We all have heard or witnessed players not knowing when to hang it up. Holding on to those distant memories of NBA-relevance is really disgraceful behavior.

Well apparently, being regarded as two of the top five greatest to ever play the game isn’t enough.

Now Michael “Airless” Jordan and Earvin “Disappear Already” Johnson are doing their best to keep you under the impression that LeBron James is less of a competitor than they were.

In offering their opinion on LeBron's decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, they are showing their bitterness of old age at fan sentiment that James is the greater talent.

Whatever decision that LeBron did or could have made served absolutely no relevance to the lives or legacies of Jordan and Johnson. Their accolades and awards wouldn’t have been erased, regardless of what James does in a Heat uniform.

A simple “no comment” would have done a lot of good for all parties involved.

However, they weren’t man enough to take the high road, or do the admirable thing. They would rather have everyone listen, have a seat, and get a full bowl of their ego-driven rants.

The last time Jordan helped someone? It had to be when he sent his nanny on an all expense-paid vacation for destroying evidence of him cheating on his wife.

The last time Magic dished out an assist? Had to be at the All-Star Game he was rewarded with for trying to give his wife HIV. Still can’t believe the fans did that.

"Air" Jordan and Magic Johnson could have easily supported James and no one would have questioned why.

After all, it was James who made the ridiculous statement that the NBA should retire the number 23, in honor of Jordan. He also said, on his draft night, that Magic Johnson was his basketball idol and the player he most patterned his game after.

With James making headline statements to build up their legacies, they elected to put him down.

In the classless fashion that is often associated with Jordan but rarely with Johnson, they chose to imply that James is a coward, knowing he is anything but.

To think, Jordan said he would never have teamed up with Magic. Looks like the pair are running a two-on-one fast break on LeBron.

Jordan Isn’t Being Honest

There is a very distinct line between not asking for help and not wanting it. The line isn’t so identifiable when you compare not asking for help and not needing it.

Jordan wants you to believe that he didn’t need help when he was a player, that he didn’t seek and desire it. He wants you to believe that he would have stuck it out with the Bulls had help never arrived.

That isn’t remotely true and if it was, it wouldn’t be because he was a greater competitor than James or because he was more loyal.

See, Jordan got a lot of help before entering his fourth season ('87-88). The Chicago Bulls would add two top 10 NBA draft picks from that summer: Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant.

Both would go on to become NBA All-Stars and finished their careers regarded as two of the top five best players in their draft class. They would finish third and fifth in career points from their draft class, second and fifth in rebounds, and fourth and seventh in assists.

Talk about being handed the keys to the kingdom.

But like I said, they arrived as rookies when Jordan was preparing to enter his fourth season. By the time Jordan entered his eighth year, Pippen and Grant would have four years under their belt.

It just so happened that in those four years, the Bulls would win 50 or more games in three of the seasons, and lost in the Eastern Conference Finals for two consecutive years.

Then in Jordan's eighth year, the Bulls won the title.

Like Jordan, James gave seven great years of competitive play and 100 percent loyalty, doing everything he could to get his club over the hump. Like Jordan, he failed to capture a title in his first seven seasons. And now entering his eighth season, he was presented with the possibility of playing for the title with two stars from the same draft class. That sounds familiar...

It’s amazing how people quickly forget that James did something that Jordan didn’t do, guiding his club to the Finals in only his fourth season, while beating the Detroit franchise that vexed Jordan early on. They weren’t calling LeBron a coward or a traitor then, and damn sure shouldn’t be calling him one now.

So like I said, Jordan isn’t being honest with you.

Now let’s say that Pippen and Grant had never arrived, and that Jordan was still the one man show that he had been over his first four seasons. Let’s even agree with him when he said he would have stayed in Chicago and not joined any other star players.

Stop laughing!

We know Jordan was envious of Bird, Magic, Thomas, and many others for having All-Star teammates. Heck, even his good buddy Charles Barkley was afforded the luxury of playing with Moses Malone and Julius Erving.

He saw that those guys were considered better than him because they won. No one cared that they “didn’t do it alone.” You would have to be a complete fool to think that Jordan didn’t understand the benefits of teaming up with All-Stars.

He had already proven his individual dominance over the league and that he could do things that no other player did.

So if he would have stayed in Chicago with help, it would have been out of ego. I’m not talking about the healthy Grant Hill-kind of ego. I’m referring to 2003-07 Kobe Bryant.

It would not have been out of loyalty to the Bulls or respect for the good it would do the NBA—this is a guy who wore his own attire to a NBA All-Star event, how quickly you forget.

He would have been compelled to stay because Chicago was his home. Not meaning place of birth, but place of acceptance. The people of Chicago tolerated his brash cockiness and need to individualize himself apart from his club, as well as the rest of the NBA.

Chicago was where he had achieved the majority of his recognition and accolades. It was where he was associated with even though he tried to make sure it was “Jordan and the Bulls” instead of “The Bulls and Jordan.”

Basically, Chicago was every bit a part of the “Jordan Brand” as his signature tongue swag.

Jordan didn’t care about winning as much as he would like you to believe, if he did, he would’ve noticed how Magic, Bird, and Thomas utilized their teammates.

No, Jordan was only concerned with whether people viewed him as the better ball player. That’s what fueled that fire he so often talks about.

It’s as simple as that, and this isn’t an opinion. This is fact from years of listening to him talk and watching him grow as a player.

But you can believe whatever diluted fantasies that Jordan is trying to sell you, this is one sports fan who’s fully aware of what is and what isn’t.

Magic Doesn’t Have a Leg to Stand On

In the case of Magic Johnson, I really can’t say why he bothered to comment on the matter. He has always appeared to be a supporter of LeBron James, even going as far as calling him better than fellow Laker Kobe Bryant.

I guess it’s nothing more than him wanting to feel a part of the moment and further the foolish notion that he was a better player than LeBron.

Magic never had to deal with the burden of being or feeling alone. When he first entered the NBA, he came to a team with the best player in basketball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And three years after that, James Worthy would be brought in.

So Magic isn’t even in a position to grasp how James should have approached his situation; he is the last person who should be commenting on a matter so foreign to any situation he’s ever been a part of.

He was spoiled as a player and in his life away from the court.

He has never had to go seek help, it’s always been given to him or come knocking at his door.

I’m appalled with his immaturity and am extremely sad to say that I was once a fan of his.

This is one time he should have looked away before he decided to pass his two cents.

Conclusion

It's so easy to go with the negative perception of things rather than seeing the positive, so one should always try to view things objectively.

But that’s not the kind of fans we have become. We no longer respect the game, nor do we appreciate it for all it is entirely. We have become fans of single players, failing to realize that this is a game of 12.

No one man is above the team.

Never has been and never will be.

But Jordan and Magic want you to believe that they were. They want you to think they would have rather done it alone, rather than have a fighting chance.

Well, they’re liars… no one is that stupid.

If they really cared about winning, they would have considered every possible solution that would have resulted in being the last man standing. It’s what being a competitor is all about, fighting the good fight in the terms of fair play.

Well, LeBron is doing that. He intelligently viewed all possibilities and went with the situation that gave him the best chance to win.

Same as Jordan, same as Magic…

And most importantly, same as any of us would.