LeBron vs Jordan? Stop it.

Jordan vs LeBron? Not yet please.

I think we've all seen the Bad Teacher trailer by now. It airs four or five times during every NBA Finals game. The scene in which Jason Segel caps off his Jordan vs LeBron debate with the "six championships" argument is great. It really sums up how I feel every time the talking heads want to compare the two. It seems like every time LeBron does something great, it's time to check where he is on the "surpassing Jordan scale." Every time LeBron has a rough game, it's time to say "that's why he's not Jordan."

Stop with this. I hate this desire in the national media that we absolutely have to declare right now whether or not LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan. Why? That is so far down the road, it's impossible to predict. One of my coworkers just had a baby girl. If I were to take the LeBron/Jordan approach with them, I'd be badgering him every day about where she's going to college and what career she'll choose. Let's just worry about that when the time comes.

Best of all-time? How about best in Miami?

Why can't we just enjoy LeBron James for who he is now? He's great! He's exciting, and he has so much potential. Yes, he has potential to be one of the greatest of all-time, but it's still early. When his career is over, we can stack up all the chips and see where he measures up. Maybe he'll have seven championships, multiple MVP's, and handful of scoring titles. Then we might have a fun debate. Then again, he may have only one title, or none (Dallas can still win this series, you know). Where would the argument be then? Let's make sure he's better than Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, and Dominique Wilkins first. Heck, are we all 100% sure he's the best player in Miami? Dwyane Wade did get a ring without LeBron, and maybe I just have my Marquette-colored glasses on, but it seems to me he's been the one closing these games in the playoffs.

I'm not a LeBron hater. I love his game. I like watching him play. I just hate that we have to put him on the Jordan scale every time he steps on the floor. He has a long way to go. A LONG way.

Have these people forgotten how great Jordan was, anyway? The six championships argument is a solid one, but that's not the only reason people consider Jordan the greatest of all time. You know who else has six titles? Scottie Pippen. Robert Horry has seven. Neither one of those guys would even be in the same area code as Jordan when it comes to all-time greats.

Championships aren't everything. Titles are a product of being part of a great team. Certainly, players do become legendary if they are the ones making big plays in title games. Even so, you don't start with the championship argument. You start with consistency in the regular season, what you see every day. The reason we consider Jordan the greatest of all-time really can't be measured in stats. It was about him being the most exciting, dangerous player on the floor every single night. Every... single... night. That's why Jordan was great.

Steve Kerr has five rings. Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Dominique Wilkins, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, Elgin Baylor, and George Gervin combined for exactly zero. Kerr and Horry aren't on their level. Why? Because neither guy was ever the best player on the floor in any NBA game he played. Those other guys were quite often. So, you should use the regular season and day-to-day performance to separate good from great. Once you've separated those groups, then you move on to the discussion of who is an all-time great, who is legendary.

LeBron isn't on Kobe's level yet.
Get there first. Then, talk Jordan.

Jordan became a legend because he capped off his greatness with not one, not three, but six critic-silencing championships. All six of those championships happened largely because of what Jordan did on the road to get there. Even if LeBron were to get six rings, what if Dwyane Wade is the guy making the clutch plays and getting Finals MVP every time? Wouldn't Wade then enter some of that greatest of all time discussion ahead of James? Let's not only wait to see IF LeBron gets six rings, but how he gets six rings.

So, after you separate good from great using day-to-day stuff, use championships to separate great from legendary and legendary from greatest ever. LeBron is great, a sure-fire future Hall of Famer. He's not at the top of the list yet. Let's sit back and enjoy the ride. Because, if all we do is focus on where he'll be at the end, we might not appreciate everything he does along the way. When it's all over, then we can stack up all of his accomplishments against Kobe, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, and yes, Michael Jordan. Then, and only then, can a legitimate debate can begin.