Lebron James: ‘I’m afraid of failure’

Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Lebron James have created an arbitrary argument that will never be settled: Who is the greatest of all time? Personally, I hate this argument, because when comparing players from different eras, you have too many things to factor in, and you will never find a right answer. Jordan played in a different game than Kobe played in during the early 2000’s, and Kobe played in a different era than Lebron is now.

Jordan is assumed as the greatest of all time, and it is all about who will one day pass him. Kobe has modeled his game after Jordan more directly than Lebron has, but that doesn’t mean one is greater than the other. I think Jordan is the best, but to say that Kobe or James haven’t played on his level is insane, and frankly wrong.

One thing that Kobe and Michael have, is a killer instinct. They will take the last shot no matter what, and they won’t care who they have to step on to get there. They often pass up the better basketball move so that they can do whatever it takes to win. Lebron has struggled with acting in that manner, as he is more about making the play that has the higher percentage to succeed. Jordan once had a commercial about how he gets credit for the game-winning shots, but he had to miss a lot to get there.

In an interview with Chris Broussard for ESPN The Magazine, Lebron talks about Michael Jordan, and much more. He revealed something that we all knew, but we finally get to hear it from him. “That’s one of my biggest obstacles. I’m afraid of failure. I want to succeed so bad that I become afraid of failure,” James told Broussard. That statement gives us a look at why Lebron James does what he does. That could be the reason he left Cleveland. That’s why he passes up taking the last shot at times. Lebron has had his path laid out before him–he was supposed to come out of high school and be the greatest ever. When he couldn’t win a title in Cleveland, he was crushed by the media and fans. Even Nike poked fun:

So, this statement could loom large if Lebron leaves Miami this summer, but at least we have insight into the game’s greatest player today. The issue hits newsstands on Friday. Does anyone actually see newsstands anymore?