Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Regular season stats On a per-game basis, Jordan is superior in the scoring department, but James grabs rebounds and dishes Did you ever want to know who the greatest basketball player is? The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting. That site uses Jan. 31 as the cutoff date to classify a players age. The underappreciated forward ranks 23rd in career points, ahead of West, Iverson, Dwyane Wade, Larry Bird and, well, all but 22 guys. It's the never-ending debate among today's NBA fans: Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James. So with apologies to legendary boxer Muhammad Ali -- who claimed "greatest" status for himself and popularized the acronym -- here is everything you need to know about who might be the NBA's GOAT. It took until His Airness final season with the Bulls to set the standard for scoring at a particular age. After NBA legend Isiah Thomas says he'd take LeBron James over Michael Jordan, the SportsNation crew weighs in on the classic debate. ORB, DRB, STL, BLK, DRtg, BPM, VORP, and per 100 Poss stats since 1973-74. In the fall of 1997, Michael Jordan and the Bulls began their quest to win a sixth NBA title in eight years. And hes aged gracefully by becoming a much more effective and prolific outside shooter. If Jordan got to his preferred spots, he could set up his trademark turnaround. But within the confines of the NBA, where 37 can feel like dog years to many players, James 2021-22 individual season hasnt just been remarkable. While Jordans brain zoomed in to calculate the precise moment and method to beat his defenders, Jamess zooms out to survey for weaknesses that someone on his team maybe him, maybe not could exploit. NEW: Sample Searches for learning more about the power and flexibility of Stathead. We dont even think of any other stars in his era. The author explains that actually, Stephen Curry has no intrigued about the new face of NBA between him and Lebron James. These reasons listed all show how Michael Jordan is the best player of all time and Lebron is not. For those who witnessed Jordan's excellence over the course of two three-peats with the Bulls, itreinforced the belief that he is the greatest player to ever touch the court. Some may say James has an Keep scrolling to see how long it could take James to catch up to their records. LeBron was leading the Cavs in his 2003-2010 season, but never got them a championship, LeBron was very close though. No one ever broke it down to that type of science., Guarding James represented a different challenge because, at 6-foot-8 and 270 pounds, he was taller and heavier than Jordan, who was listed at 6-6 and 218 pounds, his target weight toward the end of his career. Abdul-Jabbar had averaged 17.5 points at age 39 but that still was a 20-point rate pro-rated to 36 minutes. Since Jordan was a guard, one would think that Jordan would have more assists, but that is not the case. His ability to find the open man makes it difficult to double-team him on the perimeter, forcing wing defenders to play him in single coverage. When thinking of greatness in the realm of basketball, these two definitely come to mind. We present them here for purely educational purposes. They think they are the best there is and ever will be, and they certainly do not let anyone tell them differently. Jordans success in the finals and post-season was an amazing feat thatll probably never come close to being accomplished ever again (Zachmo Marsupalami.). Source: Getty Images. These two players were very similar in many ways. Pick a side, nerds! Also read: LeBron James will be GOAT over Michael Jordan once he gets NBA's scoring record, says Chandler Parsons, Be the first one to comment on this story. The G League Ignite guard has been toward the top of several draft boards ahead of the 2023 Draft. Christie, Cassell and Smith all agreed with Bowen that Jordan, not James, should get the ball with the season on the line. A lot of it was ego. 1 overall in 2003. Jordan fanshave championships in their back pockets. That was Michael Jordan every night.. Scoring might not even be his best skill. As James grew into a tantalizing basketball prospect capable of jumping from high school to the NBA as the No. Its important to keep in mind, however, that Abdul-Jabbar also started playing later, at age 22, because of stricter NBA eligibility rules at the time. Two of the greatest players to ever step on a basketball court, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Even though Lebron and Jordan are compared a lot, many people still think Jordan would beat LeBron head to, They are both the heart of their teams and they are the ones their teams build around bringing players in that will help them and the team win. Both own many companies and are endorsed by big-name brands like McDonalds, Nike, Coca-Cola, and Gatorade. It depends what the rest of his career will look like, and how long he continues to play. When it comes to this debate, we'll let MJ and LeBron have the last word -- for now. ESPN.com once had an analytical piece headlined: Is LeBron breaking the aging curve? It was posted in December 2017. The Spurs took one of LeBrons biggest strengths his brain and used it against him, Bowen said, adding that the strategy had its limitations. There were the Jordan Rules, but theres no LeBron Rules because you cant be that physical anymore, said Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Sam Cassell, a strong-minded point guard who won two titles with the Houston Rockets during a playing career that spanned from 1993 to 2008. We were trying to kill Michael Jordan and he would just get up and make his free throws.. James' recent scoring run has brought his season averages up to 30.2PPG, 8.5RPG and 7.1APG on 50.5% shooting. On the defensive end, he would pounce on