The debate on who the best basketball player to ever play the game has been going on for some time. There are many extremely talented basketball players that have all succeeded in the NBA over the years. Today, we will decide whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James - arguably the two best players in NBA history - is the best player. Each side has arguments as to why their favorite player is the best basketball player to ever play. Let’s just say that the arguments for both sides are pretty valid.
Michael Jordan is a small forward and shooting guard who played from 1984-1993, 1995-1998, and 2001-2003.
Lebron James is a small forward and a power forward who began as a rookie in 2003 and is still playing today in 2020.
After the 10-part documentary focusing on Jordan’s career during his time at North Carolina and during his time with the Bulls, we learn a lot about his character and the way he practices, prepares and plays basketball. We learn a lot about how James plays by watching him dominate the NBA each season and by listening to interviews from his teammates.
In this article, we will attempt to statistically analyze who the better player is and then we will see if the documentary changes or supports our opinion on the goat debate. Keep in mind, it is very difficult to compare players from different eras, so this will attempt to answer this question as unbiased as possible. Both LeBron James and Michael Jordan are incredible players, so deciding who is better will be a very tough task.
Championships:
First of all, many of the Michael Jordan fanatics claim that he is the real goat because he is perfect in the NBA Finals. He is a perfect 6-0 in the Finals with the Bulls and successfully completed two three-peats with the team, winning 6 titles in 8 years. Jordan had a win at all cost mentality and despite having a good team around him, he’d always try to be the best player.
Lebron James has been to 9 NBA Finals, yet he has only won 3 times. He won twice with the Heat in 2012 and 2013 and once with the Cavaliers in 2016. He has been one of the best players in almost every finals appearance, but his supporting cast was often mediocre.
Olympic Medals:
James and Jordan have also won gold medals for Team USA in the Summer Olympics.
James won the gold medal with Team USA in 2008 and 2012 and got a bronze medal in 2004. James also has been named a finalist for the 2020 Olympic Team, which has now been postponed until 2021.
Jordan won Olympic Gold in 1984 as a rookie and in 1992, with the famous “Dream Team”.
MVPs:
In his 15 NBA seasons, Jordan would go on to win 5 regular-season MVPs and 6 Finals MVPs, one for each of his Finals appearances.
In his 17 year career, James has won 4 regular-season MVPs and 3 Finals MVPs.
All-Star Accolades:
Ever since its inception in 1946, James has been selected to 12 All NBA First Teams, whereas Jordan was selected to 10. Jordan has been selected to 9 all-defensive first teams, whereas James was selected to 5 all-defensive first teams and one all-defensive second team. Finally, Jordan has made 11 All NBA teams, and James made 15 All NBA teams. Jordan won 1 defensive player of the year, James won none.
Jordan was the NBA’s leading scorer 10 times, James did it once. Jordan won the steals title three times, James has not won a steals title and both players easily won rookie of the year.
James was selected to 16 all-star games, making all but one in his career. Jordan made 14 all-star games in his 15-year career, missing only one as well. Each player has led his team to the playoffs 13 times.
Regular Season Averages:
In the regular season, Michael Jordan averaged 30.1 points per game, three more than Lebron James’ 27.1 points per game. James’ 7.4 rebounds per game tops Jordan’s 6.2 rebounds per game. Lebron James also averaged 7.4 assists per game, which bests Jordan’s 5.3. However, teams are passing the ball all over the floor more frequently in today’s NBA to set up three-point shots which are more popular in today’s game than in the 1980s and 1990s. This is why scoring is at an all-time high in today’s NBA, the highest it has been since the 1970s. Jordan’s 2.3 steals a game is slightly better than James’ 1.6 and both players have averaged 0.8 blocks per game.
