Michael Jordan vs Lebron James: The never-ending debate

Lebron James career highlights

Michael Jordan career highlights

The sport of basketball has been around for a very long time now. There even is a professional league in the United States called the National Basketball Association also known as the NBA. Many great players have played in this competitive league. Players have been displaying their athleticism and talent as early as the mid 1900s. Over the years debate has risen over who the best player is to have played the game of basketball. There are many basketball legends that rose to stardom during their careers, but two players were extraordinary. Michael Jordan and Lebron James are arguably two of the best players to have played in the NBA. They have been role models not only for the generation they have played in but for many more generations to come. Jordan and James have made such a large impact on the game of basketball for everyone around the world. Although many legends have carved their names in the basketball history books, Michael Jordan and Lebron James have seem to come out on top, but it is very debatable on who is the better player.

Early Years and Future Success:

Michael Jordan was drafted into the NBA in 1984 and he played most of his prime years in the 1990s. Right from the get go Michael Jordan started winning hearts of many fans through his mesmerizing play of basketball. Basketball fanatics had never seen such talent in a rookie before. Jordan managed to average a stunning 28.2 points per game which was better than most NBA veterans who had been in the league for many years, and in his third season, Jordan was able to put up 37.1 points per game (NBA ).  Jordan was an offensive nightmare for anyone guarding him. He was a scoring machine who could put up an insane amount of points any night. Lebron James was drafted in 2003 and he entered the league with the same energy and the same hunger to win. Although James did not score as many points his all-around game was a bit more refined than compared to Jordan’s. He can rack up more rebounds and assists and have a bigger impact on his team not just by scoring but doing it all. Just with the killer mindset these two players played with at such a young age says a lot about their game. Jordan and James’ game had so much maturity from their young age to their veteran years and that could be a main for their success.

Success always did not come easy for the two, star players. Michael Jordan played majority of his career during the late 80s and 90s; during this time period many tough and dominant players played the game. Players such as Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson (as seen in the picture on the left), Patrick Ewing, and John Stockton played during this era. All these players were tough match ups for Jordan and his team any night they played against each other, but at the end the great ones will prevail. That was the case in this situation as well for Michael Jordan. He overcame any obstacle in his way towards greatness. Michael Jordan’s legacy prevented so many all-time basketball legends like Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley from winning championships.

Many people believe that Jordan’s path to his victories was more challenging and that he had to work harder compared to Lebron’s path to his victories, but that is not really the case. Lebron has had some very tough match ups as well. During the finals he has matched up with players like Stephen Curry many times is his career (as seen in the picture above). Curry is arguably the best shooters in the history. He even led his team to 73-9 regular season record. This record was insane because it seemed impossible until Curry’s team broke this record, and that year Lebron hindered in the perfect season of Steph Curry and beat him the NBA finals.  Lebron James’ career victories are often times scrutinized for this very reason but in reality, the truth is both players are have worked diligently to achieve the success they got.

The Stats:

Both players have had much success in the regular season. At the age of 33 both Lebron and Michael dominated the stat line and many other aspects of the game (as seen in the picture below). Usually during this age the average star player begins to step out of their prime and decline. However, Jordan put up 29.6 points per game, 4.3 assists per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, .486 field goal percentage, and James, who is 33 right now, is putting up 27.8 points per game, 9.3 assists per game, 8.2 rebounds per game, .560 field goal percentage (USAToday).  Lebron is not scoring as much but his all- around game speaks for the player he is. He is getting his teammates involved with all those assists and hustling for those rebounds; the assists and rebound number are nothing compared between the two players. James has clearly proven he is the better all-around players rather than just focusing on one part of the stat line. This is just one year of what the stat line has looked for these legends; their achievements have led them to many accolades, such as being selected for the all star game. During this game the best players are selected to play with each other and display their talents for the fans and take a break from the regular season. Not only have they been selected multiple times for the all star game, but they have also played in the Olympics many times.

