Michael Jordan praised 22-year-old LeBron James for leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to victory over the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavaliers advanced to the finals for the first time in their 37-year history. His Airness gave a one-on-one interview to the Chicago Tribune. Somewhere in the middle of the interview after talking about bikes, the Bobcats and Bulls basketball, the subject of LeBron James came up. Here’s what Mike had to say:
On the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James:
I think you see some growth. Expectations have been there, the signs have been there. What just transpired was something I felt was needed for the league, was needed for Cleveland, was needed for LeBron. Now the test comes in being consistent and continuing that elevation, and not getting complacent.
On whether James made ‘The Leap’:
He showed signs. Making “The Leap” is where you do it every single night. It’s expected of you, and you do it. That, to me, is “The Leap.” Not one game, not two games. It’s consistent. Every defense comes in and they focus on you and you still impact the game. I think he’s shown signs of that. I think he’s going to continue to grow with that. The test is going to come for him to consistently do that every single night, when everybody expects it. And he expects it of himself. But he took a big step in that right direction in this last series. This next series is going to say, “How far do you want to take it?”
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