LeBron James has been compared to Michael Jordan many times in his career, but he still has a long way to go before he overtakes Jordan in the championships department -- or, if you believe Jordan, in a game of one-on-one. In an interview promoting the NBA 2K14 game, Jordan said that if he were in his prime, he wouldn't lose to LeBron in a solo matchup. LeBron (6-foot-8, 250 pounds) would have a significant size advantage over Jordan (6-6, 216), but MJ would have the edge in pure shooting. Honestly, given his legendary competitiveness, we're not sure we'd bet against Jordan, even if it were later on in his career.

Here's a sampling of what readers had to say in our Facebook conversation on the story:

• Peter Kica: "why is MJ stating an obvious? we know he would beat lebron 1on1. but when it comes to overall skill level there is no doubt that lebron is right up there with him if not higher. Lebron is a better passer, rebounder, he is way stronger and he has been developing a midrange to 3pt game. He has improved his post game and he has come up clutch in the FINALS! "
• Ernest McCaleb: "Lebron James is a playmaker. He's more magic thane MJ. Who cares that MJ thinks he can beat Lebron in 1 on 1. Lebron is MUCH more than a 1 on 1 player - he's a facilitator. "
• Aaron Weiner: "It would have been close, but Jordan had the more creative offensive game, which lends itself to 1-1. LeBron would have been able to shoot over him, though, and since he's an improved shooter I think it would have been close."
• Matt McLeod: "If Lebron wanted to post him every time it would be a hell of a hard time for Jordan to beat him. Even with Jordan in his prime, Lebron has 40+ lbs on Michael and 2 inches while being faster and more explosive than Michael. Give Jordan the ball first and maybe cause he could shoot, but if Lebron got the ball first and decided he simply wanted to WIN and post Michael up evey time theres absolutely NOTHING Michael could do about that. Not CLOSE to the strength and size of Lebron. Not close."
• Joe Schnipke: "MJ would beat LeBron but it would be closer than people think. People who say MJ would kill LeBron are just hating."

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

As a player, Michael Jordan was the consummate winner. Regarded as the greatest NBA player ever, Jordan could just about do it all on the court. As an executive, well ... let's just say things haven't gone quite as well. Jordan's ownership of the Bobcats hit another bump in the road Tuesday as the team fired head coach Mike Dunlap after just one season. It's the second time Jordan has hired a coach from the college ranks only to dump him after 82 games (he did it with Leonard Hamilton in Washington). So will the coaching change help turn around the dreadful Bobcats? Or is the real problem in Charlotte at the top?

Did the Bobcats make the right move in firing head coach Mike Dunlap?

•  
  59%
  Yes
•  
  41%
  No

(Total votes: 79,758)

Who do you blame most for the Bobcats' struggles (62-168 since making lone playoff appearance in 2010)?

•  
  10%
  Coaches
•  
  32%
  Players
•  
  58%
  Ownership

(Total votes: 14,276)

Michael Jordan speculated in his Hall of Fame induction speech that he could be playing at 50, but how effective would he really be? Numbers Never Lie looked at one of the only 50-year-olds to excel in professional sports -- hockey legend Gordie Howe. Howe scored 43 points in 58 games during his age 50 season, about 54.7 percent of his total as a 40-year-old. Applying the same metric to Jordan's career, we'd expect a 50-year-old Jordan to score 10.9 points per game. Is this way too optimistic, or within the realm of possibility for a player as a great as Jordan?

On Friday, ESPN's "First Take" debated a hypothetical: What if the Lakers had Michael Jordan in place of Kobe Bryant? This season has been a bit of a contradiction for the Lakers; Kobe is playing exceptionally well, but the team just can't win games. Skip Bayless thinks Jordan would make the team a contender, as he won with worse supporting casts than Kobe has and generally made his teammates better. Stephen A. Smith doesn't think Jordan could overcome the Lakers' lack of chemistry. What's your take?

LeBron James has been trying to get better since last season, but Charles Barkley might say that LeBron is aiming low. Barkley said in an interview that LeBron could be better than Michael Jordan when it's all said and done. Is Barkley predicting the future, or is he pulling our collective leg?

• FatherTres 1.7: "If he does become better, cool, but people who saw Jordan play in his prime (not based on hype) know, no one was better than Jordan! He was years ahead of his time. Unfortunately, you cant convince the younger generation, because they believe what they see NOW."
• nj2Portugal: "It's a beautiful thing to see the old school guys like Barkley Pippen Bird and Magic all agree that Lebron is or could be better than MJ. These guys all played with him so they know what they are talking about."
• antistratfordian: "LeBron is great because of his genius basketball mind. His athleticism is only a small part of his greatness. If you removed his athleticism he'd just be a better version of Magic Johnson."
• Jumpman11071985: "Oh Charles you should know better than that. I can agree that LeBron is bigger, he might be even stronger (but as we all know Jordan was freakishly strong, for sure stronger than any other 6.6 guard) however LeBron is not faster than Jordan, he is not even close in terms of speed and quickness to MJ. Young Jordan was just cat quick, the quickest first step I've seen from any player so Charles is simply mistaken"
• keithboogie: "I am a Michael Jordan fan for life and he made me enjoy pro basketball but I agree with Barkley nobody can score like michael jordan but no one plays a more complete game than Lebron James and Lebron is faster than mike and strength is in the eye of the beholder. If lebron needed too he could score at will but he has stars with him and he gets everyone involved. Jordan knew he needed to score and thats what he did."

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On Friday, "First Take" debated Dwyane Wade saying that LeBron James has a long way to go before he passes Michael Jordan as the greatest player of all time. Stephen A. Smith thinks Wade's comments were respectful and accurate, while Skip Bayless has a different take -- he thinks Wade was trying to protect LeBron from media speculation about his greatness that could be harmful to his career. What's your take?

On Wednesday, "First Take" debated Jim Boeheim's comments about LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Talking about LeBron's performance in the Olympics, Boeheim said that LeBron might be as good as Michael Jordan. Stephen A. Smith thinks LeBron might deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Michael Jordan, while Skip Bayless thinks the whole thing is totally ridiculous. What's your take?