interview with Brandon \u201cScoop B\u201d Robinson<\/a>, explaining that both legends wanted the same thing: \u201cThey both want to win and they both want you to work hard.\u201d<\/p>\nThe former Wizards center said the difference was in how that message landed. \u201cMike\u2019s more in your face; LeBron is more diplomatic,\u201d Haywood said, adding that Jordan would tell teammates exactly what it was and \u201cif you didn\u2019t do it, you had issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haywood drew a sharp line between styles while also showing why he believes both approaches work. He said Dirk Nowitzki felt more like LeBron because he was not an \u201cin your face\u201d leader, while Jerry Stackhouse reminded him more of Jordan\u2019s tone when it came to demanding accountability.<\/p>\n
That perspective carries extra weight because Haywood lived through the 2011 Mavericks run from the inside. He called Shawn Marion \u201cthe unsung hero for the whole playoffs,\u201d pointing to the difficult defensive assignments Marion absorbed against Brandon Roy, Kobe Bryant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, LeBron, and Dwyane Wade.<\/p>\n
For Haywood, winning still comes back to culture, not slogans. \u201cIt\u2019s team culture,\u201d he said of the Wizards\u2019 rebuild, adding that structure has to be established before the wins show up, the same way Oklahoma City built its identity before becoming a contender.<\/p>\n
He also sees today\u2019s NBA through the eyes of a former defensive anchor. \u201cA guy like Jokic would have just taken us out to the perimeter,\u201d Haywood said of how the game has changed, while noting that Joel Embiid would have dragged old-school bigs \u201cto the deep end.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about LeBron\u2019s place in the league this late in his career, Haywood did not hesitate. \u201cAt this point, LeBron gets to do whatever the hell he wants to do,\u201d he said, calling him an ambassador who has \u201ccarried it on his back\u201d for two decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo: NBA\/YouTube screenshot Brendan Haywood thinks the public usually misses the real common thread between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. \u201cIt\u2019s that dedication and that grind \u2014 it just comes off different,\u201d he said in an interview with Brandon \u201cScoop B\u201d Robinson, explaining that both legends wanted the same thing: \u201cThey both want to win […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119910"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}