The LeBron James-Michael Jordan argument tends to break down
by age.
Those who grew up watching Jordan play are adamant that MJ
is the greatest player ever. Their arguments center around Jordan’s scoring
titles, the fact that he won his championships with the team that drafted him
and his perfect 6-0 record in the NBA Finals.
Those six years that the Bulls were on top, it seemed as if
Jordan never failed.
Those who have grown up watching James play point to
LeBron’s overall ability. There has never been a player so great so young who
could score, rebound and pass the way LeBron has. They point to the fact that
Jordan essentially won with one coach, in one system and always with Scottie
Pippen by his side. LeBron has dragged essentially four different teams to NBA
Finals and the 2015-2016 Cleveland comeback over Steph Curry’ record-breaking
Golden State Warriors.
After looking deeply at both using advanced stats and
factoring in how much they won and how they were regarded by the MVP voters of
their times, my system concludes that Michael Jordan remains the greatest
player ever … for now.
First things first, for those that argue one is clearly
better than the other. That’s ridiculous. The margin separating these two is
razor thin as we’ll go through.
Second things second, for those that like to add other names to the argument. Well, Kareem is close. Regular-season Wilt Chamberlain could be mentioned in the same conversation. But if you go by the advanced stats, Jordan and James are No. 1 and No. 1A.
First point, let’s look at the number of times Jordan and James have led the league in PER, Win Shares, Box +/- and VORP in the regular season and playoffs.
Second things second, for those that like to add other names to the argument. Well, Kareem is close. Regular-season Wilt Chamberlain could be mentioned in the same conversation. But if you go by the advanced stats, Jordan and James are No. 1 and No. 1A.
First point, let’s look at the number of times Jordan and James have led the league in PER, Win Shares, Box +/- and VORP in the regular season and playoffs.
|
Advanced
stats – who led league most often
|
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Player Efficiency Rating (PER)
|
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|
Regular Season
|
Playoffs
|
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|
Kareem Abdul-Jabbor
|
9
|
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
|
7
|
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Wilt Chamberlain
|
8
|
Michael Jordan
|
6
|
|
Michael Jordan
|
7
|
Wilt Chamberlain
|
6
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LeBron James
|
6
|
LeBron James
|
5
|
|
Win Shares
|
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|
Regular Season
|
Playoffs
|
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|
Michael Jordan
|
9
|
LeBron James
|
7
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
|
9
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Michael Jordan
|
7
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Wilt Chamberlain
|
8
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Julius Erving
|
5
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LeBron James
|
5
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Bill Russell
|
5
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Box +/-
|
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|
Regular Season
|
Playoffs
|
||
|
LeBron James
|
8
|
LeBron James
|
7
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
|
6
|
Michael Jordan
|
6
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David Robinson
|
6
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
|
3
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Jordan, Bird, Erving
|
5
|
Bird, Magic
|
3
|
|
Value Over Replacement Player (VORP)
|
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|
Regular Season
|
Playoffs
|
||
|
LeBron James
|
9
|
LeBron James
|
10
|
|
Michael Jordan
|
7
|
Michael Jordan
|
6
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
|
6
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Larry Bird
|
5
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Erving, Bird
|
4
|
Julius Erving
|
3
|
Kareem’s regular-season record would look better if statisticians could calculate Box +/- and VORP the first four years of his career. His playoff advanced stats, particularly in Win Shares and VORP, don’t measure up to Jordan and James. Those two are top four in every category in both the regular season and playoffs.
In my system, the 300-point level signifies a great season.
Several players in my top 100 didn’t even have one 300-point season. There have
been only 41 400-point seasons. Jordan and James account for 15 of those
seasons. In fact, combined, they have 10 of the 20 greatest seasons in NBA
history. Jordan has the No. 1 season in my estimation, but James has three of
the top six.
|
20
Greatest Seasons
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|
Player
|
Year
|
Score
|
|
Michael Jordan
|
1990-1991
|
505.48
|
|
LeBron James
|
2012-2013
|
494.16
|
|
LeBron James
|
2011-2012
|
487.95
|
|
Wilt Chamberlain
|
1966-1967
|
487.52
|
|
Michael Jordan
|
1995-1996
|
486.78
|
|
LeBron James
|
2008-2009
|
486.70
|
|
Larry Bird
|
1985-1986
|
485.96
|
|
Shaquille O’Neal
|
1999-2000
|
485.48
|
|
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
|
1970-1971
|
484.33
|
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Michael Jordan
|
1991-1992
|
474.40
|
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Moses Malone
|
1982-1983
|
471.95
|
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Magic Johnson
|
1986-1987
|
469.43
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Connie Hawkins
|
1967-1968
|
461.58
|
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Michael Jordan
|
1996-1997
|
458.44
|
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Larry Bird
|
1983-1984
|
454.23
|
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Julius Erving
|
1975-1976
|
451.01
|
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Michael Jordan
|
1992-1993
|
447.93
|
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Tim Duncan
|
2002-2003
|
445.70
|
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Michael Jordan
|
1997-1998
|
443.92
|
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LeBron James
|
2009-2010
|
440.19
|
The reason that Jordan has the advantage in my system is that he was ever so slightly better at his peak. The best way to look at that is to stack their seasons side-by-side by age.
