"They want to compare (James) to the greatest, whether it be Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, but he's more closer to myself," he said. "It's natural for folks to say that, but if you look at how he plays the game and how I played the game, you'll see more similarities with us."
When people make comparisons about James and other NBA greats, Pippen's name typically isn't brought up. James is a higher scorer than Pippen (he already has more career points despite fewer career games) and dishes out more assists (James has more career assists).
Pippen was great, there's no debating that — but it's tough to argue anyone was LeBron James before LeBron James.
I've long thought that Grant Hill was kind of a forerunner to LeBron James, in terms of being a versatile wing player who could also run the team, flirt with triple doubles on a regular basis, and be looked at as a player who could lead a team upon entering the league. Granted, LeBron is more physically imposing, with the size to play all five positions competently, and his career has turned out a lot better to say the least. But before all his injuries, Hill was quite an explosive athlete, and he had some impressive all around numbers early on his career, not incomparable to LeBron's...though LeBron certainly scored a lot more.
