Many people love to cover the Lebron
James vs Michael Jordan storyline from an on court perspective but
this story goes far beyond the hardwood. When you are as great as
those 2 are at the NBA level a lot of business opportunities are
thrown your way and both of them their hands in a lot of endorsement
deals. Jordan and James have endorsement deals with company's such as
Nike, Mcdonalds, Hanes, Bubbalicious and more. So the comparison
between them should never be just regulated to on the court
statistics but incorporate off the court influence on the game of
basketball and its culture.
Obviously no player in history has had
a more cultural impact than MJ's Air Jordan brand of sneakers. Since
Nike signed him in the late 80's the sneaker industry has been
changed forever and America hasn't looked at shoes the same way
since. Lebron came into the league out of high school and received an
unprecedented 90 Million $ contract with Nike and success was looked
at from a different perspective. Both have culturally impacted the
basketball sneaker culture like nobody else but there can only be
room for 1 and Lebron is along way from Jordan but as long as he wins
champonships then the more iconic his brand becomes. Last year he
racked in 300 Million $ for Nike which was the highest among all
active players. The only person he trailed though was Jordan who sold
over 2 Billion $ of shoes last year, so LBJ still has a long way to
go.
This year the comparison between the 2
can even go as far as to comparing the 2 players installments of NBA
2K. Michael Jordan if you don't know was the cover boy and
centerpiece of NBA 2K11. The game has sold over 5 Million copies and
is the most successful game in 2K history as far as sales and quality
game play. The premier basketball simulation featured a whole mode
dedicated to Jordan where you can play as him in some of his greatest
game such as “The Flue Game” and many others. It is widely
regarded as the greatest sports video game of this generation.
Jordans greatness was not only good enough to push the limits of the
NBA but it pushed the limits of NBA Video gaming.
Lebron James is the cover boy for this
years edition-NBA 2K14. Like the year Jordan graced the cover the
franchise has had lapses in game play and want to take it back to the
next level. So what better way to take it to the the next level then
with LBJ on the cover. Lebron will have his own game mode this year
in the game titled “Path To Greatness” where you can play as
Lebron and forge the rest of his legacy threw the game mode. I think
its a great concept and I'm interested to see what the response will
be like for the 2K gaming community. If the game doesn’t live up to
the standard 2K11 set then it could be used in as another argument
for why Jordan is better But if somehow Lebron can surpass what 2K11
did then the debate becomes even more intriguing.
So as basketball fans across the globe
wait to see how Lebron's career plays out on the court it won't hurt
if he dominates Jordan off the court and what better opportunity then
with this years edition of NBA 2K.
