The Ultimate GOAT Case for LeBron James Over Michael Jordan
Religion, politics and the NBA GOAT debate. Odds are you've had more mature, rational conversations with friends and loved ones about the first two topics rather than the third.
The debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James certainly isn't new, but we did reignite it yesterday with our Top 100 Players of All-Time ranking, where B/R voters gave Jordan the slightest of edges over LeBron—literally 1 vote.
We keep having the GOAT debate because the saga keeps evolving with every year that James tacks on to his now NBA-record long career.
Your opinion on this debate has likely remained consistent for the past decade. If you've been a Jordan guy, you've stayed a Jordan guy. Look at the Finals record! LeBron flops too much!
If you're a LeBron guy, you've stayed a LeBron guy. Jordan retired three times! James is the better all-around player!
Obviously, compelling arguments can be made for both. With another All-Star and All-NBA season under his belt, James' longevity and production has only widened the gap between himself and Jordan.
With new evidence, here's why James has cemented himself as the greatest of all time.
Where Jordan Tops LeBron
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It would be ignorant to say that LeBron James and Michael Jordan aren't close in legacies, so we're going to start by giving Jordan his flowers here.
No player has had as great of a run (or runs) in the NBA as Jordan did in the late 1980s and the 1990s. His peak was greater than any single stretch of James' career, as both individual and team success will point out.
Jordan led the NBA in scoring for seven straight seasons (and 10 total times for his career) from 1986-87 through 1992-93, averaging as high as 37.1 points per game. David Robinson took over as the NBA's leading scorer in 1993-94, but that was only because Jordan had retired (the first time).
In terms of a pure scorer, Jordan tops James every time. Defensively, Jordan gets the edge as well.
While James' athletic 6'9", 250-pound frame made him able to legitimately guard all five positions at a high level in his prime, Jordan was an elite defender for the better part of a decade. He won Defensive Player of the Year in 1987-88, earned nine All-Defensive team nods and led the NBA in steals three times.
James has never won DPOY, although he has earned six All-Defensive nods. Jordan's five regular-season MVPs barely pass James' four. His six rings outrank James' four, although we'll touch more on that later.
Had Jordan never retired in 1993 in the prime of his career, we might not be having this discussion. If he hadn't retired again in 1998 after winning MVP, a sixth championship and another Finals MVP before coming back in 2001 for two forgettable years with the Washington Wizards, James also might not even be in consideration for the No. 1 spot.
But Jordan did retire. Three times. The first two retirements took nearly five prime years off Jordan's career, ultimately damaging his argument for being the GOAT.
Now, it's time to make the case for James.
Raw Numbers and All-Around Impact
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We've established that Jordan was the better pure scorer between the two players, which is something that even LeBron defenders can admit.
Scoring by itself is not the end-all argument in GOAT talk, though. Otherwise, Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged 50.4 points per game in 1961-62 and owns the four-highest single-season scoring averages in NBA history, would come away with the honor.
Part of the argument for James as the greatest player of all time is his ability to impact the game in all areas, primarily scoring, rebounding and passing. Even Jordan defenders have to admit that James has been superior at two of those three.
James' career rebounding numbers (7.5 per game) and assists (7.4) easily beat Jordan's (6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists). Even when factoring in career scoring averages, James has the narrow lead as well (41.9 points/rebounds/assists per game, compared to 41.6 for Jordan).
Typically, longevity hurts a players' career averages, a la Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett or Dirk Nowitzki. Somehow, James has avoided this decline even at age 40.
While Jordan averaged only 29.9 combined points/rebounds/assists during his age-39 season, James just put up a combined 40.4 per game in his age-40 campaign.
Jordan was the better scorer, but James is the superior all-around player.
Career Stats and Rankings
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Michael Jordan owns the NBA's highest career scoring average at 30.1 points per game, which his defenders will point to. However, total career points is arguably a better indicator of legacy.
Joel Embiid has the fourth-highest career scoring average of all time (27.7 points per game), yet he falls far down the list when ranking even the greatest centers in history. Trae Young is 13th in NBA history in scoring average (25.3), above players like Kobe Bryant (25.0) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24.6). Devin Booker (24.4) outranks Larry Bird (24.3), Julius Erving (22.0) and Shaquille O'Neal (23.7).
The top-10 all-time scoring list is far more indicative of historical greatness, with players like James, Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar, Bryant, O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain and other legends.
Of course, no player in NBA history has scored more points than James. He's the only player ever to top 40,000 (he's currently at 42,184 and counting).
James is now nearly 10,000 points ahead of Jordan all-time. For context, that's about the same difference as Jordan and Damian Lillard at 37th overall.
Here's where James and Jordan stack up in some other career rankings:
- Rebounds: James: 25th, Jordan: 141st
- Assists: James: 4th, Jordan: 52nd
- Steals: James: 6th, Jordan: 4th
- Blocks: James: 70th, Jordan: 126th
- Triple-Doubles: James: 5th, Jordan: 20th
If James can catch Jordan in career steals (he's currently 169 behind), he'll have a clean sweep in all six categories.
