Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Adam's NBA Comparisons

Introduction: Welcome back to my blog, as it has been about a month or so since I last posted. First of all, Happy New Year to you all, as this is my first post of 2022. This post though, is a first on my blog, as I have never written anything about the NBA or basketball in general before. With the NFL regular season winding down and the MLB currently in a lockout, expect more NBA related posts for the foreseeable future, as I would love to expand my blog to people who express interest in the NBA as well. Watching NBA games on a daily basis and keeping up with my Fantasy Basketball teams has really gotten me more into basketball than it ever has, so why not try something new and write about it?

To bring in the new year, I had start it off with a bang and write about something "iconic" that the majority of people have an opinion on even if they do not watch sports, and that is: Who really is the GOAT of Basketball? This debate seems to have been going on for quite some time now, as it seems to always come down to either Michael Jordan or LeBron James. For me, the answer is easily Michael Jordan, but we will get more into that as we go along.

Most importantly though, my goal for this post is to compare each player by listing off the individual accolades of Jordan and LeBron and of course add in anything else that I might find interesting that I found in my research. As always, let's roll!!!

Note: Before we get started, this post is in no way trying to cut down LeBron or the people who think that he is better than Jordan. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, which I will always respect.

When the Jordan vs. LeBron debate or whatever you want to call it comes up, I tend to almost laugh to myself, because to me it is not even close. Wait, hold on, before I get any further, let me backup.

Being a 20 year-old, I never was able to watch Michael Jordan play live, as that is always something that I would have loved to have gotten to see as he was going through his career. So, because I missed his career, I have to type into the YouTube search bar "Michael Jordan Highlights." Once I click on a video, it seems that every time I watch one of his highlight videos my eyes will get wide, as I tend to somehow land on the floor in shock, simply because what Jordan did with a basketball is something that I have never seen anyone do on a basketball court in today's game. A few moments in Jordan's career stick out to me when I watch his highlight reel, such as:

Going baseline and dunking on Patrick Ewing.

Flying through the sky on a fast break towards the basket for a dunk.

Saving the ball from going out of bounds and then making a no-look layup on a fast break while getting fouled by Bill Laimbeer in the process.

Closing his eyes while making a free throw (LeBron tried this a few weeks ago and the ball barely grazed the rim.)

Coming out of nowhere for a block or steal.

Jordan's early battles against Bird.

Changing hands with the ball in mid-air and making a crazy layup against the Lakers in the '91 Finals.

"The Shot" over Cavs guard Craig Ehlo in the 1989 playoffs.

The Flu Game against the Jazz in Game 5 of the 1997 Finals.

Soaring in and slamming Pippen's missed free throw back in against the Trail Blazers.

The Shrug Game

Jordan's last shot for the Bulls against the Jazz in the '98 Finals.

MJ Dunking On Ewing

As a side note, when I watch Jordan's highlights, I always seem to have the song "Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project playing in my headphones as background noise. Sirius is currently the Bulls player introduction theme song even after all these years, as I think it makes Jordan's highlights even more legendary with the song playing since he and the rest of the team used it back in his playing days. As you would imagine, I always get goosebumps, even though I never lived it.

The Shrug Game in the '92 Finals

Not growing up in the late 80's or early 90's and growing up in the late 2000's instead, meant that guys around my age would always bring up the debate. The majority of them would always take LeBron over Jordan. Sure, I can see their point, LeBron is the best player of this generation, but of all-time, I think they lost their marbles on that one. When I would reply that I would take Jordan over LeBron, they would look at me with weird expressions. They would then say things like: "You do not know what you are talking about", "You know a lot about sports, but have awful takes on players", "Are you kidding?" etc.

With that being said, I have decided to compare the two individuals. Whether that be awards, stats for a given season, etc. Below, you will find my comparisons, as I hope to give you all a better picture of this debate and why it takes me less than five seconds to choose MJ over LeBron. All statistics are strictly from Basketball Reference.

Note: Keep in mind, Michael Jordan missed four seasons during his playing career, due to playing baseball for the Chicago White Sox in '93-94 and also retiring for three seasons '98-99-'00-01 and then coming back and playing two seasons with the Washington Wizards.

All-Star Appearances:

Michael Jordan: 14x All-Star

LeBron James: 17x All-Star

MVP Awards:

Michael Jordan: 5x MVP

LeBron James: 4x MVP

Scoring Titles:

Michael Jordan: 10x Scoring Champ

LeBron James: 1x Scoring Champ

Steal Titles:

Michael Jordan: 3x Steals Champion

LeBron James: None.

