The point is, the league didn't favor perimeter players like it does now. Stern changed a bunch of rules in the late 90's early 2000's because scoring went down so badly. Maybe players wouldn't be able to contain LeBron, but it sure as fuck would be harder for him than it is right now, where any contact at all is a foul. And maybe Laimbeer wouldn't have touched him, but I know for a fact the Knicks would have fucked him up. Oakley, Mason, and Ewing were tough sons of bitches.
Ah, Oak. I miss that dude. I guess my point is that everything that Jordan had to do extra to bulk up to handle that stuff, already came naturally (?) to Lebron, and then some. Lebron weighed 245 at age 18--Jordan was never that big. Lebron has the physical makeup to have been able to handle the punishment better than Jordan did. You also underestimate the impact of the environment. Lebron has adjusted and adapted his game over the years so as to be successful given the style of game in which he plays. I have no doubt that he would have done the same had he broken into the league 20 years earlier. You don't think he would have thrived in an era when the lowest scoring team in the league put up nearly 104/night (as in '87, Jordan's 3,000 point season)? It wasn't until the mid-90's (after Jordan's first retirement, interestingly) that defense really took over and leaguewide scoring dipped below 100 ppg. prior to that, Lebron would have had a field day--I have no doubt.