An Honest NBA Finals Discussion
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Perhaps the greatest argument in Jordan's favor is his 6-0 record in the NBA Finals. No one is doubting the greatness of that. It's an unbelievable accomplishment, and it may never be done again.
However, James' Finals resume is incredible in its own way.
Winning four NBA titles and 10 conference championships (including eight straight) is something the league hasn't witnessed since the Boston Celtics in the 1960s. With no disrespect to Bill Russell or those Celtics teams, only six teams made the playoffs up until 1967.
That means Boston had to win only one round (four games) to reach the Finals and two rounds (eight games) to secure a championship. That's half as much effort as James had to put in. Even Jordan's Bulls only had to endure a best-of-five first-round series during all six title runs.
James is the only player in NBA history to lead three different teams to a title and win Finals MVP for three separate franchises. He's had to play under five different head coaches in his 10 Finals, compared to just one for Jordan (Hall of Famer Phil Jackson).
As good as some of the teams that Jordan faced in the Finals were, he never faced some of the same adversity that James went through.
No roster around Jordan was as bad as the group that James single-handedly carried to the 2007 Finals against Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Larry Hughes, the Cleveland Cavaliers' second-leading scorer in the regular season, scored just two points in 44 minutes over the first two games before exiting the series with an injury. James should be praised for even reaching the Finals that year, not criticized for losing in it.
James saw both Kyrie Irving (Game 1 of the Finals) and Kevin Love (Round 1) get knocked out due to injuries in 2015, yet he still dragged the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 2-1 Finals lead against the Golden State Warriors and MVP Stephen Curry.
The 2015-16 Warriors (73-9 overall, best record in NBA history) and 2016-17/2017-18 Warriors (with Kevin Durant) were far better than any opponent that Jordan faced in any playoff series. James still managed a series win in one. No Finals teammate of Jordan ever pulled a boneheaded move like this, either.
Yes, Jordan has more titles, although James has reached the Finals four more times while suffering some bad injury luck to teammates and a Warriors dynasty that featured four future Hall of Famers and arguably two of the 10 greatest players of all time.
Context matters, making ring talk regarding these two far more complex than just looking at six versus four.
Career Accolades
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James and Jordan both filled their respective trophy cases throughout their careers. The two combined for nine MVP awards, 32 All-NBA selections, 35 All-Star game selections and each won Rookie of the Year.
The breakdown of these awards may surprise you, however.
Jordan's five regular-season MVP awards narrowly top James' four, although both probably deserve far more. Here's a breakdown of some other career accolades:
- All Star Games: James: 21 (NBA record), Jordan: 14
- All-NBA Teams: James: 21 (NBA record), Jordan: 11
- All-NBA First Teams: James: 13 (NBA record), Jordan: 10
- MVP Awards: James: 4, Jordan: 5
- MVP top-5 finishes: James: 14, Jordan: 10
- MVP top-10 finishes: James: 18, Jordan: 11
James not only leads Jordan in all but one of these categories, but he has set the NBA record for All-Star and All-NBA teams, landing on both in every season since his rookie year in 2003-04.
Longevity and Final Thoughts
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No player in the history of professional sports has had the kind of pressure that was placed upon James' shoulders before turning pro. National TV games in high school before streaming services. Moving high school games to college arenas. The infamous cover of Sports Illustrated.
James entered the NBA just months after Jordan took his final bow. The league was craving a new face, which was an entirely unfair expectation to place upon an 18-year-old straight out of high school. While Jordan had the advantage of preparing for the NBA with three years at the University of North Carolina, James was thrown into the fire immediately just months after his high school graduation.
Despite this, he's risen above every single expectation. James has been so good at this for so long that he's gone from setting "youngest to ever…" to now "oldest to ever…" records. Pick any point total, and James was the youngest to reach it.
Now, he's about to play in a record 23rd NBA season, passing a tie with Vince Carter at 22. In his 22nd season, Carter averaged 5.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 14.6 minutes off the bench. James just put up 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 34.9 minutes while finishing sixth in MVP voting.
This. Isn't. Normal.
James hasn't scored fewer than 10 points in any game in over 18 years, which is an NBA record. He's played at such a high level for so long that he's competed against 10 different father and son combinations and became the first father to play with his son in a game last season.
James came into the league in 2003, just a few years removed from the Clinton administration. New episodes of Friends were still being aired. Twitter and iPhones were still years away from being released. Players like Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Reggie Miller and Charles Oakley were still in the NBA. Some are now in their 60s.
We've never seen this kind of longevity and production from any athlete in any sport, ever.
We don't know how many more seasons James will play. The 2025-26 campaign could be his last, although it would be due to his wanting to pursue other ventures and not because of a decline in skill.
At age 20, James averaged 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists and was an All-Star.
At age 30, he averaged 25.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists and was an All-Star.
At age 40, he averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists and was an All-Star.
This. Isn't. Normal.
Jordan was undoubtedly the greatest player the NBA has ever seen, until James came around. The combination of his overall skill set, cumulative stats, career awards and longevity has recently lifted James past Jordan.
The scary part? LeBron may be years away from retiring, only pushing his NBA record points total, All-Star and All-NBA teams to truly unreachable levels.
With all due respect to Jordan, he's now second in the GOAT conversation. James has now earned the title.