|
Jordan-James
Breakdown by age
|
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|
Jordan
|
James
|
||||
|
Year
|
Age
|
Points
|
Year
|
Age
|
Points
|
|
|
|
|
2003-04
|
19
|
95.16
|
|
|
|
|
2004-05
|
20
|
157.71
|
|
1984-85
|
21
|
293.84
|
2005-06
|
21
|
343.50
|
|
1985-86
|
22
|
224.44
|
2006-07
|
22
|
325.93
|
|
1986-87
|
23
|
306.57
|
2007-08
|
23
|
351.69
|
|
1987-88
|
24
|
395.79
|
2008-09
|
24
|
486.70
|
|
1988-89
|
25
|
420.39
|
2009-10
|
25
|
440.19
|
|
1989-90
|
26
|
421.33
|
2010-11
|
26
|
381.15
|
|
1990-91
|
27
|
505.48
|
2011-12
|
27
|
487.95
|
|
1991-92
|
28
|
474.40
|
2012-13
|
28
|
494.16
|
|
1992-93
|
29
|
447.93
|
2013-14
|
29
|
412.82
|
|
|
|
|
2014-15
|
30
|
364.04
|
|
1994-95
|
31
|
265.80
|
2015-16
|
31
|
422.62
|
|
1995-96
|
32
|
486.78
|
2016-17
|
32
|
357.68
|
|
1996-97
|
33
|
458.44
|
2017-18
|
33
|
408.36
|
|
1997-98
|
34
|
443.92
|
2018-19
|
34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001-02
|
38
|
103.81
|
|
|
|
|
2002-03
|
39
|
94.58
|
|
|
|
As you see, both dominated the NBA at very young ages. Jordan didn’t come to the NBA until he was 21. James started at 19. Both were great, but James was consistently greater until the age of 26. From 26 through 33, Jordan was better five out of eight years. At the age of 30, Jordan was playing baseball. At age 31, he played less than half of a season. He essentially punted those two years. So the only year LeBron was better in their primes in which they both played was when they were 28. That was the middle season of Jordan's first trio of titles and the second of Miami's back-to-back titles for LeBron.
It is because of that prime that Jordan holds the edge over LeBron to this point. Jordan ranks No. 1 and James No. 2 in the 1-year, 5-year and 10-year rankings. Jordan, though, famously retired twice before it stuck. He skipped more than a year and a half in his prime. His score in my system before he retired was 447.93 in 1992-1993 and it was 486.78 the first full year he came back. It’s not a stretch to assume he would have recorded a couple more 400-point seasons.
Then Jordan walked away again after the 1997-1998 season after scoring a 443.92 only to come back again in 2001-2002 at the age of 38. Again, even assuming some age-related decline, he likely would have added three-more more 300-point seasons. If Jordan plays straight through, he likely would have ended up with more than 6,500 career points, which would have put him ahead of Kareem and settled the debate forever.
That’s not what happened and instead Jordan ranks No. 5 in
career points. James, who already has put in 15 years in the NBA, shows no
signs of slowing down at 34 and has never hinted that he wants to willingly
walk away from the NBA. James is less than 850 points away from topping
Abdul-Jabbar in career rankings in my system. That’s perhaps just two seasons
away and more than likely just three years away. At that point, he’ll move to
No. 1 in my top 100.
In reality, that won’t change anyone’s argument. Jordan
backers say MJ was better at his peak. LeBron fans tend to look at his body of
work. By the time LeBron is done, he’ll likely be the NBA’s all-time leading
scorer, be in the top 30 in rebounding and third in assists. That’s a mountain
no one may ever climb.
|
Michael Jordan and LeBron James bio info
|
|||
|
Jordan
|
James
|
||
|
Career
|
1984-85
|
Career
|
2003-2018
|
|
Games
|
1,072
|
Games
|
1,143
|
|
Points
|
30.1
|
Points
|
27.2
|
|
Rebounds
|
6.2
|
Rebounds
|
7.4
|
|
Assists
|
5.3
|
Assists
|
7.2
|
|
FG Pct.
