Former American player and 1996 NBA champion, Alonzo Mourning speaks during the ‘Stars Chat’ session at Aspire4Sport in Doha yesterday. PICTURES BY: KAMMUTTY VP
BY DENZIL PINTO
DOHA: Miami Heat’s superstar LeBron James must win more titles to be considered a legend, according to former player Alonzo Mourning.
James, who has won numerous individual and team titles, including two NBA championships as well as two Olympic titles, is regarded as one of the best high-profile players in world sport.
When asked during the ‘Stars Chat’ session at Aspire4Sport, yesterday, of what the two-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) needs to do to become a legend among the likes of Michael Jordan, Mourning replied: “Win. The bottom line is that when you get to play the game, you got to win. You got to win in a very high level. I think we can argue right now that the best player that has ever played the sport is Bill Russell or Michael Jordan.”
The 2006 NBA winner, who believes LeBron is the ‘best player in the world’, added: “Russell has 11 championship titles and is a very good friend of mine. Jordan obviously has six championships. He stood in our way plenty of times. That is what defines you as a player. Not just scoring points but it’s about winning. I think before he (LeBron) starts being recognised as the best who has ever played the game he has to win more.”
Speaking of what qualities, LeBron and six-time NBA champion Jordan, who enjoyed success with Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s hold, Mourning said: “Both are different players. Both have made their teams better. Michael made his team better by his impact on the game and LeBron is making his team better by facilitating the backbone of the team. Physically they are two different players.”
The 43-year-old added: “LeBron is probably an inch and half shorter than me but he’s just as big as I am. He weighs about 260/265 pounds, so he can easily become a (American) football player. Michael Jordan was a much smaller guy 6’5, 6’6, he was much leaner. LeBron can play one, two, three and four while Michael can play one, two and three.”
Now Vice President of Player Programmes and Development for Heat, Mourning believes it’s possible the defending champions can achieve a ‘three-peat’ (three successive championship titles) this season as long as the key players remain fit.
“‘I think they can,” when responding to a question of whether Eric Spoelstra’s side can clinch the ‘three-peat’.
He added: “It will be quite difficult to do that. There’s only been three teams in the history of the sport - Boston, Chicago and LA Lakers who have won three titles in a row. The only thing that will stop us from doing that is the players’ fitness.
“The guys will need to take care of themselves and have a little bit of luck where nobody gets injured. I think we’ll do okay and have a chance to go for a three-peat. The one thing that we have that a lot of teams don’t have is that we have the best player in the world. When he’s (LeBron) on top of his game, we are very difficult to beat when LeBron in on top of his game.”
An Olympic gold medallist with America at the 2000 Sydney Games, Mourning insists it won’t be easy for Heat to win the title as teams are constantly improving.
He said: “A lot of teams have gone better like Brooklyn Nets. You cannot rule any team out, all teams have great talent. You don’t win the championship in October, November, December and January. You start the winning process in April when the play-offs start. In 2006, when we won the title, we didn’t come out of the block playing well in the first part of the season, but we started clicking well as a team.”
He added: “You cannot rule out any teams because best teams get into form at the right time and it is all about timing and luck. Indiana Pacers are a great team. You cannot rule out Chicago because they have Derrick Rose back from an injury. Everybody has got better.”
Mourning also paid tribute to the champions.
He said: “We got an amazing bunch of talent, obviously we have the best player in the world in LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. One of the successes is that the team is winning, which has made our organisation very successful.”
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