Lakers News: Radio Legend Unpacks LeBron James, Michael Jordan Of Hip Hop
Los Angeles Lakers fans can lay claim to a variety of possible greatest basketball players of all time. I'd say that center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, small forward LeBron James, point guard Magic Johnson, center Wilt Chamberlain, shooting guard Kobe Bryant, center Shaquille O'Neal and guard Jerry West all should probably occupy a slot in the NBA's top 15. Heck, all could conceivably be slotted into the top 10.
Abdul-Jabbar and James can legitimately make a run at the slot, although Chicago Bulls shooting guard Michael Jordan is generally seen as the all-time GOAT.
During a fascinating new conversation with "The Morning Hustle" radio show host Kyle Santillian, Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson of Bovada asked the question we're all wondering: what in Santillian's estimation is the hip hop equivalent of the MJ-vs.-LBJ all-time hoops GOAT debate? Robinson floated the possibility of Drake, who has been probably the No. 1 trendsetter in the genre for the past decade, and Jay-Z, often cited as the best MC ever.
"Do you think that a LeBron and Michael comparison is comparable in basketball to a Drake and Jay-Z comparison in hip hop?" Robinson asked.
""No, because I think even though I have Jordan at one, I think [for] Jordan and LeBron, the gap is much closer than a Jay-Z and anybody else. You know what I mean?" Kyle said. "I understand the impact that Drake's had over the course of the last ten years from a musical standpoint, but I've got to see it over the course of 25, 30 years in the business room and in that space as well."
It's fascinating that for this hip hop GOAT award, Radio King Kyle is putting such a premium on what a hip hop artist does beyond the actual music. On one level, I appreciate the way, say, musicians package and present themselves as being part of their art. I wouldn't weigh it particularly heavily, but I can get behind that. But when it comes to, say, Jay-Z owning some Powerade stock or running a sports management company, I'm not sure I see how that has anything to do with the quality of "The Blueprint" (probably my personal favorite Jay-Z record, but "The Dynasty" is right there too). Like Drake, James has been among the most impactful players in his sport for a while, but is greener than, say, MJ, who retired for good a season before James hit the scene.
Michael Jordan's achievements with Nike and with his various other business interests, or LeBron James' burgeoning media empire and expansive sports team stakes, or Magic Johnson's various business interests (both MJ's also own chunks of major sports teams of course), are awesome and impressive credits to their professional life, yes, but I don't think that should necessarily determine whether they're better on the floor than players with more marginal business portfolios, a la Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell or Tim Duncan.
When it comes to NBA all-time rankings, I still have Jordan first, Abdul-Jabbar second (you have to grade his longevity on a bit of a curve when comparing it with James'), and James now neck-and-neck with Russell, the winningest player in team sports (albeit in a much smaller league), for dibs on third.
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