Draymond Green hosted a special guest this time on his podcast. And his reply to one of the perennial questions – LeBron James or Michael Jordan, takes a comical turn. The man in question is none other than James’ teammate during his Miami days, Shane Battier.

The 2x NBA champion admitted that his reply might be biased, because of the relationship the pair cultivated during Bron’s Heat stint. Yet, when Green asked for Battier’s take on whether he has ever played with or against a player as good as LeBron, the Duke product had a wild answer that would surely make one crack a smile. He said, “LeBron did something twice that I don’t think Michael Jordan could ever do once!”

If it were a crowd-filled stadium, this statement would be followed by complete and utter silence. But the 45-year-old did not keep anyone guessing, as he followed up with, “He won two NBA titles with Shane Battier as the starting power forward.” The man clearly has a brilliant sense of humor and it can be seen when he detailed it a little further.

Battier pulled all the stops when he called himself a “bum a** power forward” who Bron dragged across the finish line, clearly pointing to the leadership and determination a prime James had. And that is something MJ, according to Shane, couldn’t even do once.

Michael Jordan vs LeBron James

We know how King James is unselfish when it comes to passing shots to teammates. He has received wide criticism for the same as well. A recent instance was when he passed a game-winner vs the Heat (Nov. 6, 2023) to a wide-open Cam Reddish, who missed. But the 4x champion had said then, and over the years, that he would do the same every time, no matter what the result would be.

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And that’s just one instance of James‘ helping his teammates grow alongside himself and caring for them. Many of the older generation fans might consider this coddling because they lived through the MJ era. The kind of player protection or the culture that franchises of now are trying to build wasn’t something that existed then.

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And Jordan is a prime example of that. He demanded and expected nothing short of perfection and a work ethic that he himself abided by. That’s not to say the ‘Akron Hammer’ is lacking in that respect. But simply the more physical kind of basketball during the time MJ played required, for the lack of a better word, Kobe’s “Mamba mentality” through and through.

So when Battier made his statement, all he meant was that you cannot expect Jordan to motivate you into playing the best you can and then some more. What you get from MJ is harsh critiques and some trash talk. And that’s how Michael Jordan became one of the greats. But with LeBron, you can expect him to do everything he can to help you along the ride.

It’s not necessarily a negative feature. Just two basketball greats working in completely different ways.

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