Revisiting Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Who's the GOAT?I know, I know. This argument has been beaten to death. I've written about it twice myself: First, back in 2011 after LeBron melted down against the Mavericks, again in 2012 after LeBron won his first championship, again after LeBron said there was a ghost in Chicago he was chasing, and then after the 2016 Finals, in which LeBron's last three games cemented his legacy as at least a top 10 player of all-time. But factors such as LeBron's longevity, a growing generation of basketball fans that never experienced watching Michael Jordan play or never experienced watching him play for the Bulls, the YouTube generation and countless talking heads coronating LeBron James as the king of the NBA all-time makes this argument worth revisiting. First, let's just concede this: LeBron James has been incredible this season. Personally, I think he's the MVP of the league. I know the narrative points towards James Harden, but have you seen the cast of characters LeBron just led to 50 wins? His statistics are fantastic: 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.4 steals, 54% FG shooting, and...this is year 15, which is unheard of. LeBron's season is the highest PER of all-time for players in their 15th season or later and that played at least 300 minutes. It's been unbelievable. Some use this as evidence: Jordan in his 15th season (with the Wizards) was nowhere near this statistical level averaging 20 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and shooting a low-for-him 44% from the field. Four things to remember:
Now, what if you took Jordan and increased his 1997-1998 stats by 9.2%? Here's the comparison:
Also, Jordan never relented on defense. During Jordan's career, he was named All-Defensive team nine times (first team every time) including 1997-1998 and won Defensive Player of the Year in 1987-1988. In comparison, LeBron James has made All-Defensive team six times (five times first team, once on the second team) and hasn't been on there since he played in Miami in 2013-2014. As Jordan declined, he still brought it on defense and this is an area where you can clearly watch LeBron James today and see he's declined on it. For the record, I've always stated that LeBron is not a great on-ball defender (talking heads wanted to compare him to Scottie Pippen, which is an insult. LeBron was never that level), but LeBron was a great off-ball defender and the greatest play of his career, the block on Andre Iguodala, perhaps captures that. Likewise, Jordan's poetic ending before he valiantly returned to boost the country's morale after 9/11 started with a steal on Karl Malone and then a beautiful jumper to seal a final championship. To the point of Jordan never relenting on defense, even as he aged, it should be noted that in 1997-1998, he averaged 38.8 minutes per game and played all 82 games for the 9th time in his career (3,181 minutes that season total). This year, LeBron averaged 36.9 minutes per game (which led the NBA) and played all 82 games for the first time his career (3,026 minutes total for this season). It's just remarkable the level of intensity Michael Jordan could bring on both ends of the floor at age 34 and carrying the burden that he did. None of this is to discredit LeBron James. I'm on record as saying he's the third best player of all-time with a clear path to surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (longevity will ensure it statistically). But Michael Jordan is still the greatest of all-time. He always will be. But the biggest takeaway you should get from this is stop trying to compare LeBron to Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant or anyone else. Enjoy the experience of watching one of the greatest players ever to play the game. There's going to be a generation one day that won't have this experience, just like the generation that never saw Michael Jordan play. Enjoy what LeBron has been able to do and stop forgetting how great Jordan was.
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AuthorBrandon Pence is the founder & author of "The Bulls Charge." Pence has been a Bulls fan since 1993 following the shot by John Paxson, believes Michael Jordan is undeniably the GOAT, and has Derrick Rose as his all-time favorite Bull following Scottie Pippen's weird feud with Michael Jordan. "The Bulls Charge" was established in 2011. Archives
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