A different time, but still basketball. (Getty Images)

Charles Oakley has been critical of LeBron James in the past. From a 2011 interview with HoopsWorld.com:

"I wouldn’t put [James and Jordan] in the same conversation."

"It took a while for Michael to win championships too, but they have a different swagger, a different demeanor. If I would compare anybody to Michael Jordan, it would be Kobe Bryant. Point blank. I know LeBron well; he don’t have what Michael have so I’m not even gonna discuss that one." 

"To be a superstar [LeBron] has to go back to his fundamentals… work on his post game, work off the ball."

Since then, James became a monster in the post, improved his three-point percentage, won another MVP, won a championship, won Finals MVP, and an Olympic gold medal. So what does Jordan's (off-court) running mate think of the King now? From the Palm Beach Post, Oakley commented on Jordan's thought that James couldn't succeed in their era: 

“He might not have had a lot of big numbers, but he would have made it,” Oakley said. “If you can get 26 [points] instead of 27, it’s the same thing. But he’s a guy you want to play with, no matter level what he played. If he played 40 years ago, he understands basketball. He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve seen in this game, probably go down as one of the smartest guys. He dictates offense, defense, he can do it all.”

So what of the LeBron-Jordan debate?

“It’s a different debate,” Oakley said. “I ask everybody, who’s the best between Magic and LeBron? Everyone says Michael’s greatest. But, OK, well, we’ll give him his props. But LeBron is a better athlete, and he can do more than Michael on the basketball court. Michael is finisher, a great shooter, and it is what it is.”

(via Miami Heat reports, analysis, notes, NBA news, trade talk - Heat Zone, a PalmBeachPost.com blog)

This is delicate ground. People are defensive of Jordan as the Greatest for good reason, and Oakley's right, LeBron hasn't toppled him, probably will not topple him. 

However, his point about how James does more is correct. Jordan was an incredible, all-world defender on top of his offensive talents. He's the best jump shooter who has ever lived. 

But James is a better passer, a better rebounder, a better master of blocks, a better on-ball defender. He has more strength, more force. He's as strong as any player in history with vision like Magic and finishing ability like Kemp. That's a pretty rare combination. 

LeBron needs titles to reach the level required for all-time consideration, but Oakley's points are on target. It shows you how much consideration of James has changed in two years.