LeBron James' decision to join forces with Dwyane Wade in Miami next season has made him a lot of enemies. But fans' feelings aside, the King’s basketball legacy may forever be tainted by his choice.
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said that opting to join an established superstar to try to win a championship "takes him out of the conversation" when comparing players to Michael Jordan, ESPN.com reports.
"He'll never be Jordan," Barkley said. "There would have been something honorable about staying in Cleveland and trying to win it as 'The Man.' LeBron, if he would've [stayed] in Cleveland, and if he could've got a championship there, it would have been over the top for his legacy, just one in Cleveland. No matter how many he wins in Miami, it clearly is Dwyane Wade's team."
Michael Jordan won six championships with the Chicago Bulls and although he had a solid sidekick in Scottie Pippen, Jordan was the unquestionable leader of his team.
Jordan told ESPN.com that he would have never considered teaming up with the other leading stars of his day.
"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team,' " Jordan said in Nevada after a celebrity golf tournament. "But that's … things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."
