Michael Jordan said Sunday that in his prime, he would not have done what LeBron James did by joining up with some of the other greats of his era on one team.
Carmelo Anthony & Michael Jordan share an photo-op.
"There's no way, in hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry (Bird), called up Magic (Johnson) and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team,'" Jordan said during an interview on NBC after playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada (photo right).
But, Jordan added, that was a different time and the NBA played a different type of game during his heyday.
"Things are different," Jordan said. "I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."
James left the Cleveland Cavaliers after seven seasons to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat. While many believe that move has elevated the Heat into the team to beat in 2010-11, others aren't quite so sure, particularly since James will have to share the ball much more with his new teammates than he did during his time with the Cavs.
Much like the Bulls were Jordan's team when he played, the Cavs were James' team. Now, he'll be part of a multi-star team that some believe will not be able to coexist and share points and minutes equally.
Jordan, who is now chairman of the Charlotte Bobcats, led the Chicago Bulls to six championships in the 1990s. James announced on July 8 in a nationally televised hour-long special that he was leaving Cleveland and "taking my talents to South Beach (Miami)."
In an interview last week on a Miami radio station, TNT analyst and former NBA star Charles Barkley criticized James' move to Miami.
"He'll never be Jordan," Barkley told radio station 790 The Ticket. "This clearly takes him out of the conversation. He can win as much as he wants to.
"There would have been something honorable about staying in Cleveland and trying to win it as 'The Man.' "
Barkley later added
"LeBron, if he would've (stayed) in Cleveland, and if he could've got a championship there, it would have been over the top for his legacy, just one (James' being the Cavs' big star) in Cleveland. No matter how many he wins in Miami, it clearly is Dwyane Wade's team."
