I will not be pulling for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Here are the reasons why many light blue blooded fans may not be rooting for the Cavaliers to repeat as NBA champions. Kyrie Irving, a short-term Dukie, is their point guard. J.R. Smith, their long-bomber, committed to UNC before turning pro out of high school (yes, you could do that back then). And Duke’s Dahntay Jones signed with the Cavs on the last day of the regular season, picked up two technical fouls and was fined two-thirds of his $9,000 salary.

It also has nothing to do with the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry coming from Davidson and Charlotte or Carolina’s James Michael McAdoo trying to win his second NBA title with the Dubs. Or even that Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson agreed to go to the same college before KD opted for Texas. What was up with that?

No, it has to do with that stale old debate over whether King James is as good as, or better than, Michael Jordan. Let me go over the simple statistics for you. LeBron has won three world titles in his six consecutive trips to the NBA Finals. Jordan also played for six championships and won all six. And there was never an argument that someone on another team, like San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, is better than James because he makes bigger shots when they count.

James is the best all-around player in the game today because of his size, strength and skill level that allows him to do more things on the court than Curry or Durant. But he is no Jordan because he doesn’t finish like Michael, who made every big shot at the end of a game that he ever took, including a famous buzz-beater over the Cavaliers one season and the step-back jumper that defeated Utah for his sixth championship, plus too many more to count. (Georgetown?)

If Cleveland losses to the Warriors for the second time in three years, James’ record in NBA Finals will be 3-4. Jordan’s record will always be 6-0. LeBron has matured into a dominant player, a great teammate and someone who doesn’t get into any trouble off the court. We all know that wasn’t exactly Michael’s make-up. He was a tough teammate to have because he was so demanding on them in practice, and anyone who played with him saw him physically and verbally humiliate his match-up on the floor.

As a human being, Jordan wasn’t perfect, but as an NBA champion, he was. So let the comparisons continue.

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