These are just what the stats look like for both Jordan and Lebron at the age of 33. This is just a small part of what their stats have looked like throughout their entire career. Michael Jordan proved himself as a scorer right away but at the end of his career he had scored the third most points by anyone else in NBA history. He was the quickest to do this during his time and is was an accomplishment that no one had ever expected to come true. He put up over 30 points per game throughout his career and Jordan is the only one to do this in the modern era of basketball. Micheal Jordan is a pure scorer; however, Jordan’s all around game is nothing compared to what Lebron James has accomplished in his career. Lebron is still playing the game of basketball and putting up dominating numbers, but what he has done so far is outstanding. He is already number seven on the all time scoring list and he is not even known for his scoring. His overall game is just so dominating he is a threat against any opponent he his up against. Lebron is the only player to score 30k points have 8k rebounds and 8k assists. No one is even a near second to this career stat line. Both players have proven to be legends but when it comes to the overall game of basketball Lebron James seems more like the complete basketball player than Michael Jordan.

Playoff Season Accolations: 

Michael Jordan and Lebron James have not only dominated in the regular season, but they are just as good in the playoffs if not better. In today’s era anyone who has seen Lebron James perform on the higher stages of basketball, such as the playoffs, they can see how much more dominant he becomes. Lebron has been to the last straight seven NBA finals and eight times as a total in his career. Him dominating his way through the post season almost seems too easy. He has never lost the in first round of the playoffs since his playoff debut in 2006 (Sports Illustrated ). Lebron has a record of 13-0 in the first round of the playoffs and for the past four consecutive years he swept any team he played in those first rounds. Lebron has remained unfazed during the playoffs no matter who the opponent is. Jordan, however, on the other end has lost a couple of times in the first round of the playoffs to tougher opponents.  Lebron has even managed to rack up more points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and even steals than Michael Jordan did in his entire playoff career (Land Of Basketball ). At the end of Jordan’s career, he ended up winning six championships and Lebron has won three championships so far in his career. They both have their names in the history books as champions.

Even though both have found success in the NBA finals, critics still find ways to undermine Lebron James’ legacy. They believe that a 3-5 record in the NBA Finals is worse than a 6-0 record like Michael Jordan’s. Although numbers do not seem to lie, they actually do not tell the full background story. The first time Lebron reached the NBA finals he was only 22 years old and the next best player on the team was not even an all star, and the next best player did not even average over 15 points per game (Basketball Reference ). At such a young age he was able to carry a team that has such minimal talent. Jordan was not able to even get out of the first round of the playoffs without the help of two other all stars. Also, another great accomplishment under Lebron’s belt would be his win against the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors led by that year’s MVP Stephen Curry; this year the Warriors had a record breaking season of 73 wins. No other team had won this amount of games ever in NBA history. They were favorited to be the champions that season, but they probably had not taken Lebron James into account. During those finals the Warriors went up 3-1 in the series and they were one game away from winning it all, but little did they know Lebron James would carry his team to come back and win the championship. No other team had completed a 3-1 comeback but Lebron James was able to carry his team and complete this accomplishment. So, when people compare that Michael Jordan has more rings and a better record in the NBA finals, they should also look at the challenges that Lebron James had and see if Jordan would be able to come out with the same success that Lebron has so far.

The debate over who is the better player will always go on for a very long time. Michael Jordan and Lebron James have left their names all over this game. They have had success during the regular season and during the playoffs leading them both to numerous championships. Jordan established himself more as a scorer unlike Lebron, who has added his skill of an all around game to his resume as well.  Michael Jordan can be portrayed as the greatest scorer of all time but Lebron James is the greatest all around player of all time. His game is way more refined when compared to Jordan, and he has proven to be more valuable to a team by carrying his team to multiple NBA final appearances. Although he has not had the same success in the NBA finals as Michael Jordan, Lebron James is arguably the better player.