In his regular-season career, James has 34,087 points which is third place on the all-time scoring list only behind Kareem Abdul Jabar and Karl Malone. Jordan has 32,292 points, fifth on the all-time scoring list. James also has 9,298 regular-season assists, which is more than 3,000 higher than Jordan’s 5633. The fact that today’s NBA focuses a lot more on shooting threes and passing the ball all over the floor may have helped James take both categories. James also has 9,353 rebounds in the regular season whereas Jordan only had 6,672. Lebron also leads in steals 2,514 to 2,011 and has 953 blocks to Jordan’s 893. James has played 186 more regular-season games than Jordan, leading 1,258 to 1,072; so that also must be taken into account.
In the regular season, Lebron James is an incredible .504% from the field, which is not near the leaderboard, but still impressive for how many shots he takes. From beyond the arc, James averages a .344% which is pretty good, but still a way away from the best of the three-point shooters in today’s game which emphasizes shooting from deep. In today’s game, the 3 point line is 22 feet in the corners and 23 feet, 9 inches elsewhere. He made 1860 3’s out of the 5409 he has attempted, meaning he shot more than Jordan but hit at a more consistent rate from 23 feet, 9 inches. Last season, he made 52% of his threes from 22-24 feet. He has been better closer to the hoop, especially from the corners. Imagine if he had played when the 3 point line was 22 feet all around. He is also only .735% from the free-throw line, which is underwhelming considering most players consistently hit over 80% from the free-throw line.
In the regular season, Michael Jordan averaged .497% from the field, which was impressive for how many shots he took but still nowhere near the most efficient shooter, who is Deandre Jordan who averages .669%. From beyond the arc, in an era where everybody was physical in the paint, he was effective averaging .327% but he does not make the leaderboard. His average was increased a lot in the seasons when the 3 point line was closer to the basket. In the seasons before it moved closer, he struggled a bit from beyond the arc, which drove down his average. Jordan definitely benefited from the shorter 3 point line but was very savvy to realize his strengths and weakness and attack the 3 pointer when it was smaller. Out of the 581 3’s he hit in his career, 238 came from the two-and-half seasons with a shortened line. He consistently hit 40% from deep. From the free-throw line, he averaged an impressive .835%.
Post-season averages:
In the playoffs, where each superstar has participated in 13 times, Michael Jordan has the edge over Lebron James in points per game, leading 33.4 to 28.9, probably because of his time as a shooting guard. James outrebounded Jordan 8.9 to 6.4, likely because of his role as a big man in the paint as a power-forward. Lebron James leads the assist per game battle by a margin of 7.1 to 5.7. Jordan narrowly leads James in steals with 2.1 per game compared to James’ 1.8 but James averages 0.1 more blocks per game than Jordan did in his time.
In total, Lebron James, in 239 playoff games, scored 6,911 points, collected 2,122 rebounds, scored 1,687 assists, recorded 419 steals, and 232 blocks.
In total, Michael Jordan, in 179 playoff games, scored 5,987 points, tallied 1,152 rebounds, collected 1,022 assists, recorded 376 steals, and 158 blocks.
In the playoffs, James shoots a .491% from the field, which is excellent, considering he has played more playoffs games than the majority of the players ahead of him on the list. Jordan shoots a .487% from the field, slightly behind James, but also good considering he made the playoffs in 13 of his 15 seasons. Both players shot .332% from beyond the arc in the playoffs. This is interesting considering the NBA focuses on shooting more threes in the current era, where James is dominating, compared to the 1980s and 1990s; however, starting in 1994-95, in response to a fear of a scoring decline, the NBA changed the three-point line from 23 feet, 9 inches to 22 feet all around. In the 17 games Jordan played in 1994-95, he averaged 50% from 3. In the 1995-96 season, he shot 42.7% from 3 in a 72 win campaign and was just as productive in the postseason. Jordan benefited from the shorter 3 but was savvy to focus more on the three-pointer with a shorter line, making it easier to hit shots. Finally, James is .743% from the line compared to Jordan who hit .828% of his free throws, considerably better than James. Keep in mind, however, the position differences, their teammates’ individual skills, and era differences all in a way inflate and deflate the stats, which make it tougher to pick a goat.
How their supporting cast affected their play:
In the NBA, you simply cannot win alone. You need a whole team of 5 guys, to at the very least play defense, despite the fact that LeBron James will tell you otherwise when he carried the Cleveland Cavaliers by himself in the 2017 and 2018 playoffs.
