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Keeping It 1,000: Why Dwyane Wade Thinks LeBron James Can't Surpass Michael Jordan's Legacy

The King may not like this.

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have the kind of friendship and brotherhood that transcends basketball.

But that being said, D. Wade still had to check the King for saying he wants to chase down and surpass Michael Jordan's legacy.

"No, it's not possible. It's not possible," a laughing Wade told ESPN on Thursday about James chasing Jordan's ghosts. "The only thing you can do is tie it. There's no 19th hole."

Giving it a deeper thought, the Chicago Bulls shooting guard stated that James has a lot of work to do if he's going to catch up to Jordan's six rings. And he used a golf analogy to make the comparison.

"I don't know if [James] has the ability to surpass [Jordan] or not," Wade continued. "That's yet to be seen. My version as LeBron being on par with Michael is this: They're both on the golf course. Michael's on the 18th hole; LeBron is somewhere on like the fourth hole. He's got a long way to go, but he's on par to get to the 18th hole."

Wade added: "I think everyone knows that [James] is a phenomenal, phenomenal player. He's one that we haven't seen, with the makeup of a 6-foot-8 guy who runs as fast as any point guard, jumps as high as any center, and has the ability that he has to do so many things. But Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time, that's who everyone shoots for. So it's going to be hard to surpass that."

What's already up against James in his pursuit of catching up to Mike is that LeBron touts a 3-4 record in the NBA Finals, whereas Jordan is a flawless 6-0, having never played a Game 7 in any of those series.

James, though, has been dominant, having been to six straight Finals, capturing his third title this past June by leading the Cleveland Cavaliers from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the 73-win Golden State Warriors.

Despite Wade laughing off LeBron's lofty goal, he knows that King James is in position to at least make that run at Jordan's throne.

"I think last year — not only in my eyes, but in a lot of people's eyes — really put him ... he's on the 15th hole right now," Wade said. "And he's on his way, for sure."

Wade's comments about his former teammate came in response to James telling Sports Illustrated in August that "my motivation is the ghost I'm chasing; the ghost played in Chicago," referring to Jordan.

About jumping over Jumpman, James also added:

Do you think LeBron James has a chance to surpass Michael Jordan as the game's greatest player ever?

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