All-Defensive Team:

Michael Jordan: 9x All-Defensive

LeBron James: 6x All-Defensive

All-Star Game MVP's:

Michael Jordan: 3x All-Star MVP

LeBron James: 3x All-Star MVP

NBA Championships:

Michael Jordan: 6x NBA Champion

LeBron James: 4x NBA Champion

NBA Finals Appearances:

Jordan: 6

LeBron: 10

NBA Finals Record:

Michael Jordan: 6-0

LeBron James: 4-6

Career Field Goal Percentage:

Michael Jordan: 49.7 FG%

LeBron James: 52.5 FG%

Points Per Game (Career)

Michael Jordan: 30.1 PPG

LeBron James: 27.0 PPG

Most Points Per Game In a Single Season:

Michael Jordan: 37.1

LeBron James: 30.0

Career Points:

Michael Jordan: 32292

LeBron James: 36081

Career Rebounds Per Game

Michael Jordan: 6.2 REB

LeBron James: 7.4 REB

Career Assists Per Game

Michael Jordan: 5.3 APG

LeBron James: 7.4 APG

Career Player Efficiency Rating (PER):

Michael Jordan: 27.9

LeBron James: 27.4

From the comparisons listed above, I have no idea why one would choose LeBron over Jordan. Sure, people are going to have their own opinions on why they choose one over the other, but to me it is not even close. Heck, Jordan could have a few more championships if it were not for baseball and retiring for those three seasons. Over the years I have heard people give their reasons on why they think LeBron is supposedly better, with statements similar to this:

LeBron is bigger, stronger, and would kill Jordan one on one

LeBron is a better teammate

LeBron is a better passer and rebounder

LeBron has faced tougher competition

First off, the only true statements are: LeBron is bigger in size than Jordan and by career numbers is a better rebounder. Those two things are facts, which are obviously true. The rest of the statements though can be debated and can cause arguments which I do not want to cause by writing this post, as I just want to get my thoughts and opinions out on this topic. My responses to the debatable statements above though are as follows:

Taking Jordan over LeBron one on one would be an easy choice for me. His finesse, defensive skills, and everything else that he brings would make up for the size advantage that LeBron would have on him. Jordan was like no other.

Jordan made the entire team better by being a servant leader, not just by being a better teammate. He played whatever role was asked of him. If it was dishing out assists to begin a game so be it, if it was playing superior defense so be it, as the list goes on and on. His character was also well noted, as he always shook hands after every game even after a loss. Most notably when he lost to the Pistons in the late 80's, he seemed to always shake his opponents hand no matter the outcome

When James and the Lakers take a loss, the majority of the time, I will see LeBron walk off the floor without shaking any hands at all. Instead, I will see James with his head down, walking back to the locker room, as he seems to always be the first one off the court. To me, this is being a poor sport, as I am sure kids look up to James as a role model.

The final one, is the competition. The Jordan Rules were made up by Pistons coach Chuck Daly and the Detroit Pistons in the 80's or the Bad Boys as they were called. Basically, these made up rules were to harass MJ. Whether it was fouling Jordan hard at the rim when he drove inside the paint, pushing him after a play, trying to get into his head, etc. The Pistons made it their mission to stop Jordan at all costs. This resulted in part to the Pistons winning two straight NBA championships, but in turn I believe they made Michael a stronger player and person mentally by the end of it which resulted in his legendary run in the 90's.

Besides the Pistons of course, Jordan had to go up against the likes of Bird, Barkley, Malone, Magic, Olajuwon, Wilkins, Ewing, Drexler, Payton, Shaq, etc. The level of competition to me, was so much more tougher back then to what it is today and I think most would agree. Referees would actually let the players play and not call weak fouls.

The main reason why I do not like Lebron James is because of the constant comparison to Michael Jordan. While these two are always debated, I find it disrespectful that the majority think of LeBron first instead of Kobe Bryant to compare Jordan to. Let's all not forget that Kobe actually played against Jordan, while LeBron did not. Kobe would literally ask Jordan about his moves and would try to copy them. Personally, I think Kobe is the closest thing to Jordan that we have seen since, not LeBron.

Since I am on the subject, another thing about LeBron that I do not like is that he basically chased for his championships, whereas Jordan stayed with the Bulls throughout his whole career except for his last two seasons. Keep in mind, the guy retired in his prime, played baseball for a year, and then came back to the Bulls and won THREE rings, THREE!!! Who even does that? Do not even get me started on the "Jordan is only great because of Pippen" statement either, as James has had plenty of sidekicks, Wade, Bosh, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, etc. In my mind, there is no argument that says LeBron will ever be better than Jordan and there never will be. LeBron could play until he is 100 years old and my opinion will never change.

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Final Thoughts: As I finish this post, I think I have let out all that I have to write about this subject. Do not get me wrong, LeBron is great, awesome, and a for sure Hall of Famer, but when he gets compared to Jordan, I tend to shake my head because of some of the reasons above. Jordan will always be the GOAT in my mind, as this will never change.

See You On the Hardwood!!!

Adam