King James trying to jump over Jumpman?

After leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a dramatic NBA Finals victory, LeBron James has a newfound motivation — chasing down and perhaps surpassing the greatness of Michael Jordan.

“My motivation is this ghost I’m chasing. The ghost played in Chicago,” James says as the cover subject of this week's Sports Illustrated issue.

And there's more where that came from.

Yes, putting himself in position to be the greatest player "would be something extraordinary," as James said.

But greater than Mike? Some would say that's already out of reach.

Yes, Jordan took his lumps against the Detroit Pistons early into his career, but once he overcame that obstacle, he was damn-near flawless. MJ led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA Finals, resulting in a pair of three-peats for six titles. That and he made sure the Bulls never faced a Game 7 of the Finals.

In comparison, although LeBron has won three titles, he also has four Finals losses attached to his name.

There's no downplaying LeBron's greatness. There's no diminishing how huge it was for King James to lead the Cavs to a championship, especially considering they became the first team in league history to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the Finals.

Still, though, we think it would take four more rings for a total of seven NBA titles for Bron to pass MJ.

Can it be done ... especially after the Golden State Warriors have stacked the deck with Kevin Durant?

Your move, LeBron.

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