Its been historical. On your television. "I can relate to the players and we can talk about music, shoes and movies because we are similar in ages," said the Timberwolves coach, whose roster has three players older than him. Each player only had one year to get this award, and Jordan was the one to get the rookie of the year (Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan Comparison). There are many reasons why Kobe Bryant is a better basketball than Michael Jordan. In 2001, Randy (Big Unit) Johnson at age 37 struck out a career-high 372 batters, went 21-6 for the Arizona Diamondbacks and earned the fourth of his five Cy Young Awards. Kobe plays the shooting guard position but can move anywhere around the perimeter, such as point guard, shooting guard, and small forward, coming in at 66 205 pounds. (Greatest of All Time). When asked to weigh Jordan against James as scorers, opponents who guarded both kept returning to the mind-set issue: Jordan was the superior scorer, they argued, because he was more consumed by the act. Should LeBron be listed No. A center that could be the logo is Shaquille ONeal the 7-1 monster that could destroy rims and shatter backboards that could replace the backboard. Photo: KevinMazur. broadcast or podcast, please strongly consider citing this site as the If his team is losing a game he blames everyone on the team except for himself. They are more than confident in being the best on the court. Jordan has 38 career 40-point games in the playoffs and eight 50-point games (including his NBA playoff-record 63). As he prepared to pass Jordan for the most postseason points in NBA history in 2017, James himself declared: I dont want to be labeled as a scorer. pointers and free throws for the top five scorers in NBA history. Jordan has 38 career 40-point games in the playoffs and eight 50-point games (including his NBA playoff-record 63). Or 44, easily, guessed Cassell. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. Over James first five seasons in the league, he averaged 27.3 points on 46.7% shooting (32.4% on threes) while putting up 21.1 shots nightly. American basketball star Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. Miami Heats and Chicago Bulls have had many MVP players, these two players contribute the most to their team's success is LeBron with the Miami Heats and Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls. M.J. Given what Barry did at this young age, you automatically wonder what his encore for San Francisco was at age 23, right? They think they are the best there is and ever will be, and they certainly do not let anyone tell them differently. Jordans success in the finals and post-season was an amazing feat thatll probably never come close to being accomplished ever again (Zachmo Marsupalami.). Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? A current Cleveland-Cavalier, Lebron James has helped shaped the game on and off the court. While Jordans brain zoomed in to calculate the precise moment and method to beat his defenders, Jamess zooms out to survey for weaknesses that someone on his team maybe him, maybe not could exploit. Jamess all-around playmaking polish led Christie to throw out prepared scouting reports, focusing instead on keeping a running checklist of Jamess shots. Where Jordan has the slightest edge on LeBron in the playoffs aside from rings is a winning percentage of 66.5% with a record of 119-60. James averaged 27.2 as a 20-year-old NBA sophomore. LeBron has much competition with all the new all these new talents with so much potential. Lakers rally from 27 down in Dallas as Anthony Davis closes with force, from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the top spot on that same list, Southern California home sales fall to all-time low, Teacher at Irvines Beckman High School arrested after recording devices found in restroom, Final bones of 50-year-old Laguna Hills mall are coming down, OC students snowed in at science camps are coming home, Killer keto? Even after Michael Jordan left his team they were still successful, as for LeBron leaving Cleveland well things were not looking good for the Cavs. 5spot with 32,292. Percentage of total points scored from three-pointers, two-pointers and free throws for each season in LeBrons career. James wins the longevity argument (with anyone), still playing at an All-NBA level and averaging 30 points per game in his 20th season with clear plans to play at least a few more. WebThe 7-foot-1 Hall of Fame center destroyed rims, glass backboards and entire baskets on multiple occasions throughout his career.Michael Jordan is already eternalized in Most famously, the Detroit Pistons pioneered the brutish Jordan Rules in the late 1980s, pushing Jordan to his left, double-teaming him aggressively and fouling him hard whenever he went to the basket. Stephen Jackson gives his take on the best basketball player between Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. James is set to pass Abdul-Jabbars all-time scoring record (38,387 career points) over the next week in what will be a major accomplishment. See