By Fitzgerald Cecilio

Miami, FL

Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade said his teammate LeBron James has still lots of work to do before he dethrones Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all-time.

Wade recognized James as a phenomenal player with the ability to dominate the game on both ends of the floor.

However, the Chicago native believes James has still long way to go before he considered at par with Jordan's greatness.

"I don't know if (James) has the ability to surpass (Jordan) or not," Wade told ESPNChicago.com. "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 James will continue to improve over the next three to four years, putting him in position to win more NBA titles.

James, who averaged 25.9 points, 7.0 boards, and 6.1 dimes over 9 seasons in the league, won three NBA MVP awards and captured his first NBA championship at 27 - the same age Jordan his first of six titles with the Chicago Bulls.

If James has any chance of surpassing Jordan's accomplishment, he has to win more titles in the remainder of his career.

"As a Chicago Bulls fan, when they won their first championship, I didn't say, 'We're going to win five more,'" Wade said. "You just hope that your team continues to compete and they get in that situation that they're good enough to pull it out and are able to win."

 

Dwyane Wade Believes Lebron Still Long Shot to Topple Jordan