|
49.7%
|
FG Pct.
|
50.4%
|
|
All-Star games
|
14
|
All-Star games
|
14
|
|
NBA MVPs
|
5
|
NBA MVPs
|
4
|
|
NBA titles
|
6
|
NBA titles
|
3
|
|
Playoff seasons
|
13
|
Playoff seasons
|
13
|
|
Playoff games
|
179
|
Playoff games
|
239
|
|
Points
|
33.4
|
Points
|
28.9
|
|
Rebounds
|
6.4
|
Rebounds
|
8.9
|
|
Assists
|
5.7
|
Assists
|
7.1
|
|
FG Pct.
|
48.7%
|
FG Pct.
|
49.1%
|
|
Hall of Fame
|
2009
|
Hall of Fame
|
|
|
Top 100
rankings
|
||||
|
|
Jordan
|
James
|
||
|
|
Points
|
Top 100 rank
|
Points
|
Top 100 rank
|
|
1-year
|
505.48
|
1st
|
494.16
|
2nd
|
|
5-year
|
2,373.02
|
1st
|
2,331.61
|
2nd
|
|
10-year
|
4,361.02
|
1st
|
4,255.65
|
2nd
|
|
Career
|
5,343.49
|
5th
|
5,529.64
|
3rd
|
|
Michael
Jordan at his peak
|
|||
|
1990-1991
|
Jordan
|
Top 5
|
Points
|
|
PER
|
31.6
|
27.57
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
20.3
|
16.45
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
10.8
|
8.94
|
|
|
VORP
|
9.8
|
7.94
|
|
|
Total Advanced Stats
|
72.5
|
60.88
|
119.08
|
|
Playoff PER
|
32.0
|
26.10
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
4.8
|
3.19
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
13.8
|
10.16
|
|
|
VORP
|
2.8
|
1.90
|
|
|
Total Advanced Stats
|
53.4
|
41.34
|
129.16
|
|
Reg. Season Win %
|
74.39
|
74.39
|
|
|
Playoff Win %
|
88.24
|
88.24
|
|
|
MVP Voting (75 points)
|
891/960
|
69.61
|
|
|
Playoff MVP (25 points)
|
25.0
|
25.00
|
|
|
Total Score
|
|
|
505.48
|
|
LeBron
James at his peak
|
|||
|
2012-2013
|
James
|
Top 5
|
Points
|
|
PER
|
31.6
|
26.56
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
19.3
|
14.76
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
11.6
|
7.17
|
|
|
VORP
|
9.8
|
7.20
|
|
|
Total Advanced Stats
|
72.3
|
57.02
|
126.79
|
|
Playoff PER
|
28.1
|
26.55
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
5.2
|
3.05
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
10.2
|
7.92
|
|
|
VORP
|
2.9
|
1.54
|
|
|
Total Advanced Stats
|
46.4
|
39.41
|
117.72
|
|
Reg. Season Win %
|
80.26
|
80.26
|
|
|
Playoff Win %
|
69.57
|
69.57
|
|
|
MVP Voting (75 points)
|
1,207/1,210
|
74.81
|
|
|
Playoff MVP (25 points)
|
25.0
|
25.00
|
|
|
Total Score
|
|
|
494.16
|
|
Jordan and James’ 10 greatest seasons
|
|||
|
Michael Jordan
|
LeBron James
|
||
|
Year
|
Points
|
Year
|
Points
|
|
1990-1991
|
505.48
|
2012-2013
|
494.16
|
|
1995-1996
|
486.78
|
2011-2012
|
487.95
|
|
1991-1992
|
474.40
|
2008-2009
|
486.70
|
|
1996-1997
|
458.44
|
2009-2010
|
440.19
|
|
1992-1993
|
447.93
|
2015-2016
|
422.62
|
|
1997-1998
|
443.92
|
2013-2014
|
412.82
|
|
1989-1990
|
421.33
|
2017-2018
|
408.36
|
|
1988-1989
|
420.39
|
2010-2011
|
381.15
|
|
1987-1988
|
395.79
|
2014-2015
|
364.04
|
|
1986-1987
|
306.57
|
2016-2017
|
357.68
|
|
Jordan’s career
winning percentage
|
|||
|
|
W
|
L
|
Pct.
|
|
Regular Season
|
706
|
366
|
65.86%
|
|
Playoffs
|
119
|
60
|
66.48%
|
|
James’ career
winning percentage
|
|||
|
|
W
|
L
|
Pct.
|
|
Regular Season
|
761
|
382
|
66.58%
|
|
Playoffs
|
151
|
76
|
66.52%
|
