Daryl Morey cryptically made a fatally-flawed argument veiled in an NFL guise to prove how LeBron James is greater than Michael Jordan.
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In the wake of Brady’s Conference Finals win, Morey posted the following tweet: “I am surprised I beat Nick Wright to this but Tom Brady made a huge mistake winning that game. When he loses to Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl, his legacy will be further tarnished. It is always better to lose before the Super Bowl than to get to the Super Bowl and lose.”
I am surprised I beat @getnickwright to this but @TomBrady made a huge mistake winning that game.
When he loses to @PatrickMahomes in the @SuperBowl his legacy will be further tarnished. It is always better to lose before the @SuperBowl than to get to the @SuperBowl and lose.
— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) January 25, 2021
His tweet was hailed as an insightful one. It pertains to how LeBron James is flamed for his Finals losses while Jordan is revered for his perfect record at that stage. Here we break down for you exactly how his argument is flawed.
Why Daryl Morey’s argument for LeBron James over Michael Jordan is superficial
The following are a few of the problems with Morey’s argument, the list being nowhere close to complete:
(1) Brady has a winning record – he actually has twice the wins in Super Bowls than he has losses so far. His 6-3 record far outstrips James’ 4-6 record at the stage. Jordan also has more wins overall than James. The ultimate aim of any team at the start and end of any pro season is to win a championship.
(2) Michael Jordan played 11 full seasons and won 6 championships by the age of 35. This is a success rate of 54.5%. LeBron James has played 16 full seasons and won 4 championships by 35. This is good for a success rate of 25% (less than half). Jordan is objectively more successful – not to mention having more MVPs, Finals MVPs and the like.
(3) It’s a lot easier to build a great team in the NBA than in the NFL. It is also easier to guarantee a playoff berth in basketball than in American football. This is because the crazy amounts of variance in every NFL game, season and career.
(4) If we’re commending LeBron James to reach the NBA Finals, we should also dig deeper into how he got there 9 times. During James’s peak Miami and Cavs days, the Eastern Conference was historically at its weakest. Save for one series, he also was the betting favorite in each of his 30 series en route 10 Finals.
Overall, the argument reeks of the same double standards it seeks to tackle with the rings vs Finals argument.
