“If he had decided he also would have led the league in assists” - NBA analyst says we can’t sleep on Michael Jordan as a passer, admits it’s not LeBron James level
Perhaps no one takes the GOAT debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James more seriously than Skip Bayless. The sports commentator recently said Jordan could have led the league in assists if he wanted.
Although James is currently ranked second on the all-time scoring list, Jordan is known to be a better scorer. However, James has the edge in other aspects of the game, especially in assists.
On the Skip Bayless Show, a fan attempted to get Bayless to agree that James was a better passer than Jordan. Although the analyst accepted the fact, he said Jordan could have been better if he wanted to.
"As I always say, LeBron James is still the best passer in basketball as he enters year 20. He is a generational passer. He was born with a rare gift of being able to see it and anticipate it before it even happens. Execute it before it even becomes apparent to most human eyes.
Bayless went on to say that Michael Jordan's passing ability was underrated. He spoke about his remarkable 1989 season where he averaged a career-high 8.0 assists. He said:
"But, do not sleep on Michael Jordan's passing ability. It's not quite LeBron, but I'm going to remind everyone. 1989, Michael Jeffrey Jordan, that was his fifth year, led the league in scoring 33 a game.
"He also averaged eight rebounds but here's the catch, he also averaged, that year, a career-high 8.0 assists. Think about that. Jordan, as he led the league in scoring also averaged eight assists. For his career, Michael averaged 5.3, which is still pretty good.
The analyst then diverted attention towards LeBron James' assist averages. Bayless noted that they were significantly better and eventually conceded that James was the better passer. However, knowing Jordan's competitive nature, Bayless said one would be remiss to count him out.
"LeBron's at 7.4. LeBron's career-high was in the bubble when he led the league in assists at 10.2. So, if we take LeBron's career-high 10.2, Michael was career-high 8.0. So, they're about two assists difference in career-high year and career overall assist per game.
"So, I'll give you. LeBron's a little better passer but don't sleep on Jordan as a passer. If he had decided to, he also would have led the league in assists. But he didn't need to because he led the league ten times in scoring to LeBron's one time. Ten times to ones in scoring titles.
"But all you need to know off the eight assists a game in 1989 was if he had decided he would have said, 'Watch this.' He also could have led the league in assists at least once."
Skip Bayless has always ranked Michael Jordan ahead of LeBron James
Bayless has always been critical of LBJ, often to show why MJ is greater. There have been rare cases where he commends James' achievements. However, he often ends up drawing comparisons with Jordan.
In all the years Bayless has spoken against LBJ, the four-time NBA champ has not given a response.
Meanwhile, Bayless recently claimed that James was in his Twitter DMs during the early stages of his career. He recalled getting a message from James requesting to be friends but said the message disappeared the next day.
On the topic of the Kevin Durant trade, Bayless concurred with a sports writer who proposed a blockbuster trade involving LeBron James. Bayless thinks it will be a better idea for the 37-year-old to reunite with Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn.
"LeBron, if the goal is go win, why would you wanna be stuck with Russ in LA as opposed to reunite with Kyrie?"
@RealSkipBayless on a swap trade of LeBron and KD https://t.co/b5kGtpydDF