The team around you affects not only how good you are but also your role on the team. It may alter your stats, especially if one of your teammates excels at one thing and you excel at another. In particular, what comes to mind was Dennis Rodman’s excellent defense and his innate ability to come down with every single rebound. How did this affect Jordan defensively?
Jordan’s Bulls had many great players such as Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc, among others, that helped Jordan build his game. One could tell that Jordan’s win-at-all-cost mentality shown in the documentary and his tough, harsh nature in practice helped his teammates become better too. Even though Jordan seemed exhausted after every championship, after putting the team on his back and scoring 30-40 points a night in and night out, he didn’t seem to carry his team, or at least not very often. He had a good supporting cast for most of his career.
In the first three years of his career, Jordan’s Bulls had losing seasons and were fringe playoff contenders. They made the playoffs and lost in the first round all three times and his two best teammates were Charles Oakley and John Paxson. In 1987-88, the Bulls acquired Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen, but for the next three years, they would end up losing to the Pistons in the playoffs. In the mid-to-late 1980s, the Bulls’ offense under head coach Doug Collins really suited Michael Jordan because he would have the ball for most of the game and in every important scenario, especially game-winning shots. Jordan wanted to be the best, the most clutch player, he had his chance under Collins. When Phil Jackson came in as the head coach in 1989, the team adapted playbooks like the triangle offense that got everyone involved and made the Bulls harder to stop because every player on the floor was a threat, not just Jordan. In 1990-91, the Bulls’ chemistry was through the roof, players liked that everyone was involved - even Jordan got used to it - the team was tougher mentally and physically, and they were able to overcome the Pistons and commence their near decade long dynasty, winning six championships in eight years.
With Phil Jackson as the head coach, everyone got involved on offense, it wasn’t just a one-man Jordan show anymore. The Bulls became one of the biggest offensive threats in the league. On defense, everyone was still just as involved as they were back in the early days of Jordan’s career. With several talented players that played on the Bulls with Michael Jordan throughout the 1990s like Pippen, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, John Paxson, Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc, the Bulls were a well-balanced team. Horace Grant was the initial lead defensive stud and the excellent rebounder, Dennis Rodman took over the elite rebounding status, leading the league in rebounds from 1991-1998 and he was a threat on defense. Steve Kerr and Toni Kukoc were incredible shooters that complimented Jordan and Scottie Pippen had a great court vision, could make a pass anywhere on the court, he would often find Jordan open for a shot or driving to the hoop and John Paxson was a point guard who could set up the offense effectively. Everyone became good with passing the ball and shooting and everyone on the team got better on defense as well because Jordan would ensure in practice that they were putting in 110%. This balance helped the Bulls become one of the best NBA teams of all time in the 1990s.
James’ Heat had one of the best big threes in the early 2010s other than the Celtics’ big three and the Spurs’ big three. Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh really brought out the best of Lebron James and helped him become one of the best players in the 2010s and possibly in NBA history. When you look at the highlight reels, all you see is Wade passing the ball to LeBron for a crazy dunk or a wide-open pass. The image where Dwayne Wade is under the hoop shrugging his shoulders with his arms extended as LeBron prepares to dunk the ball to complete an alley-oop pass is one of the most iconic sports photos ever. Wade was a point guard, had incredible court vision, and could make stunning passes anywhere on the floor to anyone, which really complemented LeBron’s ability to drive to the rim and catch and shoot from midrange, even from beyond the arc. Ray Allen, as a shooting guard, was a prolific shooter from near anywhere on the floor (in the paint, from the elbow, beyond the arc), and he and James formed a deadly scoring duo. The Heat weren’t the best team defensively but got the job done, ranking 4th best defensively in 2011-12, 7th in 2012-13, and 15 in 2013-14. Again balance is key, this team was balanced, it makes sense why this team won 2 championships with LeBron and reached others.
