We’ve all heard people arguing over different things whether it’s which TV series is better or if Fruity Pebbles are really the elite cereal to eat. One thing in the world of sports is that it is very common for two players to be linked together and compared for the rest of their careers. Luka Dončić or Trae Young? Carson Wentz or Dak Prescott? The hottest debate in the NBA though will forever be Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Everyone is biased to the era they grew up watching so it’s really a split decision between older and younger generations but when you dig deeper and have an understanding of the different eras and teammates they had, you’ll realize that the amount of rings on their fingers or the stats they threw up are not a complete representation of the impact they had on the game even though they do come in play but this is the first thing people love to start their argument with. As a bartender, I talk sports all the time with guests so this debate comes up more often than you’d think but there’s a reason why I always come to LeBron’s defense when a grown man attempts to make his case for MJ and I enjoy shutting them down every time. I’m by no means taking anything away from the greatness Michael Jordan brought to the NBA but you can clearly see where I stand in this circulating topic.
Michael Jordan was drafted 3rd overall in the 1984 NBA draft coming out of a prestigious basketball university, the University of North Carolina, winning a National Championship on his way out while LeBron was a kid who grew up in Akron, Ohio, selling out college arenas in high school which eventually led to him getting drafted 1st overall in the 2003 NBA draft out of St. Vincent St. Mary’s Highschool. They were 2 superstars in the making at a young age who took the pressure and thrived since the day they hopped into the league, both winning rookie of the year while the rest of their historic careers is incomparable to any other player who stepped foot on a basketball court.
Jordan had an all-star supporting cast on his way to 6 total NBA championships in 15 seasons based around Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman, averaging a staggering 30.1 PPG, ranking him #1 all time in points per game while winning 5 MVPs along the way so that alone would make someone who doesn’t have a deep knowledge of the game conclude that compared to LeBron’s 27.1 PPG and 4 MVPs while he’s in the midst of his 16th NBA season, think I’m crazy for sticking to the generational talent that is LeBron James. Let’s not forget to mention that 22 year old LeBron led his team to his first finals appearance with the other key players being Drew Gooden and Ilgauskas. Most people don’t even know who those players are so forget the argument of Scottie not being able to secure a finals appearance without MJ and the impact he had before his first retirement because that’s like Golden State being without Steph Curry chasing a ring so it’s obviously not going to happen without another superstar except if your name is LeBron James. When we look at the all-time scoring list, Jordan ranks #5 while LeBron sits at #3, passing the late Kobe Bryant literally 16 hours before the utter and disastrous tragedy of the helicopter crash which saw the world lose a top 5 talent that the league has ever seen but that’s a discussion for a different time.
LeBron has obviously played more games than MJ has which is another reason why I don’t like the argument of comparing strictly stats even though it does validate a simple comparison between the two as scorers but basketball has a lot more variables than just consistently getting buckets. (Yes James Harden, I know this is your complete game.) Assists and rebound matter as well so when I say LeBron ranks #8 in assists and MJ barely cracks the top 50, while LeBron sits at just that in rebounds, we won’t embarrass this man MJ with listing where he sits on the rebounding list but I will state the fact that LeBron will be the only player to surpass 10k Assists, 10k Boards and 30k points. Please tell me again who the better offensive player is since everybody loves to bring up Jordan’s scoring compared to the King.
Defense wins championships as you can clearly see with MJs 6 rings and 9 All Defensive 1st teams but don’t sleep on LeBron in this category either because he’s secured 4 All Defensive 1st teams himself and if it wasn’t for Dwight Howard landing Defensive Player of the Year with one of the greatest defensive seasons the league has ever seen, it would’ve been LeBron’s award to win because he finished a smooth second in 2009. Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest defensive player the NBA will ever see even while still lighting up the scoreboard every game so that alone proves that he was a 2 way force. If I were to judge, MJ has the defensive game in the bag but that’s not saying that LeBron can’t compete with the aspect of that either.
Jordan is a solid 6 for 6 in the finals while LeBron is a mediocre 3 for 9 in the finals with 8 straight finals appearances but don’t forget the 2007 team I mentioned above and the fact that Kyrie and Kevin Love were injured during a very winnable series if they were at full strength against the greatest dynasty the game has ever seen with the Golden State Warriors. I wonder how many championships MJ would have won if he had to go up against the Warriors 3 straight seasons and how the league would look at his finals record that way as well? LeBron would’ve easily been able to beat a Barkley lead Rockets team even with his 2007 squad as well as the Payton lead Sonics but this is where people don’t want to mention the competition difference the two faced on their way to a championship and stick strictly to the record even though, yes it does matter but at the same time, there’s a significant difference in the players they each faced which we must take into consideration.
Michael Jordan has the jewelry to prove that he was in fact a very great basketball player and everything lines up for him to be an all time great but after breaking everything down that I have, and this is a very minor breakdown, can people honestly still try to argue that MJ was the greatest to ever do it? Sorry to the old timers but your GOAT isn’t the true GOAT of the NBA. LeBron James will go down as the greatest basketball player of all time regardless if you accept this information now or later.
Cole Carpenter 