Michael Irvin has said Michael Jordan wouldn’t have been able to take the 2023 Lakers to the Conference Finals.
Michael Irvin made his debut on the new-look Undisputed and had a steaming LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan take for Skip Bayless. Irvin claimed that Jordan couldn’t replicate what LeBron achieved last season by leading a team that was the 11th seed in February to the Conference Finals after a midseason trade.
“What LeBron did last year, Michael Jordan couldn’t do, period. He couldn’t take a late group, bring ’em together, and take that group… To go on a run like that.”
Jordan played in an era where teams weren’t nearly as volatile as they are today. There is no way to ascertain what the six-time Bulls’ champion would have done in a situation like that.
What the Lakers did last season was a great accomplishment for James and teammate Anthony Davis, but to use it to drag Jordan down seems unnecessary.
LeBron James Beating Michael Jordan’s Longevity
The argument Irvin was making boils down to the age of the players as well. Jordan did play into his 40s, but after taking multiple retirement breaks in the middle of his career. LeBron has the second-most games played in NBA history but is still performing at the level of a perennial All-NBA selection. Jordan’s peak was incredible, but there’s no one that would say his longevity was at the same level as what James is doing right now.
We’ve barely seen players score a 10-point average in Year 21, but James is coming off a regular season where he averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. Even if his numbers drop, he’ll likely still be a 20-point scorer.
Whether Jordan could take the 23 Lakers to the Conference Finals under those circumstances can never be answered. Instead of hypotheticals, we can look at what Jordan achieved on the court and how no other player in the NBA has done the things he achieved on the court.
These are two legendary figures in basketball, so comparing them against each other just to tear one of them down isn’t fair.