James’ Cavaliers teams were decent at best with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, J.R. Smith among others. Statistically, the Cavaliers’ teams weren’t nearly as balanced as his teams on the Heat, but they still had some excellent pieces around LeBron. Kyrie Irving was a point guard who was a prolific scorer and could move the ball around the court with ease making even the hardest passes seem easy. He had a great basketball IQ and complimented James, by getting him the ball. He ran the offense smoothly when LeBron wasn’t doing it himself. Irving held the backcourt together while James held the frontcourt together. Kevin Love, J.R Smith, Tristan Thompson all helped out defensively and provided the occasional clutch shot or pass on offense. They’re all great starting players who would do well on their own, just seem less valuable beside James. This Cavaliers team played well under its current core in 2014-15, by making it to the Finals and losing to the Warriors, in 2015-16 when they came back from a 3-1 deficit to stun the Warriors and win their first championship, and in 2016-17 when they made the Finals and lost to the Warriors. However, in July 2017, Kyrie asked for a trade out of Cleveland because he was tired of playing in LeBron’s shadow. He wanted to try to lead his own team to the Finals - it hasn’t worked so far, but he still has some time left in his career - instead of just being Lebron’s partner. In 2017-18, the Cavaliers still made the Finals, only to get swept by the Warriors, but without Kyrie, Kevin Love, J.R Smith, and Tristan Thompson all just appeared to be decoys. It was evident in the media that LeBron was doing most of the work despite having decent teammates. A NY Times article stated that “LeBron accounted for nearly a third of his team’s box score statistics: points, rebounds, assists, steals during this season’s playoffs.” That is crazy, no single player would ever need to do that on a well-balanced team of stars. In 2018-19, an injury ruined his first year with the Lakers and they missed the playoffs. Before the 2019-20 season ended due to the Coronavirus, Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and company led the Lakers to the best record in the West, 2nd best in the league, and they are Finals favourites.
How the documentary affects this debate:
In The Last Dance, the audience learned a lot about Jordan’s innate basketball skills which make him arguably the best player of all-time and the viewers also learned a lot about Jordan’s character, his mentality when training and practicing to perfect his basketball craft, and how he acts around his teammates.
He showed time and time again that he possesses a win-at-all-cost mentality. This, of course, helped him become the dominant player that he is well known as today, however, it caused many of his teammates to see him in a negative light, as a cruel, harsh and bossy leader. In his quest for perfection and to become the best, he lashed out at teammates for any mistakes made in practice and especially in a game. He wanted to hold his teammates at a high standard so that their team could overcome everything. Former teammate Steve Kerr - now the coach of the Golden State Warriors - said that Jordan’s theory was: “If you can’t handle pressure from me, you’re not going to be able to handle the pressure of the NBA playoffs.”
After winning his first three championships, he claimed he knew how to win. After coming back from his first retirement, his new teammates like Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr, as Jordan claimed, did not know how to win, which is why he was so tough on them. He wanted the best for his teammates and wanted them all to learn what it takes to win. Will Perdue, another former teammate was straight to the point when talking about Jordan as a teammate: “Let’s not get it wrong, he was an asshole. He was a jerk. He crossed the line numerous times. But as time goes on, and you think back about what he was actually trying to accomplish, you were like, Yeah, he was a hell of a teammate.” In the documentary, Jordan never denied being harsh to his teammates. In his eyes, it was the only way to make them better basketball players. If they didn’t practice to his standard, he wasn’t shy about letting them know that, “I’m going to ridicule you. … If you don’t get on the same level, it’s going to be hell for you.”
Despite the fact that his leadership techniques were often harsh, they produced excellent results, as he led the Bulls to six titles in eight years. His teammates recognized that and therefore couldn’t stay mad at Jordan for his intensity.
Bill Wennington, who played with the Bulls from 1993-1999 came to the conclusion that ultimately “He was pushing us all to be better because he wanted to win… and guess what, it worked.”