All. Bucks: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Grizzlies vs. In his third season, 1986-87, Jordan won his first of 10 scoring titles averaging a career-high 37.1 points per game, shooting 27.8 times per game and using 38.8 percent of his teams possessions. These reasons listed all show how Michael Jordan is the best player of all time and Lebron is not. WNBA all-time (since 1997) unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. ORB, DRB, STL, BLK, DRtg, BPM, VORP, and per 100 Poss stats since 1973-74. The underappreciated forward ranks 23rd in career points, ahead of West, Iverson, Dwyane Wade, Larry Bird and, well, all but 22 guys. Nowitzki, 40, is in his 21st season. Rockets: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Nets vs. Knicks: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, 76ers vs. Heat: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Cavaliers vs. Celtics: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Bulls vs. Pistons: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Rockets: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Nets vs. Knicks: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, 76ers vs. Heat: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Cavaliers vs. Celtics: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Bulls vs. Pistons: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 27.3 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) 27.9, 145.9 Value Over Replacement (VORP) 116.1. LA Lakers star forward LeBron James has been on fire since turning 38 on December 30. LeBron James is far from finished. Over his past five seasons, those numbers are 27.1, 51.8% (35.6%) and 19.7 FGA. WebEvery time Lebron wins a championship ring, he is compared to Jordan more. There are many deciding factors to see who the better of the two are, and we must know who is the best. He just punished you.. He is the only player in NBA finals history to never score less than 20 points in any of his finals games. Second to the Dippers bar-setter, Michael Jordan averaged 35.0 points in 1987-88. Note: Data as of Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. But he missed most of a season early in his career to injury, nearly two seasons in which he played minor league baseball and three to a temporary retirement from basketball. No one here is picking sides (and James career legacy is still being written), but here is a closer look at how the two superstars stack up today when it comes to the regular season, the postseason and their respective achievements and honors (all stats are through Feb. 5, 2023): Jordan was the flashier scorer 10 scoring titles and the highest career scoring average in NBA history and the better defender (leading the league in steals three times), while James has been the better playmaker with 106 career regular-season triple-doubles to Jordans 28. Michael Jordan has 6 rings while LeBron has 3 rings. I have no idea how Ive been able to do it.. Like James, Bryant missed very little time to injury until the end of his career, even playing with a fractured finger for most of a season. LeBron vs. MJ: The GOAT debate is different now, At minimum, it's a debate now. Your login session has expired. An Oregon native, he lives and works in Los Angeles. Or should that be LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan? Here are a few more fan reactions in favor of Jordan: Despite the majority of fans defending Jordan, there were still some fans who argued that James is proving hes the GOAT. 28.2 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) 28.6, 33.9 Value Over Replacement (VORP) 24.7. One endless debate. Henry Aaron slugged 47 home runs in 1971, when he was 37 years old. Wings had to track his every movement and battle for position before the ball arrived. Watching LeBron play, you see his pass-first mentality at work. This tells us that Jordan played better, when the stage was the biggest. By: HoopsHype, But when you want to say whos the greatest ever its still Michael Jordan, Im going with MJ because I played with him. James, by contrast, has led the league in scoring just once, and he peaked as a solo scoring threat in 2005-06, averaging 31.4 points per game and 23.1 shots per game while using 33.8 percent of his teams possessions. "More Than an Athlete" is an eight-episode series that examines the various stages and moments of LeBron James' journey from basketball prodigy to global sports icon, businessman and philanthropist through the lens of the unique bonds of friendship and partnership that forged among four men -- James, Maverick Carter, Randy Mims and Rich Paul -- over more than two decades. Curry posted the highest scoring season of his career the year after his hand injury limited him to five appearances in 2019-20. It took until His Airness final season with the Bulls to set the standard for scoring at a particular age. At his current scoring pace, he should pass Bryant, another Lakers legend, during the 2019-20 season if he maintains good health. This shows us that Jordan was dominating the league, while