Can LeBron James Be Better than Michael Jordan?

Even though it’s still very early in his career, many would already consider Lebron James to be the greatest player in the NBA.

However, is it possible that, by his career’s end, Lebron will be the greatest player of all time?

Let’s take a look at the numbers and see what James will have to do to be considered the greatest ever to play the game.

Let’s start by looking at the current stats of the greatest player in basketball history, Michael Jordan.

Jordan boasts career numbers of 30.1 PTS, 6.2 REBS, 5.3 ASTS, 2.4 STL, and 0.8 BLK per game. 

In addition, we must also take into account the plethora of championships that Jordan won, as well as his defensive excellence.

Now let’s take a look at James.

This season, James is currently averaging 30.2 PTS, 8.1 REB, 7.5 AST, 2.1 STL, and 1.1 BLK per game.

While James’ career numbers are slightly lower, we must realize that he is still very young, and that if anything, his statistical production is bound to go upwards.

In that vein, we can see that James’ current stats exceed Jordan’s career averages in every category except steals, in which he is only slightly deficient.

In this respect, James is right on par with Jordan.

The areas in which James will still need to prove himself are the defensive and championship categories.

As far as defense is concerned, James is ever-improving; although Jordan’s Defensive Player of the Year Awards are a tough act to follow.

Also, we must keep in mind that Jordan didn’t begin his career as a defensive stalwart either, and that he too went through a similar progression.

As far as the championships are concerned, James made it to the NBA Finals last year with much less help than Jordan ever had throughout his tenure with the Bulls.

This would lead us to believe that James can potentially reach the same heights with a slightly better unit to work with.

At this point in time, is Lebron James the greatest player of all time?

No.

Will James one day surpass Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time?

I never thought I’d be able to say this about any human being, but yes, it is very, very possible.