ballhandlers, aggressively double the post and jet into passing lanes for steals. Jordan took over in his playoff runs scoring over 33 points a game compared to Lebron's 28 points. Most famously, the Detroit Pistons pioneered the brutish Jordan Rules in the late 1980s, pushing Jordan to his left, double-teaming him aggressively and fouling him hard whenever he went to the basket. most points scored by a player in their 20th season, LeBron James will be GOAT over Michael Jordan once he gets NBA's scoring record, says Chandler Parsons. That scoring boom has left Jordans former defenders wondering how many points he might score in todays NBA. Some stats were available earlier in the ABA. Numerous players who defended both Jordan and James agreed with this distinction. He wasnt able to singlehandedly drag the Los Angeles Lakers into the postseason. LeBron has much competition with all the new all these new talents with so much potential. They revolutionized the game and brought a standard to be met- Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Bucks: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Grizzlies vs. Im a playmaker.. From the day LeBron James first picked up a basketball, he wanted to be like Mike. While hes missed more playing time because of injury, Kevin Durant averages the same number of points per game as James and has scored more than 22,000 points in his 12 NBA seasons. At 30, Iverson averaged a career-best 33.0 in 2005-06 but finished behind Kobe Bryant that season. Rockets: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Nets vs. Knicks: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, 76ers vs. Heat: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Cavaliers vs. Celtics: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Bulls vs. Pistons: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Maybe it's a matter of taste. And what qualities make one player the GOAT? On March 28th, 2003 the ultimate rivalry took place between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Percentage of total points scored from three-pointers, two-pointers and free throws for the top five scorers, Percentage of total points scored from three-pointers, two-. Whether it was through basketball or his own brand, Jordan was making everyone want to be like Mike. He won both rings playing for the Miami Heat where he had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh backing him up. Six championships. Jordan has another amazing record when he scored 63 points against the Boston Celtics in 1986. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. In the playoffs, he set the still-standing Finals record of 61 points in Game 5 against Boston. LeBron is just the opposite and I say, bravo. By: HoopsHype, But when you want to say whos the greatest ever its still Michael Jordan, Im going with MJ because I played with him. Heres why both legends can credibly claim to be the greatest. It also gave him the bragging rights of five firsts and two seconds on this scoring-by-age chart. Other younger players look as if they could also cross the 30,000-point threshold. The Emmy Award-winning 10-part documentary is now available on Blu-ray for a limited time. Michael Jordan says he takes the comparison between him and LeBron James with a grain of salt because they played in different eras. Are LeBron's four titles better than MJ's six? All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. LeBron Jamesis currently the fourth-leadingscorer in NBA history, 19 points ahead ofMichael Jordan, who holds the No. Here are Jordan and James, in their own words, talking about each other over nearly two decades. After 15 years in the NBA, Jordan finished his career with 5,633 career assists, while after only 13 years in the. When thinking of greatness in the realm of basketball, these two definitely come to mind. The playoff statisticsmirror what Jordan and James produce during the regular season. 1 overall pick in 2003. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. He The LeBron James kindergarten photo controversy. There are many deciding factors to see who the better of the two are, and we must know who is the best. James wins the longevity argument (with anyone), still playing at an All-NBA level and averaging 30 points per game in his 20th season with clear plans to play at least a few more. Previously, he was a senior writer at Sports Illustrated covering the NBA. He had been called to active duty in the U.S. Army Reserves and was stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington. Jordan Greer is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News. VORP and Win Shares favor James, but PER and Box Plus/Minus go to Jordan. Click on the red text to pre-fill the form with various values, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 4:56AM. Not surprisingly, two all-world performers in the regular season have also been dominant in the postseason. Your login session has expired. They are both are Hall of Famers, with a combined eight championship rings together and counting. LeBron has left his hometown and his team in Miami suddenly leaving many fans angry for deserting them. James (38,299 career points) is only 89 points away from doing so. The answer to that is very tough to come upon and will likely be unknown for a long time. Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Dwyane Wade are among the current crop of players who have copied Jordans style, and they have to thank him because of the enormous popularity that he has brought to the game. Whether it was through basketball or his own brand, Jordan was making everyone want to be like Mike. The Jordan vs. LeBron debate even rages among former NBA players -- and the answer isn't divided as cleanly along generational lines as you might think. 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