The Miami Heat had a legendary run in the early 2010s, but one of LeBron James’ teammates revealed that he still never passed Michael Jordan. Mario Chalmers started at point guard for four seasons behind the “big three” of LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Two NBA Championships and four NBA Finals appearances weren’t enough to convince Chalmers that James is the GOAT.
Chalmers revealed the following insight on Run it Back about ranking Jordan over LeBron:
“For me, I want the player who wants that last-second shot, who always thrives in those last-second moments. So, whether I’m on the team or not, I want that player to be able to take the shot.
I’m not saying Bron won’t do that or hasn’t done it, but Jordan just has that aura of like I’m going to do it. We know Bron is going to make the right play and help people win the game. Jordan’s going to go get it. They both make the right plays at the end, but Jordan’s aura is more of my speed.”
James has a history of passing on the game-winning shot in favor of making the right play of finding the open teammate. Chalmers and others have cited this as why they view Jordan as number one since he lived to take those game-deciding shots with the season on the line.
Is Mario Chalmers Being Fair To LeBron?
Miami’s dominant early 2010s success came due to LeBron being the best player in the league and one of the best of all time. James hit many clutch shots for the Heat and other teams he played for throughout his career spanning over two decades.
Chalmers implied that Jordan always took the clutch shots, but he often made the pass when the game called for it. Names like Steve Kerr, John Paxson, and other Chicago Bulls role players became part of NBA history by hitting game-winners from Jordan finding them.
The comment from Chalmers does seem a bit unfair since he benefited immensely from LeBron’s playing style. James often passed to Chalmers in the closing stretches of games due to opposing defenses leaving him open to double team LeBron.
LeBron Had Beef With Mario Chalmers
Another interesting element to this story is that James and Chalmers did not always get along. Chalmers was a young point guard just a few years into his NBA career when Miami formed the big three and made him the starting point guard.
LeBron and other veterans often yelled at Chalmers for his mistakes since the team was expected to always win. Chalmers often made foolish plays for a player of his age, but one incident featured him and James cursing each other out to the point of teammates holding them back from each other.
The career of LeBron is still going with the Los Angeles Lakers, but most will always rank James historically wherever they rank him now. Chalmers and others who think LeBron lacks something compared to Jordan have likely held his opinion for over a decade and will never change their stance.
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