If MJ is the same age as Lebron, do you think he could shut down Lebron James? I know MJ was a great defender so do you think he could shut down LBJ? Simple question.

MJ would not shut down LeBron James, but he would make him look a lot worse than the weak defenders today can. You just can't stop a great player, they will find ways to get their stats, but great defenders make it incredibly hard. MJ in his prime could probably drop LeBron to around 25 on 44% shooting, take away an assist or two, and maybe a rebound or two. Actually, Pippen would be even better.

Jordan no, but Pippen yes.

The real question is, "Could Lebron James guard Michael Jordan?"

An emphatic "NO!"

Yes. Lebron could get some points posting up on him perhaps, but Michael would at the least slow him down.

You throw some combination of Michael and Scotty at him, and he's in real trouble. He'd still get his points, but he'd shoot 40% or lower to do it.

Steve, another masterful sig. How do you do it?

Lebron has 2 inches and at least 35 pounds on Michael, that doesn't bode well. It gives Lebron a solid advantage in the post as well as a good chance to shoot over him, and makes it a bit harder for Mike to stop him when he gets his momentum going.

Michael's length and quickness would slow him down though and make him work harder, he probably would struggle more taking the ball from the top of the key. Scottie would fare better, he's a little taller and stronger with the same length and quickness.

One other thing to consider is the way the original question is worded though. Lebron is only 22, Michael was a rookie at that age. While he was obviously a lot quicker back then as opposed to his post-retirement era, he also wasn't as savvy a defender back then.

These high school guys are putting up insane numbers at a much younger age than in the past, if guys like Kobe and Lebron can get over the wear and tear of the extra years and still play into their mid-30's they have the ability to re-write the record books. Kobe already has 19,000 career points and he isn't even 29 yet. He has an outside shot of being in the top-15 all-time by the time he's 30. Lebron is even scarier, he's got about 8,500 and doesn't turn 23 until December.

The only time I remember Jordan playing for the Bulls is during there last championship against Utah. I was like 6 or 7 back then.

meh, if they played during the era when they were actually allowed to play defense on the perimeter, Kobe and Lebron wouldn't even be sniffing these records so early.... but the league needs to build superstars

Harper would!

But could LJ guard MJ? Jordan would make him work his ass off on the defensive side. But I still think MJ in his prime would be able to keep him in check.

That's a tough call. The way defense is played today is completely different than the way it was played when Jordan was in his prime. If Jordan could play James as physical as back in the day, he'd shut him down. If it was by today's ticky-tack rules, James could still put up 30-40 on Jordan. The problem is that Mike would put up about 70 on Lebron in the meantime.