I’ve been wanting to tell everyone this for a while now. I remember when I turned 21 and my very first trip to a bar I got into an argument (shocker) with somebody about this very same conversation. It’s been repeated over and over again for decades that Jordan is the best and if you even question the theory of him possibly being the second greatest of all time you have no credibility. It just is what it is and there is no denying that Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time. Well, I’m denying it.
First of all, let’s talk about LeBron before he even got into the NBA. This 16-year-old kid was crowned the next Michael Jordan before he even stepped foot on an NBA court. The media hyped LeBron up to be a star in the league when he was a child. His high school games were televised for crying out loud. I was young around 2004, but I’ve never seen or heard of the kind of hype LeBron had as a recruit before or after he was drafted.
Imagine you’re 16 with that kind of pressure on you. You better be the next superstar in the NBA or you’re going to be a bust. Not even a superstar, but a player that comes around once in a generation. A player that changes the league. Someone that can have so much impact on a team that you will turn a franchise around. A franchise that is located in a city that hasn’t won a professional championship since 1964. You’re 16 years old, and you’re the savior of a whole city.
Despite all the buildup and the hype, he eventually won a championship, came back to his home city and won a championship there. He gave Cleveland what they were starving for- a winning team. There were a million plus people at the Cavs championship rally. He lived up to the expectation that we held him to since he was 16.
The championships didn’t come easy, though. For a while, LeBron James was probably the most hated player in the NBA. The city that believed in him was burning his jerseys, people in the media were questioning his mental toughness, his “killer instinct,” his “clutch factor.” He rose above all the hate from the outside world who built him up just to tear him down. He silenced his critics.
I believe the most prominent argument for Michael Jordan being the greatest of all time is the rings. Jordan has six rings and LeBron has 3. Fair enough, but if rings were strictly the measure of greatness then why isn’t Bill Russell considered the greatest? Shaq has five rings, but are you going to say he’s a better player than LeBron? The ring argument is very inconsistent and murky at best.
To defend one player over another requires a multitude of hypothetical situations, accomplishments, and intangible things that you can’t measure with numbers.
We can create a list of LeBron’s achievements that Jordan doesn’t have. LeBron has broken every “youngest player to score (insert how many points).” Ever heard of the 25/6/6/1 club? It’s a club where you average at least 25 points, six rebounds, six assists, and a steal game. LeBron has 12 of those seasons (only missing his rookie year), Jordan has three. Nobody in playoff history has ever lead their team in points, assists, rebounds, blocks, and steals in a playoff series until LeBron did it in the 2016 finals. LeBron has also been to six straight finals, something Jordan has never done. LeBron shows more versatility.
Who had the better teams around them? This is pure speculation into hypothetical situations. There’s no way Michael Jordan could take those early Cavalier teams that LeBron had. That was always LeBron’s knock when he was younger, “Why doesn’t he just do it himself and take over like Jordan did?” People forget that it’s not like Jordan came into the league and won all these championships, then bounced. It took Jordan a while to become a champion. Jordan had his Dennis Rodman, his Scottie Pippen and his Horace Grant. Can you name any player from the early Cav years with LeBron? It wasn’t until LeBron teamed up with Dwayne Wade that he had a cohesive team around him.
Where do the career numbers and achievements stack side by side? Keep in mind that LeBron’s career is far from over, but as it stands right now Jordan has the edge in points and steals per game. LeBron has more assists and rebounds per game. They’re tied for blocks per game. Jordan has been MVP five times to LeBron’s four. Finals MVP Jordan beats him 6 to 3. Scoring leader 10 to 1 in favor of Jordan. All NBA defensive team Jordan edges out LeBron 9 to 5. Steals leader also goes to Jordan 3 to none.
LeBron’s career numbers aren’t drastically behind Jordan though. All-NBA team selections go to LeBron 12 to 11. All-NBA first team is tied between them 10 to 10.
We’ve established that Jordan can score and had quick hands, but LeBron effects the game more drastically with assists and rebounds. Getting his team involved in different ways than just scoring.
There’s one more thing that I think needs to be mentioned that I’ve never heard anyone discuss, talk about or even mention. A hypothetical five on five game with five Jordan’s in their prime versus five LeBron’s in their prime. You can be the biggest Jordan fan on the planet, but I’m telling you right now team LeBron would win in a 7 game series. There’s just absolutely no question in my mind. LeBron is physically bigger, stronger and faster than Jordan, not including LeBron’s ability to post-up.
I know it’s outside of the norm to think anyone is greater than the almighty Michael Jordan, but I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. Hear me now and quote me later. LeBron will go down as the greatest basketball player of all time ahead of Jordan. LeBron can play any position and defend any position on the court. LeBron can score, rebound, steal, block and assist. He can mold himself into the player that his team needs on any given day. If he needs to score, he can drop 40 points. If someone has the hot hand, LeBron can dish it out and create plays for his teammates. The combination of speeds, size, athleticism, versatility and let’s not forget intelligence is why LeBron changed the game of basketball for generations to come and is the greatest basketball player of all time.
