Getty LeBron James, left, of the Los Angeles Lakers.
They were not exactly the pinnacle years of the franchise, but for four seasons from 1993-97, Croatian Hall of Famer Dino Radja was the best thing the Celtics had going. His NBA career was tarnished by legal wranglings and a string of headaches for the team before he finally arrived to play in Boston, and was ravaged by injuries once he was in Celtics green. But he did average 16.7 points and 8.4 rebounds over his abbreviated Celtics career.
Radja played against Bulls star Michael Jordan five times during his NBA stint (Jordan was retired for a year-plus of Radja’s four-year career) and certainly got an eyeful. Jordan’s Bulls beat the Celtics in all five games Radja saw him, by an average of 15.6 points. Jordan averaged 25.8 points in those games.
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Thus he has a strong opinion about which NBA star is better, LeBron James or Michael Jordan. In fact, he said, Jordan is so clearly better that, “When the comparisons between LeBron and Jordan start, I vomit.”
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Radja, who was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 2018, went on to put that into some context—and added that James does not surpass Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s all-time food chain.
According to EuroHoops.net, Radja explained:
My son assures me that LeBron is better but for me, it’s not a discussion. If he had played twenty years ago, LeBron wouldn’t have been able to do even half of this. Today, when LeBron enters the paint, everyone moves away from him, but Jordan was getting beaten like no one and he still dominated. In front of LeBron were Kobe Bryant and some others. I respect LeBron but Kobe was better.
The notion that James benefits from a too-soft NBA these days is common, especially among ex-stars of Jordan’s vintage like Radja. Of course, James is 6-8 and more than 250 pounds, so to suggest that he would not have been able to adapt to a more physical game is a little ludicrous. He has built up his game both as a post-up player but also as a perimeter shooter. Do we really think that, against the wiry stars of yesteryear, James could not handle some physical play?
GettyDino Radja, right, of the Celtics.
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Still, we should respect elders like Radja. His NBA career did not work out—it finally ended when Celtics coach/honcho Rick Pitino attempted to trade him to Philadelphia in 1997, but when he failed his physical, Pitino had no choice but to force him out. But he still finished strong. He eventually returned to Europe, joining Greek powerhouse Panathiniakos, where he teamed with Lakers great Byron Scott.
Dino Radja: “I don’t like the NBA… It’s all in the numbers, people are boxing out opponents so some would pump up numbers…
I prefer to watch the Euroleague, a Maccabi and CSKA game, more than the NBA finals between Miami and the Lakers”
Radja lamented that today’s game is just not the same.
“I don’t like the NBA,” he said. “I follow it, but that’s not it. It has turned into an All-Star game. It’s all in the numbers, people are boxing out opponents so some would pump up numbers. The media is making stars out of nothing. Basketball that used to be played with Detroit and the Knicks, that was real basketball, this today is a 3-point competition.”
Radja said that he did not watch any of the Lakers-Heat NBA Finals series. But he tuned in for some playoff action.
“I watched Boston,” he said, “because I’m emotionally attached.”
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