I’m sure that many of you out there have been in a conversation with someone who says that Michael Jordan in the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) without question. Those people say Jordan won and was the MVP of all six of the NBA Finals in which he played, and he is a flat-out winner and the most competitive person to ever live. That person will continue to go on about how clutch he was and how he refused to let his team lose. MJ retired twice before he actually retired, and if he didn’t, he would have even better statistics and be even more awesome.
Because of the legend that has been built up around MJ and because of the hype around his shoes and brand, I hear 15 and 16 year-olds who never watched Jordan play try to tell me that he is the best there ever was or ever will be. I’m not going to argue that LeBron is better than MJ, but I do think he can put himself in the category to be discussed as the GOAT by the end of his career. Here are some of the arguments:
MJ won 6 titles to LeBron’s 3
Jordan currently has more titles than LeBron does, but LeBron isn’t finished yet. He still has some time to add titles to his resume, and he won a title with two different teams. Winning with two different organizations is more difficult than people think. It’s easier to win once an organization has established a winning culture, and it takes some work to get a whole organization to that level. Jordan never played under the pressure LeBron did to end a 52-year championship drought for his hometown team.
Jordan is more clutch because he never lost in an NBA Finals
This is one of my least favorite arguments. I feel like it is more impressive that LeBron has made it to the NBA Finals so consistently (6 straight times with two different teams) than it is that Michael never lost an NBA Finals. LeBron’s Cleveland teams have been the underdog each of the three times he led them to the season’s final series.
It’s amazing he even got the team there in 2007 and that he willed them to two wins in 2015 without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Outside of 2011, he has played great in the Finals, and his team has not lost because of his effort or statistics. I also never saw Michael lead everyone on both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks for an entire series the way LeBron did in 2016.
Michael didn’t have to leave to win a championship
It’s true that MJ didn’t have to leave Chicago to win, but it was because he had all the pieces put into place to do it there. He had a Hall of Fame coach in Phil Jackson who won 6 championships with him in Chicago but also won 5 more in Los Angeles.
He had a great sidekick in Scottie Pippen for all 6 championships but also many other good, notable players for one of the three-peats like Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, etc. LeBron did not have that kind of talent around him his first time in Cleveland, and a lot of his supporting cast was out of the NBA soon after he left.
Jordan was a better shooter/scorer than LeBron
Their career averages from the field are nearly identical at this point. Michael shot quite a bit better from the free throw line, and LeBron has a slightly better percentage from three-point range. While I agree that MJ had a better mid-range jump-shot than LeBron, I feel like LeBron does a better job of attacking the rim, and he takes advantage of that strength to improve his field-goal percentage. Jordan does have a higher scoring average than LeBron for his career, but LeBron is known for doing more to get his teammates involved by averaging more assists.
MJ played better defense than LeBron
Jordan was known for having a high intensity in all aspects of the game, and he did win a defensive player of the year award during his time in the NBA. He also has 9 defensive first-team selections to LeBron’s 5, so I will give him the edge there. LeBron does have a knack for making big defensive plays when he needs to such as a timely steal or his famous chase-down blocks. The one that sticks out in everyone’s mind the most would be the one on Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last year.
Overview:
LeBron has said that he would like to play another ten years or so, and if he does, a lot of things could happen during that time. While I don’t think LeBron should be considered the GOAT at this point in his career, if he keeps playing at a high level and wins a few more championships, this could be a fun debate down the road after he retires.
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