Imrem: LeBron's been chasing MJ all along

A good guess is that every journalist has questions he or she wanted to ask but never did.

Something threw the interviews off track … like the subject matter going in another direction or a roomful of inquiries taking precedent or time running out.

Among mine is one for LeBron James.

Opportunities came during the several NBA playoff series his teams - the Cavaliers, then the Heat, then the Cavs again - played against the Bulls.

This is the question in its long form:

"Here in Chicago, we have had two players, Walter Payton in football and Michael Jordan in basketball, who were among the best to ever play their sports.

"Throughout their careers it seemed that they were chasing more than championships. They were chasing the greatest players that came before them.

"Is that what you're doing? Are you not only pursuing NBA titles but also aiming to become the best basketball player? And how do you feel you're sizing up at this point?"

You see, that's another reason I never asked the question. Before I could figure out how to shorten it up, the postgame news conference was over and James was headed out of the United Center.

I suspected what the truth was but wanted to see whether James would admit it.

Finally, however Lee Jenkins phrased the question, this is how he quoted James in this week's Sports Illustrated: "My motivation is this ghost I'm chasing. The ghost played in Chicago."

James might not have provided me with that response back then, even as recently as 2015 as the Cavs were beating the Bulls, but he's older now and at a personal place where he's willing to reflect on this subject.

"My career is totally different than Michael Jordan's," he says in SI. "What I've gone through is totally different than what he went through. What he did was unbelievable, and I watched it unfold. I looked up to him so much. I think it's cool to put myself in position to be one of those great players, but if I can ever put myself in position to be the greatest player, that would be something extraordinary."

James put himself in that position from the start of his NBA career - actually all the way back to early in his high school career.

For much of his pro career I wrote, to the dismay of Bulls fans, that LeBron James is the kind of player who could threaten Michael Jordan as the best ever.

Kobe Bryant couldn't because his game was too much like Jordan's was, and nobody was going to beat His Airness at his own game.

James was different. He was bigger and stronger, able to play a power game one minute and a finesse game the next minute.

Ah, but then James' teams lost too many times in the NBA Finals and talk of him challenging Jordan quieted down.

Now it's heating up again after James' spectacular performances led the Cavaliers to Cleveland's first title in 52 years this spring.

James said that was his goal in returning to his home area, and he reached it, which is something Jordan might have said and done.

Jordan still has a big edge in NBA titles, six to three, so maybe it's impossible for James to surpass him if that tops the list of criteria to catch the ghost from Chicago.

Which we now know for sure has been his motivation all along.

mimrem@dailyherald.com