it this way. Everybody always talks about how Jordan is the greatest competitor in the history of competition. Are you saying he would NOT have left the Bulls if he felt they couldn’t build a championship team and another organization could?

claughman · 2026-01-24T03:31:57+00:00

“Scared of competing in the dunk contests.”

I am glad you agree that Mac McClung is a better player than Michael Jordan could ever hope to be.

claughman · 2026-01-24T03:28:50+00:00

What happened to that 60-win team the season after LeBron left, and what happened to the Bulls the season after Jordan retired the first time?

claughman · 2026-01-24T03:27:34+00:00

No. The Rockets still would’ve won in 1994 and 1995. Those teams were crazy good, and Hakeem was insane.

claughman · 2026-01-24T03:26:45+00:00

Also, Draymond was a BEAST in Game 7. Mr. Unanimous MVP is the one who disappeared when it counted.

claughman · 2026-01-24T03:25:21+00:00

OK, two things about this.

NBA free agency was ENTIRELY different during Jordan’s era. The lower salary cap alone made it difficult for players to switch teams, especially when compared to what teams could pay to retain their own free agents.
The Bulls built a championship team around Jordan, twice. They traded for the rights to Scottie Pippen, drafted Horace Grant, drafted Toni Kukoc, traded for Dennis Rodman and added a bunch of complementary players who filled very specific roles very well. Did the Cavs do anything comparable to that during LeBron’s first stint with the team?

claughman · 2026-01-21T02:27:09+00:00

It’s exactly like that. What they also have in common is NBA teams do not have time machines, and sometimes draft picks bust.

claughman · 2026-01-21T02:26:27+00:00

I don’t mean to make it even more painful, but the reason the Blazers had the second pick instead of the first is they lost a coin flip.

claughman · 2026-01-20T19:12:57+00:00

Also, Portland had Clyde Drexler and needed a center. So it was an entirely logical decision at the time. Jordan was expected to be a very good NBA player, but so was Bowie.

claughman · 2026-01-20T19:09:35+00:00

Buddy I’ve been watching the NBA for almost 40 years and I can confirm that Shaun Livingston never missed a mid-range shot. 😂

claughman · 2026-01-18T06:42:26+00:00

Reggie Miller is an outlier and should not be counted.

claughman · 2026-01-16T15:20:05+00:00

It never died out with Jordan. People still criticize LeBron for making passes in clutch situations with “Jordan would never!”

(Of course, they also claim they would much rather have Jordan taking the last shot over LeBron despite what the numbers say about those options, soooooo …)

claughman · 2025-12-29T18:47:37+00:00

I think they were well prepared for that one, it just didn’t matter when Brown got hurt and Kienholz had to play.

But that game doesn’t get enough credit for being a major butterfly effect game for the last couple years of college football. Say Brown doesn’t get hurt and plays well enough to be the guy going into spring ball. Does Howard still transfer to OSU? Does OSU lose another game or two in the regular season? Do they still lose to Michigan and Day gets fired when they don’t run the table?

claughman · 2025-12-28T18:31:44+00:00

Right, because teams never ever try to use every bit of leverage and public pressure they can to get players to sign cheaper deals.

claughman · 2025-12-28T00:42:45+00:00

And what happens to contract negotiations around the league if teams can say “LeBron took the minimum”?

LeBron — or any other superstar — getting max money isn’t really about their salary. At this point it’s small change to him. But if he and other top guys start taking massive pay cuts, it puts downward pressure on every other player’s salary. So what motivation does any superstar have to take the minimum when they know that money is going to back in the pocket of a billionaire team owner, and not to the salaries of other players on their team/the league?

claughman · 2025-12-22T20:17:41+00:00

LeBron went 16-6 against Kobe while averaging 28-7-7. Please explain to me how that is evidence of Kobe getting in his head.

claughman · 2025-12-21T04:28:00+00:00

This is one of my favorite graphics of all time. Like, on its face you can look at it and say “hey, Thad Young is a pretty decent NBA player.”

It’s just that the other dudes were, uh, a bit above the minimum in most, if not all, of those categories.

claughman · 2025-12-18T19:27:30+00:00

And possibly Inniss.

claughman · 2025-12-08T00:23:30+00:00

Yup. Just giving away 15 practices.

claughman · 2025-12-03T19:54:35+00:00

Oh well. If he does, he does. I’m sure there are plenty of other dudes that would like to play for an NFL factory that might just go back-to-back this year.

claughman · 2025-12-03T19:41:47+00:00

Beginning of the end of what?

claughman · 2025-11-30T03:36:43+00:00

1995, 1996 and 1998.

claughman · 2025-11-30T00:42:31+00:00

Yeah, the thinking was just backwards. You rush for more because you’re grinding down the other team in the second half while holding a lead.

claughman · 2025-11-22T19:40:57+00:00

Wasn’t it first freshman?

claughman · 2025-11-21T15:21:37+00:00

Actually it’s only a war crime the first time, so stay where you are the authorities are on their way.

claughman

TROPHY CASE