Advertisement

Stan Van Gundy believes LeBron James is slightly better than Michael Jordan

The LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan debate will never end. (AP)
The LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan debate will never end. (AP)

Longtime NBA coach Stan Van Gundy recently joined ESPN as an analyst, which by rule of law meant he would soon be asked to compare LeBron James and Michael Jordan in attempt to fill a segment on the two-hour daily show “Get Up,” and boy did SVG deliver on the made-up controversy front.

Van Gundy, who was an assistant on Miami Heat teams that finished 1-7 in two playoff series against Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the 1990s and head coach of an Orlando Magic team that defeated LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals, believes LeBron is “a hair” better than Jordan.

“It obviously is very close. They both play both ends of the floor. They both score. All of that stuff is great. The only thing I’ll say in LeBron’s favor is I think [he’s a] better passer, getting other people involved, so the edge is this slight,” Van Gundy said opposite Jalen Rose and Mike Greenberg on Thursday’s episode of “Get Up,” squeezing his thumb and index finger within an inch of each other.

Turning up the temperature on his take, Van Gundy said he wouldn’t even rank Jordan second on his list of greatest players of all-time, suggesting Oscar Robertson and his 30-10-10 averages from 1960-65 belonged ahead of His Airness. Naturally, Rose argued the opposite, saying Jordan’s 10 scoring titles and nine All-Defensive First Team nods make him a more complete player than anyone in NBA history, including LeBron, and ESPN had itself another debate to fill a few minutes in the 24-hour cycle.

Listen, we’ve had this same argument a thousand times over, and personally I still rule in Jordan’s favor, but it’s a lot closer now than I ever thought it would be. Even SVG has covered this ground countless times before, declaring as early as 2013, “LeBron James is already better than Michael Jordan,” adding as recently as May, “My thought on that is comparison is the thief of joy. You start comparing people, and ultimately, somebody feels diminished,” and lobbying everywhere in between.

That all changes when you’ve got time to fill on the “Get Up” set. Just ask Isiah Thomas, who said when on the same show in May, “LeBron James is a much better basketball player than Michael Jordan,” which is understandable, since he and SVG have such stellar records making personnel decisions.

– – – – – – –

Ben Rohrbach is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

More from Yahoo Sports:
Jets RB’s vulgar celebration prompts fine, endorsement
‘Pitiful’ display by adults at Pee Wee football game
Jeff Passan: After embarrassing playoffs exit, Cubs reflect
NFL suspends Seattle’s Kendricks indefinitely