HOUSTON — LeBron James usually sounds in awe of Michael Jordan, and was yesterday when asked what Jordan, who turns 50 tomorrow, meant to the league. But regarding Jordan’s claim of taking Kobe Bryant over James because of championships won, James was definitely at odds with His Airness.
“He said he would take Kobe over me because five rings is better than one … That’s his own opinion,” James said. “At the end of the day, rings don’t always define someone’s career.
“If that’s the case, then I’d sit up here and say I’d take [Bill] Russell over Jordan. But I wouldn’t take Russell over Jordan. Russell has 11 rings, Jordan has six. Or I’d take Robert Horry over Kobe. I wouldn’t do that. But it’s your own personal opinion.”
James, whose recent scoring and shooting has been record-setting, wasn’t finished.
“You look at a guy like Jud Buechler who has multiple rings,” James said of the journeyman who won three rings with Jordan’s Bulls. “Charles Barkley doesn’t have one ring. He’s not better than Charles Barkley. Patrick Ewing is one of the greatest of all time. Reggie Miller is one of the greatest of all time. Sometimes, it’s the situation you’re in. Timing as well.
“I don’t play the game and try to define who I am over what guys say or how they feel about me.”
* Earlier this week, Jordan said “five beats one every time” when discussing James vs. Bryant.
Bryant was diplomatic.
“I heard about it, obviously,” Bryant said. “The message is winning takes precedence over everything. … LeBron knows that. It’s motivation for him to try win as many championships as possible. As it is for me to try to win as many as I can.”
* Dwight Howard may not be having much fun with the Lakers, but he hasn’t lost any confidence.
When Howard was asked if he remains the best center in the NBA, he didn’t hesitate responding: “Yes. At 75 percent.”
Howard, who said Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told him he will not be traded before the Feb. 21 trade deadline, didn’t want to talk about his potential plans as a free agent this summer.
But he admitted he isn’t enjoying himself as much on the court this season. And, like most people, he has been surprised the Lakers — 25-29 and 3 1/2 games behind the Rockets for the final playoff spot in the West — have struggled this season.
“I didn’t expect for it to go as sour as it’s going,” Howard said. “But there’s always room for improvement. We’ve had to battle a lot this year … guys getting injured, us not wining, all the drama that’s on the outside of the locker room. We’ve had to deal with a lot, and for the most part we’ve done a good job as a team of staying strong, staying together. But it’ll get better.”
* The Knicks’ Steve Novak has been given plenty of advice about tonight’s 3-point shooting contest. Make the money ball. Shoot fast. Don’t shoot fast. Run around the rack. Run to the rack.
“There’s a lot of advice. A lot of people are 3-point champs,” he said with a laugh. “At the end of the day you want to shoot it similar to the way you shoot it every other day.”
* Kenneth Faried of the Nuggets scored 40 points to lead the Sophomores to a 163-135 victory over the Rookies in last night’s Rising Stars Challenge. Kyrie Irving of the Cavaliers scored 32 points for the Rookies.