Does Jordan’s win-at-all-cost mentality make him the best player of all time? It is hard to tell because it did indeed make his teammates around him better and with a team strong at all positions, it made it easier for them to win championships. Evidently, his teammates also made Jordan a better player because they made him work so much harder to help his teammates improve. It was like an ‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine’ situation. It made him a bit of a scary boss but winning championships has a large opportunity cost.
Every viewer probably has a different opinion, but I believe the documentary paints him in both a positive and negative light. It gave Jordan the chance to explain the reason behind his harsh tendencies with teammates in practice and to atone for the bad things people thought that he did. For example, I do not believe he pushed off of Byron Russell to win the 1998 Finals. Jordan said “His energy was going that way. I didn't have to push him that way.” It also highlighted his talents and reassured viewers that he was truly talented. However, some viewers said that he has not won a championship without Scottie Pippen and other things that reassure them that Lebron James is the goat.
Unfortunately, Lebron James has not had the luxury of having a documentary made highlighting the ups and downs of his career, however, we can still look to his teammates to find out what kind of a leader and teammate he was and also if he had a win-at-all-cost mentality similar to Jordan’s.
Lebron James was not perfect in the finals, in fact, he has 3 championships despite being to the Finals 8 times, however, he has overcome a fair amount of adversity in his playing career and it has made him a better player.
In terms of his teammates, he was never as harsh to his teammates during practices or games as Jordan was, as far as my research goes. It would be easier to get a definite answer to this question if we had a documentary about Lebron’s life. However, even though he wasn’t as harsh to his teammates in practice in an attempt to make them better and teach them how to win, it was clear that Lebron wanted to become a better player and that he wanted to make his teammates better.
Similar to Jordan, James is considered one of the best, arguably the best, player of his time. With that comes a lot of pressure to perform well, succeed, and win, not just for the star athlete but also for his teammates. Whoever has the privilege to play with one of the best players of all time also has to deal with team drama, many trade rumors (several of LeBron’s teammates were faces with excessive trade rumors), constant media attention, the large number of incessant reports of turmoil between players and between players, the coaching staff and the management. Not to mention, the star’s teammates will have to take the blame for a crushing loss, especially in the playoffs. This happens because when LeBron puts up 40 points and 15 rebounds, and they still lose, it’s not his fault.
In an interview with a podcaster named Bill Simmons, Kyrie Irving, one of LeBron’s former teammates on the Cavaliers said, when asked about playing with James: “You’re being tested in the biggest stage in front of everyone, all the time. I mean, like, there was not a time where it was like the eyes weren’t on me, on ‘Bron, on Love, our team, our organization. I went from being in Cleveland to having half the fans show up to now ‘Bron shows up and now every night is packed, every road game is like a home game for us. You think of the media attention that comes with all of that and the elevated pressure of ‘now it’s championship or you fail.’ And then you gotta figure out how you fit within the system. Basketball is a systemic game. How do you build that strategy, and how do you fit in with that? And it was tough.”
For Irving, Love, and many others on the Cavaliers and even Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on the Heat, it felt like they were playing ‘2nd fiddle’ to LeBron James. Sure, on some nights, they will perform better than James, have more points, hit the game-winning shot, but most of the time, all eyes are on James - the fans, media and even opposing players - he is the central focus of each opponent. For some teams, like the Raptors, no matter how many times they played him in the playoffs, they still couldn’t figure him out. Essentially all of LeBron James’ teammates are his sidekicks, how can you enjoy your career if you are just a mere sidekick. I’ll argue, his dynamic duo with D-Wade was one of the best in the league, but no-one was picking Wade over James, and thus he is still a sidekick.
For the most part, he was kind to his teammates, as long as you don’t make a crucial mistake as J.R Smith did in game one of the 2018 Finals, but for most of his career, especially with the Cavaliers, he had full control of the offensive and defensive schemes. Even though Tyronn Lue was hired to be the head coach, everyone will tell you that LeBron James was really the head coach. Not only did he take control of the offensive and defensive schemes, but he also controlled trades and had a big say into who would become his next teammate and he would always have the ball in his hands, for every crucial moment.
