How Great is Great?

How is greatness defined? Webster defines it with several different ideas. Notably large in size. Remarkable in magnitude, degree, or effectiveness. Full of emotion. Eminent, distinguished. Markedly superior in character or quality; and remarkably skilled.

According to the “Great” MJ, it’s simply by NBA championship rings he has on his fingers and not by his current playing ability. According to others it may be by points scored, assists, rebounds, wins, steals, or maybe even money paid and endorsements earned. But in spite of all these different methods used to determine what greatness is, it is clearly evident by LeBron James’ play that he is great.

LeBron has been playing and performing on a level of greatness lately that has never been done before. But the question is, how great is great? Can he honestly be compared with the man known as the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan? Yes LeBron has made history by shooting over 60% over a period of six games while scoring 30 points or more in each of the games, a feat that has never been done before. Does that truly compare to MJ's historic stretch of 11 games where he averaged 30 points, 12 assists, and 12 rebounds per game though? The game of basketball is evolving and as times change, it becomes increasingly more and more difficult to compare players from the past to the players of today.

Is LeBron even in the same level of Michael? It is impossible to tell for the moment being. Yes King James is playing at a high/great level but it is too early in his career to make any comparisons to the greatest player of all time. MJ’s six rings do give him a reason to boast, but LeBron’s career is far from over so it's impossible to compare apples to apples when one apple has far to go till it has fully ripened. As to the degree of LeBron’s true greatness, it will only be told by time.