other players were just as dominate as Kobe was. Not only does he help the team with his scoring, but he seems to make everyone around him perform better with his playmaking ability. The Sporting News' Bill Benderhas a helpful guidewith the most importanttalking points if you're ready to discussMJ vs. LeBron, but we're simply here to provide the facts you need to justify your choice. This translated in outlawing defensive contact when a player is in the perimeter, which in turn allowed players to relentlessly attack the lane and score on spectacular layups or dunks in a manner similar to what Jordan popularized. Oh, andthe lazy narrative claiming James shrinksin big games his postseason lines are often more impressive than his regular-season performances. The debate between who the best basketball player of all time has been going on for many years. was an inspiration, James told reporters on March 7, 2019, the night he passed Jordan for fourth place on the NBAs career scoring list. Remember when LeBron scored 25 straight points? Cassell asked, referring to a 2007 playoff game between Jamess Cavaliers and the Pistons. Ageless? Six championships. Over 14 games, James is averaging 34.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game on 51.6% shooting. (greatest of all time), Id give the nod to Michael Jordan is because he had more of an assassin mentality, You cannot put that man in the same category as MJ right now, I love you, brother, but I have to go with Mike, MJ is the greatest basketball player of all-time, Thats just what separated Michael from everybody else including Magic, Bird, the greats of the greats, He is the greatest player in the history of basketball, Pelicans vs. Blazers: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Magic vs. James (38,299 career points) is only 89 points away from doing so. LeBron was shut down by Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala. Against that backdrop, maybe what LeBron James has done this season shouldnt seem so astonishing. Christie, Cassell and Smith all agreed with Bowen that Jordan, not James, should get the ball with the season on the line. With these and plenty other factors taken into consideration, LeBron James is the better overall player. Here are Jordan and James, in their own words, talking about each other over nearly two decades. Two exceptional talents. How LeBron can top Jordan for GOAT status. Whether it was through basketball or his own brand, Jordan was making everyone want to be like Mike. However, the reporters and fans always want to compare both of them because both players become one of the best players in NBA nowadays. James highest scoring average to date came in his age-21 season, when he finished third behind Bryant (35.4) and Allen Iverson (33.0). Those things including statistics, how many NBA championships have been won, and what you have been awarded with by the league and sports analysts throughout your career. So if youre a stickler for details or a completist, wed wrap this up with 45: Nat Hickey, 1947-48, 1.0 ppg. Michael Jordan may have retired, but he still a 5 time MVP trophy winner, he also been in 6 championship games. NBA GOAT debate: Big questions on the greatest players ever. There are so many more mountains to conquer. Wilton Norman Chamberlain enters the fray, after spotting these great scorers five years due to rules and traditions of his day. After that, the numbers drop off considerably. The Cavs went on to have one of their worst seasons yet. In addition to his more imposing physique, James has surpassed Jordan in other ways. LeBron feels he's the GOAT after Cavs' 2016 title win. Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes haven't been the only rookies to shine bright this season. When it comes to statistical comparison Jordan could be considered as better after winning six titles and its important to emphasize two 3-peats. source for the material. Both had consistently high scoring outputs and very little time missed to injury, with Abdul-Jabbar only notably missing two months in 1977, having broken his hand while punching Milwaukee Bucks center Kent Benson in the jaw. For comparisons sake, James has played 81 or more just once in his past 13 seasons (2017-18). Please logout and login again. They do not believe that anyone is better than them. He passes Michael Jordan, who did it at age 34 in 1997. He did average 34.0 points for the Oaks at 24. LeBron has left his hometown and his team in Miami suddenly leaving many fans angry for deserting them. 1 overall in 2003. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. There's a very good chance that James blows by 40,000 career points. Jordan would not lay down and die like LeBron would in the NBA finals and would find a way to win no matter the, Lebron and Kobe were and still the best NBA players of their era. James is by far the oldest player to notch 10 straight 25-point games. On March 28th, 2003 the ultimate rivalry took place between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. 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