LeBron rejects MJ comparison: 'Our games are completely different'

Just because Michael Jordan is widely seen as the greatest basketball player to ever lace them up, LeBron James doesn't need to be like Mike.

James - who turns 32 on Friday - is nearing the age that Air Jordan was when he returned to the game of basketball after his year-and-a-half hiatus from the court to play semi-professional baseball. Jordan went on to win three straight titles and two league MVP awards after the age of 33, maintaining - some would argue - an even higher level of play than he had before he left the game initially.

Reporters inquired about whether or not LeBron has studied Jordan to see how he was able to prolong the skill and athleticism that he had prior to leaving the game in 1993.

"No I haven't," James told reporters on Thursday. "He was much more of a scorer. At that point he did a lot of post work (later into his thirties). Our games are just different. His body is different, my body is different than his. You recognize the dominance that someone had at that age, but there's no similarities in our game, at all."

There are certain comparisons to be made between the two all-time greats' games, but the fadeaway jumper - which Jordan made famous - is one that LeBron sees as especially distinct.

"Nah it's different," the 2016 Finals MVP continued. "He has much more lift in his fadeaway than mine, and he was able to (use it as a) go-to move.

"Our games are completely different."