Aug 6, 2013
From the minute LeBron James stepped on an NBA court, he has been compared to Michael Jordan. Every shot, every rebound, every pass, and every decision he has made has been measured against Jordan. Nearly every big media outlet, fan, and NBA analyst agrees that LeBron is light-years away from matching the talent level of Jordan. Though I do feel Michael Jordan was the superior talent, it’s a lot closer than most Jordan backers would argue. The following are my responses to what I feel are the most popular Jordan-favoring arguments.
“Jordan was more dominant.”
Michael Jordan dominated the NBA for an extended period of time. Though it certainly was impressive, it pales in comparison to LeBron’s dominance today. To dominate in the NBA today means being better than a more condensed pool of talented players. The NBA has grown tougher through the evolution game, most noticeably the global market. When the Dream Team played in the Olympics, they crushed their competition, as basketball was still a game in its infancy overseas. Today, countries are catching up with America, and the top players they’re developing are coming to the NBA. LeBron doesn’t just have to compete with the best Americans; he has to compete with the best players from around the world.
“The game was more physical when MJ played.”
I agree with this idea – the game was more physical. NBA referees are now quicker to whistle a defender for a foul, or issue a technical foul for a hard hit. But why is this assumed to be an advantage for James? James is a physical defensive player, is it not fair to assume that if Jordan had a tougher time offensively, James has a tougher time defensively?
“Jordan is undefeated in the NBA finals.”
I hear this argument all the time. If we’re going to acknowledge this argument as proof that Jordan is the superior player to LeBron, we should look at the terms of which both players played in the finals.
LeBron James’ first finals appearance came when he was 22 years old. Jordan didn’t reach the finals until the age of 27. Certainly if Michael Jordan was so much better than James, as most would argue, he would have led his team to the finals sooner. Furthermore, it’s important to compare the talent surrounding LeBron for his first finals visit to the talent surrounding Jordan in his.
“LeBron abandoned Cleveland; Jordan would never abandon his team.”
If this is true, how come I so specifically remember Jordan playing for the Birmingham Barons minor league baseball team?
“Jordan is a much better scorer.”
Though this appears to be true, it’s closer than you may think. Over their respective careers, MJ averaged 30.1 PPG off .497% shooting, while LeBron is averaging 27.6 PPG off .490% shooting. Certainly, Jordan has the better scoring numbers, but there are some obvious flaws in believing this means he was a much better scorer.
Firstly, LeBron defers more. LeBron shoots about 3 less times/game than MJ and completes almost 2 more assists/game than Jordan.
Secondly, Jordan played in an era of scoring. To show this, look at the league scoring averages during MJ’s highest-scoring year and compare it to the 2012 league scoring average. Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 PPG in the 1986-1987 season. The league average of points scored in 86-87 was 109.9/game. Today, the league average is 98.1/game, a remarkably lower amount.
“Jordan has 6 rings and that means he’s better.”
By that logic, Michael Jordan isn’t the best player ever lived. In fact, he’s not even in the top-10 in that department. I believe Jordan is in fact the best basketball player ever, so for that reason I feel the ring argument needs to be tossed out the window by MJ proponents. Rings are a team accomplishment and there is so much variance in winning titles that using it to compare individual talent is highly questionable.
“LeBron will never be as good as Jordan.”
You may be right, but it will be a photo finish. LeBron is only 28 years old and he already has 2 titles and 4 MVP awards. He’s 2nd all-time (Jordan is 1st) in PER (player efficiency rating) and 3rd all-time in PPG. It’s possible he never passes Jordan, but pretending they’re not in the same ballpark is a thing of the past.
