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Scottie Pippen made some headlines after the Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals last month, saying LeBron James could be greater than Michael Jordan. Kareem and Isiah Thomas dissed him, headlines flew and eventually, LeBron James crumbled to choking pieces in the NBA Finals as the Dallas Mavericks won three straight games to win their first NBA title.

First of all, Scottie Pippen is my favorite player of all time. I love guys who are second in command, and are/were perfect in that role. An amazing player that completed the greatest basketball player on the greatest basketball team of all time. He also gave us one of the finer moments of the year, making fun of a teenage douche-bag. Even legends, from any sport, don’t always say the smartest things.

Pippen talked about this yesterday on “Mike and Mike”, putting an end to the BS. I don’t think he meant to say LeBron is better than Jordan or going to be better. LeBron James was impressive as hell coming off the Celtics and Bulls series. He did everything – scoring, playmaking, defending, everything and anything the Heat needed to win. He took out Derrick Rose in each of the wins during the Conference Finals. There’s no doubt – LeBron James is as versatile as an NBA player has ever been, and can really stuff a stat sheet. So can Andrei Kirilenko on certain nights.

Pippen said that his words have been taken out of context, and was just implying on how versatile LeBron James is and how good he can be. Will he be remembered as greater than MJ twenty years from now? Probably not. He needs to start winning NBA titles, and soon.

I don’t think Pippen was too worried about the backlash from his words. I think people were excited about the fact of a potential feud between to hall of famers, former teammates, who seem like decent friends. Still are, according to Scottie. LeBron James is heading towards another difficult summer, no ‘Decision’ this time. Just painful memories of impotent fourth quarters. And we’re not even talking about the lockout. Most importantly – everyone is on the same page again – Michael Jordan is the greatest player ever.