I think

I'm one of those who will forever hate Michael Jordan for killing us in the playoffs every year (the '89 and '92 teams were serious title contenders, and had it not been for the shot in '89 and the '92 Eastern Finals those teams WOULD have been NBA Champs)......
Having said that I respect the man incredibly for his passion to win and kill the other team at all cost. What sepparates Michael from everyone then, and even moreso now, is that he would rather rip your head off and spit in it if it meant winning a pre-season game, let alone the playoffs. He was maniacally, intensively competitive. Ask anyone who golfed against him or played poker against him.
Today we see LeBron and Kobe hugging the other team they are about to play, every night. Every player today does this. JORDAN NEVER DID THIS! He would look straight into the eyes of everyone and then, especially the 1995-96 team, he would lead the Bulls into a systematic destruction of your team and your morale. You would NEVER catch Jordan hugging the enemy before a game. Say what you want about Rodman, the 1995-96 Bulls team was the BEST EVER IN NBA HISTORY, and Jordan was the leader, the driver. He drove them in practice, got on them when they didn't feel like working harder, pushed and pushed them to just go all out on every team, every night. He'd be pissed if they beat a bad team by only 15 points. He'd be pissed if they beat a good team by 5 points. If the Bulls didn't blow the other team out by 20 points, he was pissed.
Add that drive to his sheer skills and no doubt was Jordan the best ever.
LeBron has the skills, but I doubt he will ever match Jordan's passion and drive to beat the enemy. Untill LeBron quits hugging the other team before the game, and starts driving the rest of the Cavs to go out and blow everyone out by 20 and be upset if they only beat you by 5, LeBron will never be anywhere near Jordan's shoes.
Proof is in the pudding: the Bulls made the playoffs his year and a half off in 1994-1995, but Pippen et al were soft without MJ.
Inappropria