In the NBA, the debate over who the GOAT is – Lebron James or Michael Jordan – has raged for years. The truth is, they are both incredible players with exceptional ability in a variety of areas related to basketball. However, someone has to come out on top and I’m here to make my case for one of them.
In the NBA, it is all about scoring and Lebron has an incredible scoring ability, which has led to him scoring the most points in NBA history. This is a testament to his durability as he has played at an elite level for 22 seasons, while Jordan, who is fifth on the all-time scoring list, played for only 15 years. Of course, some may argue that Jordan scored more points than Lebron during that 15-season span and this makes him the greatest scorer of all time, but I would argue that Lebron is the better scorer because he has almost 10,000 more points than Jordan overall. Lebron’s 41,641 points (and counting) far outpace Jordan’s 32,292. EDGE: Lebron
Michael Jordan and Lebron James are both great playmakers, but one of them stands far above the other. During his career, Jordan amassed 5,633 assists, placing him 52 all-time. Lebron, on the other hand, has 11,440 and ranks fourth all-time in assists. This shows just how good Lebron can easily pass the ball to teammates to score. This shows that Lebron is an overall better playmaker than Jordan. EDGE: Lebron
Moving on to defense, Lebron has a clear advantage based on his height, which is three inches taller than Jordan at 6’6”. Basic math tells you that he’s closer to the rim, but he is also a better rebounder. Again, the stats speak for themselves as Lebron has pulled down 11,556 rebounds, which places him in the top 10 all-time, while Jordan has 6,672, placing him 130 all-time. EDGE: Lebron
Jordan is an aggressive defender being one of the best defenders in NBA history having 2,514 steals in his NBA career and 893 blocks. While Lebron has 2,317 and 1,135 blocks I will have to give this to Jordan due to him playing for only 15 seasons and having more steals than Lebron expects blocks even though LeBron is close to beating Jordan in steals. Jordan is the overall better defender. EDGE: Jordan
Who has more accolades? Jordan has 6 NBA rings, 6 MVP finals, 5 NBA MVPs, 14 all-star selections, 9 NBA all-time defensive, 10 all-NBA first-team selections, 10 NBA scoring titles, and rookie of the year while Lebron has 4 rings and 4 MVP finals 4 NBA MVP, 21 all-star, nba rookie of the year. Jordan playing for only 15 years has more accolades. EDGE: Jordan
So who’s the greatest of all time? I have to go with Lebron due to his being able to play all 5 positions and being a better teammate.