Here's the deal. Jordan was the greatest player of all time. Bottom line, end of story.
But for Jordan's first three years in the league (1984-1987), but Bulls were not even a .500 team. It's a fact people don't pay much attention to. They won 38, 30 and 40 games. But all three years, having a below .500 record was enough for the Bulls to make the playoffs with a low seed. Naturally, the Boston Celtics (at their apex) were better than a below .500 team.
If the internet had existed in the same capacity during JOrdan's early years, the media would have ripped him apart. His first 3 years he was out in the first round... his team wasn't even good enough to get over .500. It wasn't until Pippen arrived that they even turned into a 50 win team. Then of course there were the 3 next years that they were owned by the Pistons.
It's kinda like LeBron right now. LeBron finally won his first championship coincidentally at the same age as Jordan when he won his first title. LeBron very well could go on to win multiple titles... and then decades from now someone will post a video showing how Paul Pierce "owned" LeBron James... Those Cavs teammates stunk about as bad as those early Bulls teammates surrounding Jordan. It doesn't take away from what Jordan eventually accomplished and what LeBron is potentially about to accomplish.
Jordan was amazing during those 6 title years. To be fair, when jordan first retired, the Bulls managed to win 55 games without him with Pippen at the forefront... arguably a better supporting cast than LeBron has now. Still... Jordan was incredible at his absolute best and deserving of all the praise he received.
Bill Russell is the greatest basketball player of all time. Period.
He's a smart guy, he was successful in college, olympics and won as a rookie. Yep, he had HOF teammates, but he made them better because he was the most intelligent guy on court. He was able to contain the most dominant basketball player of all time, prime Wilt Chamberlain. Bill and Wilt were world-class athletes, just as good if not better than MJ.
You're right comparing MJ to LeBron, two overhyped stars who are great players, both into top-10 all-time discussion. LeBron has a more complete game, but Jordan was a better defender. Both were good enough to get media attention in their early years, yet not good enough to beat their rivals. The difference is Jordan had to deal with Celtics/Lakers/Pistons, while the only great teams LeBron had to deal with is the Spurs and the Celtics. Great teams, still not good enough to compare to those 80s teams.
Both are very lucky. Jordan was lucky because of Bird/McHale/Bias/Reggie for the Celtics, Magic for the Lakers, Sampson for the Rockets had unlucky career endings, and the Pistons declined after their back-to-back titles. LBJ is lucky because of KG's knee injury (Celtics 3-peat without that), and the Spurs are too old.
And both have taken advantage of ESPN/Nike/Stern new era of NBA. Star calls, media attention and endorsements. But Jordan was able to win a lot, while LeBron still has to prove he can win multiple titles.
Larry Bird was a comparable level to MJ, only because of MJ's defense and athleticism which helped him to be a great player. They share the All-time greats 2nd tier with Magic and Kareem, but they're half a step below Wilt (who had to deal with the Celtics) and two and a half steps below Bill Russell, absolute GOAT on and off the court, incredible player, great coach and huge personality.
I wish the Celtics get Larry Legend to work for them, he's also a great basketball mind, like Russell and unlike Jordan, who has shown little basketball knowledge in his time in Washington and Charlotte. Maybe Pippen was terribly underrated, because he was a better defender but all the credit went always to MJ.
Of course, if Bias can play for the 1987 Celtics, maybe McHale can rest to heal his foot, taking some weight off Larry's back, and the 1987-1988 Celtics with healthy McHale and Bird start a multiple title streak with Bias and Reggie entering their prime as champions. Then MJ (or the Detroit Pistons) is not another guy, but maybe a one time champion, maybe two.
Another interesting what if is, if Bill Russell had been drafted in the 80s, the kids would wear Air Russells. Of course, that means the 60s Celtics would've been "another team", so I'm fine with Air Jordans or Air LeBrons.