NBA veteran Matt Barnes questions the leadership of LeBron James, comparing it to that of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
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Well, it’s no surprise that the Lakers failing to make the playoffs would bring LeBron James under major scrutiny. The GOAT debate would tilt heavily in favor of Michael Jordan despite James putting up never before seen numbers in his 19th season.
However, the recent debacle of the Lakers has had people question the leadership and managerial skills of James. The four-time champion is known for his high basketball IQ and point guard-like skills. Thus it was surprising to see James not being able to involve his teammates to a greater degree.
Barring James, none of the players on the roster had any noteworthy performances. The Lakers had four of its players in the NBA’s 75th-anniversary team and failed to qualify for the play-in tournament.
James has been at the receiving end of a lot of heat, considering he was the architect behind the construction of the purple and gold’s present squad.
During a recent episode of NBA Today on ESPN, former Lakers player Matt Barnes was critical of James’ leadership, citing examples of Kobe and MJ.
Matt Barnes believes Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant wouldn’t have given their teammates an easy pass like LeBron James.
Everyone has their style of leadership, whether it is autocratic or democratic. Stories of MJ being a tyrant and berating his teammates are a case study in itself. The NBA legend’s Bulls teammates Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr would attest to Jordan being an oppressive leader.
Though they had some of their most memorable performances playing alongside his Airness, they have always despised his ways of leading a team. On the other hand, The Black Mamba had a similar approach, which harmed his reputation.
According to reports, Kobe was a big reason behind the ouster of Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard from the Lakers, something that the five-time champion always denied. No teammate was able to live up to the Black Mamba’s work with competitive zeal to succeed.
Unlike MJ and Kobe, James has his style of galvanizing the troops. The former Cavs superstar is one of the best facilitators in basketball and a firm believer in unity. However, with the recent embarrassing exit of the Lakers, former player Matt Barnes would cast his doubt over LBJ-the leader.
“You look at someone like a Kobe Bryant. When I’ve seen him personally get in people’s faces and just cuss them out until they’re damn near in tears, and they’re grown men,” Barnes said. “Michael Jordan probably would have been fighting his teammates if he had to see some of the stuff that these guys do.”
Though everyone has their way to approach a situation, berating an individual for better results should not be encouraged.
