LeBron James vs Michael Jordan: An Evergreen Contest
Of all the weapons he houses in his basketball arsenal, LeBron James used a left-handed layup in the second quarter against the Nuggets to get his total points tally to 32,293. That bucket took him one-point clear of Michael Jordan's career stack of points scored, bagging the kid from Akron a coveted 4th spot on NBA's All-Time Scoring list.
What the above accomplishment did in more ways than one is that it added more fuel to the eternal dispute between the two opposing clans. Now that LeBron is the only player in the history of the game to be top 10 all-time in assists and points scored, the stats are tipping in his favor.
Fair to say, the King has a couple more years of basketball left in him at the very least. He can easily tick every box that remains en route to becoming the greatest in all statistical aspects of the game as we see it. However, the upcoming slides will shed more light on the very realization that the Jordan vs LeBron discussion is more complicated than it appears.
As the current climate demands re-introduction to this touchy GOAT debate, let's get to it without further ado.
#1 Why is this comparison a never-ending debate?
Let's take Shaun Powell's article to get their individual accomplishments out of the way first,
LeBron's list of honors: Twelve-time All-NBA first team. three Finals MVPs, three NBA titles (one in Cleveland, which should count double), four Kia MVPs, nine Finals trips in 15 seasons (including eight straight), 15 All-Star Games and five All-Defensive first team honors.
Jordan's list of honors: Six NBA titles (while going six-for-six in The Finals), six Finals MVPs, five regular-season MVPs, 10 All-NBA first teams, 10 scoring titles, 14 All-Star Games, nine All-Defensive first team honors and one Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Now that we have made zero progress, let's bear in mind also that they played in fairly different eras, possessed different styles and were kept in check by different sets of rules.
However, the phenomenon of accepting something that's flourishing right before our eyes (and resembles greatness at a high level) over something that has left an indelible mark a while back gives LeBron a minute edge over MJ.
But then again, Jordan is arguably the most efficient winner in the history of sports, let alone just NBA.