In the early stages of his career, under coach Doug Collins, this sounds a lot like Michael Jordan. He would have full control of the offense and defense and he would have the ball in his hand for every crucial moment like each game-winning shot. Once Phil Jackson took over as head coach and once Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman came to town, to Jordan’s dismay, the Bulls became less of a one-man team and adapted an offense where everyone got involved. Most nights, Michael Jordan would still lead the team in points, but everyone would get involved in some way on offense. Rodman would be the rebounder, Pippen was a deadly finisher close to the rim and was an excellent passer, etc. Everyone got involved on defense too. You might be able to say that for the Heat, but you might not be able to say that for most of his Cavs’ teams.
Finally, players nowadays on average are more involved in the community than their 1980s and 1990s counterparts. Michael Jordan was so focused on basketball, he didn’t get too involved with charity work. After his career, he got more involved in his community but during his career, not so much. LeBron James has been involved in charity work ever since the early stages of his career. Donating money to charities, feeding the hungry, among many other tasks and his latest project is building a school for kids who need an education. He is also paying for their tuition. LeBron gets the edge in extracurriculars.
The opposition both players had & era differences in the game:
Many people disregard the talent that Jordan played alongside and against, dismissing them as “construction workers”, implying that the NBA wasn’t their full-time job and that they were all scrubs. When in fact, most of the players Jordan played against such as Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler among many others were super talented, Hall of Famers, and known as some of the NBA greats today.
Without a doubt, there are many amazing players in today’s NBA that James has to play against such as Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, among several others.
That being said, both players played against elite competition, but the eras that Jordan and James played in are very different. In the 80s and 90s, the game was a lot more physical, fewer fouls were called and the referees let players be more physical with each other and get in each other’s faces more. There was a lot more contact with players dribbling the ball. In today’s game, the officiating is very tough on contact and the game today is a little softer in terms of more fouls being called. The “No-Hand Check” rule introduced in the mid-2000s altered the style of the NBA’s game by reducing the contact on the court, but also made the game faster and skill-oriented, meaning players would need to be more agile, have higher endurance and be more fit to succeed in the league, which explains why in general, on average, players are more well built, athletic and agile in today’s game. However, if this rule was introduced in Jordan’s era, he for sure would have averaged more than 30 points per game. He only averaged 27.1, which is good, but it would have been higher if players were not allowed to abuse him physically in the paint to tire him out. I wonder how James would have fared without that rule. He is very athletic, one of the more athletic players in the league today, so who knows. After watching The Last Dance, it was only the Pistons in the late ’80s that struck me as a super physical and violent team.
This was mentioned in the paragraphs comparing the stats of the two NBA legends, but in today’s NBA, there are more threes being taken and the ball is being consistently moved around the floor more. Players take control of the offense and have creative liberty when setting up plays as seen by all the fancy euro-steps and fadeaways and alley-oops that happen in today’s game. Also in today’s game, every player on the floor gets involved in the offense. Back then, in the 1980s and 1990s, the game was a lot more textbook. For some teams, one player - or a dominant duo - would take sole control of the offense and follow a strict but small set of plays. This was how Doug Collins led the Bulls in the mid to late 1980s; he would let Michael Jordan always have the ball in his hands. In the 1990s, coaches started to diversify their offenses after worrying their whole team would be beaten if their star player went down. The Bulls did just that with their triangle offense constructed by Phil Jackson alongside Tex Winter in the early 1990s. This offense was a common occurrence in the 1990s and early 2000s and helped Jackson win 11 championships coaching the Bulls and Lakers.
