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Months After Claiming Michael Jordan and Others Induced More Fear Than LeBron James, Ex-NBA Star Star Breaks the Silence on His Claim: “They’re Going to Bleed You to Death”

Published 06/30/2023, 12:30 PM EDT

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Ever since LeBron James became what he has become, NBA pundits have been comparing him with and sometimes even putting him above Michael Jordan. But many still think James can only aspire to do certain things that Michael Jordan did during his heyday. One of them is Jordan’s ability to induce fear in his teammates. As LeBron’s ex-teammate Mario Chalmers claimed that players don’t fear James like they fear Jordan, a former star endorsed this claim. Now, he elaborates on why the likes of Jordan were more fearful.

Unlike LeBron James, there are a couple of other players, who, according to the NBA veteran, had a fear factor like Michael Jordan. Iterating his claim on the fear factor, the former star has now gone into the details of the type of ‘fear’ certain stars induced.

NBA veteran breaks his silence on the Michael Jordan-LeBron James fear factor

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Earlier in March, LeBron James’ former teammate Mario Chalmers said their opponents did not fear LeBron. Soon enough, the discussion about the fear factor took center stage in NBA circles then. Three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas examined this whole topic on an episode of his podcast. Arenas said he also thinks like Chalmers.

“The fear comes from what that person’s capability is as an offensive player. So, Michael Jordan was feared. Allen Iverson was feared. Kobe was feared,” said Arenas.

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During his recent interview on VladTV, the host asked him to explain why he said Jordan, Bryant, and Iverson were more feared than James. “You fear suffering. If you have to die, you would die… something you don’t feel, lethal injection… some sh**. Fell asleep, I’m dead, versus someone that’s sitting there cutting you all day and you’re gonna bleed. That was Jordan, Kobe, and Iverson. They are gonna bleed you to death,” said Arenas.

Diving deeper into the “death” analogy, Arenas explained that LeBron James too is a killer. But not as ruthless as Jordan, Kobe, and Iverson. “With LeBron, you’re dying too. He might, you know, just slit your throat, yeah just die. There is no fu***ng seven days, eight days of pain,” Arenas said.

The numbers make the kill worse

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Gilbert Arenas soon pointed out that Nikola Jokic is like LeBron James, who gives the opponents quick and painless deaths and is apparently not much feared. Then, the 3x-All-Star explained how numbers are crucial in evaluating the fear factor. When players like James and Jokic win a game, they usually score between 30-40 points.

But when it comes to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, the numbers would be around 60 and 70 points. This makes the loss all the more humiliating and hence the former superstars are more fearful.

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What is your take on Gilbert Arenas’ interesting observations? Are you convinced? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Krishna Prasad M

980Articles

One take at a time

Krishna Prasad is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He holds professional qualifications in English and Journalism from reputed institutions. As a trained reporter, Krishna's intense passion for sports writing prompted him to become an NBA journalist.
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Edited by:

Saumya Khanduja