Nine years have gone by since Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took to Twitter to show love to Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan on his birthday. In the post, James admitted that he looked up to Jordan and even hailed him as the GOAT. Since the posting of the tweet in 2012, many things have changed for the previously ringless LeBron over the years.
Happy B-day to the person I idolized and wanna to be just like as a kid playing the game of basketball Michael Jordan. #TheG.O.A.T.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 17, 2012
Back in 2012, James was still midway through his second season playing with the Miami Heat. Little did he know that he was about to win his first title several months later. The Heat's 2012 NBA title won against the Oklahoma City Thunder squad that featured a young Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden laid the foundation of James' success for the years to come, setting him up to join Michael Jordan in the GOAT conversation.
After reaching the pinnacle of the league, James made six more Finals appearances in the following six years, making it eight in a row in total. After a one-year hiatus in 2019, he returned to the Finals in 2020 and won the title with the Lakers. He has accounted for a total of 16 All-Star selections, four NBA MVPs, four championships, and four Finals MVPs in his career, with Year 18 set to bring him more accolades.
The accumulation of awards has definitely helped James to skyrocket as one of the legends when all is said and done. More importantly, he has indeed found himself as part of the GOAT conversation, sparking countless debates against the player that he idolized growing up.
As for Michael Jordan, not much has changed, although he now owns a NASCAR team featuring Bubba Wallace, who just raced in the Daytona 500. Jordan's Hornets team lost Kemba Walker, but they appear to be on the rise with the additions of LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward.
LeBron James can definitely look back and see how far he has come since the tweet. And let's not forget to wish a happy birthday to MJ!
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