Before the Bulls became a super-team in the 1990s, they were a struggling team looking for an identity in the 1980s. After Jordan was drafted third overall by the Bulls in 1984, the Bulls lost in the first round of the playoffs for 3 consecutive years. Once they finally got over the first-round hump, they proceeded to lose in three consecutive years to the ‘bad-boy’ Pistons, once in the semifinals, twice in the Eastern Conference Finals. They were a powerful, physical, and mean team with Isiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman, Vinnie Johnson, Bill Laimbeer, among others. Despite trying several different game plans and using different offensive and defensive schemes, the Pistons were too tough for Jordan’s Bulls, and because head coach Doug Collins’ philosophy was simply to let Jordan have the ball, no matter how good he was, the Pistons shut him down. Even in Phil Jackson’s first year as head coach, with the start of the triangle offense being implemented, the Bulls still fell short in the East Finals. It takes adversity to make an athlete better, and sure enough, after the third loss to the Pistons, Jordan had enough. He trained like a mad-man all offseason, practiced harder than ever before - and that is saying something considering Jordan always gave 130% - he was more attentive when watching film and he put on weight to add muscle to his frame so that the Pistons couldn’t wear him down as easy. Sure enough, in 1990-91, the Bulls swept the Pistons and would win their first NBA title. He overcame adversity and that makes him an even better athlete. He’d do anything to win.
Once he started winning titles, he would have rivalries against teams like the Utah Jazz led by Karl Malone and John Stockton, the Lakers led by Magic Johnson, the Indiana Pacers coached by Larry Bird, who he used to play against when he was on the Celtics and even the Knicks led by Patrick Ewing. He always seemed to come out victorious when in these rival battles. Even the smallest remark from an opponent will set Jordan off and when you are playing the Bulls, you’d better hope he doesn’t take anything you said personally, even a ‘good luck wish’ because then you are in trouble.
When I think of Lebron James’ rivalries, as a Raptors fan, I hate to say what he did to us several years in a row can’t be considered a rivalry - as you need competition in a rivalry - it was just dominance. When he played for the Cavs, in the playoffs, he would play several series against the Boston Celtics - losing in 7 games in 2008 and then getting blasted by Boston in 6 games two years later -, the Golden State Warriors - who they beat in the 2016 Finals but lost to in the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Finals -, and similar to Michael Jordan he had to overcome the Detroit Pistons before he was able to be known as a superstar; it was his first obstacle. In 2006, the Cavaliers lost in 7 games to the Pistons. A year later, the Cavs beat the Pistons in 7 games to advance to the Finals. The Cavs swept the Pistons in 2009 and also 2016. When he played for the Heat, he played against the Indiana Pacers between 2012 and 2014. The Cavs won all three series but it wasn’t easy. Each series went to at least 6 games, in 2013, it came down to a game 7. He also played the San Antonio Spurs as a member of the Cavaliers in 2007, his first trip to the Finals, which ended in a Spurs’ sweep. Six years later as a member of the Heat, LeBron James and company won an incredible seven-game series which included a Ray Allen game-tying three-ball. The following Summer, the Spurs would top the Heat in 5 games, sending LeBron back to Cleveland after another Finals loss. Against the Celtics as a member of the Miami Heat, LeBron finally bested his old rival winning in 5 games in 2011 and rallying back from a 3-2 deficit to win in seven games in 2012. Not only did he have rivalries against several teams, but he also had rivalries against individual players like Paul Pierce, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Tim Duncan, among others.
Both players played against many amazing athletes and many amazing teams. Jordan came out victorious in the Finals more times than James but each player has done well conquering their old rivals. As aforementioned, the era differences in the game of basketball gave advantages and disadvantages to both players which makes it difficult to pick a goat.
Conclusion:
After all this analysis, it is still super hard to decide who is better. Michael Jordan and LeBron James are two of the best players in NBA history and each had a unique play-style that revolutionized the game as we know it. Many young players base their games off of Jordan’s and LeBron’s. Personally, I think the race for who is the true GOAT is super close, it is literally a 1a), 1b) type thing. You could go either way and no-one would judge you. After all this analysis, I believe Michael Jordan is the best player of all time. Sure, LeBron James has more points and assists and rebounds, but in a league where more threes are taken, there are more fouls and the ball is passed around way more, that all makes sense. For me, Jordan’s win-at-all-cost mentality, wanting to make his teammates better and his perfect 6-0 Finals record cements it all for me. But James’ talents cannot be left unnoticed. Personally, I think Jordan is the best player of all time but James is the most utile (the best two-way and can do anything you need him to do) player of all time.
