(From the Archives)
The Chicago Bulls are playing the Cleveland Cavaliers in round one of the NBA playoffs, and I just cannot resist comparing Michael Jordan and Lebron James.
Let’s break this down.
1. Defense: As a defender Jordan was a consistent all pro, but he was not a shot blocker. Lebron defends well and is a superb shot blocker when he wants to be. Advantage Lebron.
2. Rebounding: As a rebounder Jordan was instinctive in his positioning, thus ending up with numerous triple doubles. Lebron is taller but seemingly is out of rebounding position more than Jordan. Advantage Jordan.
3. Passing: I like Jordan, but he had the advantage of Phil Jackson’s coaching and triangle offense, which had more motion and thus more opportunities for assists. Lebron is a good passer but Cleveland’s style of offense and his penchant for dribbling and one on one play makes me say advantage Jordan.
4. Outside shooting: Jordan improved as he got older, but Lebron has better range. Advantage Lebron.
5. Driving to the basket: Jordan might have been a bit more creative, but Lebron is incredibly strong. Advantage Lebron.
6. Intangibles: Six titles make me go with Jordan as a leader and winner, but Lebron is also a leader. Jordan had a coach and mentor in Phil Jackson. Lebron basically is the bench coach for Cleveland. As of now, Advantage Jordan.
My overall assessment today: Lebron is the superior player. He will win championships. I hope he stays as focused and dedicated as he seems today.
Question: Which player do you think was/is better in his prime?
29 Comments
Defense: Advantage Lebron.
Rebounding: Advantage Jordan.
Intangibles Part 1 Championships: Jordon won six titles, Labron ZERO. Advantage Jordan.
Intangibles Part 2 Class & Professionalism: Jordon never disrespected the home town fans by showing up at Major League Baseball or NFL games to root for the Chicago teams’ opponents. James has done this more than once which is why he is LaBoob in my book. Advantage Jordan!
With all due respect, saying Jordon is a better passer than LeBron is absurd at best. It’s also silly to even compare the two at this point. I’m a huge LeBron fan(and feel he’ll go down as a better player than MJ), but until he wins many championships, he’s not worthy (yet) to be compared to Jordon.
Lebron will be better with time and championships– He is still very young. Jordon has
the edge now with 6 rings….. Lebron is better if/when he gets to 4 rings.
Jordan was hands-down the better overall player. He made everyone around him better and when he was in the “zone”, he was in a class by himself. The “next” Jordan has not yet arrived. That said, we’ll look at LeBron after a few rings and re-evaluate his greatness.
LeBron James will have the same number of rings… provided he doesn’t take a few years off to pursue baseball, professional bass fishing or maybe professional tennis. Six should have been eight or nine! Game set and match, Jordan!
I HATE basketball!
Are you going to send out an email on the Stanley Cup too?
Jordan has better looking skin
The sequel to Lebron vs Michael is Lebron versus Kevin Durant. Durant is playing in Oklahoma City and gets little exposure but he is an amazing scorer and at 6′ 11″has nice ball handling skills. He lacks the personal magnetism of Lebron and Michael but at 21 he is a remarkable player. In two years maybe he will be “THE MAN”.
What about a match between the 1992 dream team and the 2008? Michael, Magic, Barkley, Ewing, Stockton, vs Kobe, Lebron, Melo, Wade, and Dwight Howard.
Who are better players? Who would be better team mates?
Lloyd,
I think you know where I stand on this one. It has been an honor watching LeBron since HS.
He gets better every year and he only in his mid-20s. One must remember that he has 4 years on Jordan who completed 4 years of college. I plan to watch “More Than a Game” tomorrow, a documentary about LeBron and his HS buddies winning two state championships at St. V.
are you kidding me with this analysis.you dont know what you’re talking about.defense:jordan,why?because he did 200 steals and 100 blocks which lebron which is bigger and taller cannot match.32-8-8,no body has matched even lebron,he’s trying but does not have the skills that mike has.hand checlking during mikes prime was allowed and he stills scores 32 a game,if it was today he would average 40 plus…
jordan did everything during the prime of the best players,bird,magic,malone,ewing,oneal(on his prime).mike dominated.lebron cant even average 50 % on the floor and 80% on the line.get your stats together before you even compare jordan to lebron.not even close….
lloyd.you dont know what you’re talking about.dp your homework and you’ll see that you’re wrong on this one…
How can you possibly say LeBron is better?!?! How many times did Jordan win defensive player of the year? How many more steals did Jordan have? Jordan had over 150 more blocks through his first 300 games than LeBron did through his first 300. And as far as jump shot…you are a damn fool if you think LeBron has a better outside shot than Jordan. And saying he will win championships; since when did the NBA become what could happen and not what has happened. Get real.
Jordan had 3 in a row. he then took three years off because he was bored. came back and won 3 more. what does this tell me? when he was in his zone, no one is better. he controlled the game like no other. That said, I like lebron better than kobe.
kobe won 3 with shaq. shaq was in his prime and without him, take away those 3 because they weren’t winning without shaq.
Why is this a question anyway’s? It isn’t always about the stats. Sam Jones had 10 rings. bill russell had 11. robert horry has 7 ! is he better than Jordan ?
Jordan represented more than just numbers. he was an artisan, a master of his craft and no one looked or looks better than him playing the game of basketball.
lebron looks more like a football player turned basketball player. he can jump but it definitely isn’t smooth. its rugged.
kobe just tries toooo hard to look like jordan and never really developed an identity of his own. its actually a pathetic re-enactment of the more superior jordan. its hard to watch because he’s trying to be like the person who has already done that been there and looked much better doing it. sorry kobe. this is one of the reasons I like lebron better than kobe because lebron is not trying to be like someone else.
NBA fans have turned into stat sluts.
The greatest ever vs. Lebron ………… Jordan & james both at their prime …. 1 on 1………. Jordan will destroy lebron!
Somehow, the article above is of someone who is arguably way too young to have seen Michael Jordan play period.
Firstly, Michael Jordan BEATS out Lebron in all categories besides “possibly” Rebounds, that’s it, and even then, this would be arguably dead EVEN.
How does Lebron play better “defense” when Michael Jordan has Proven that he was the BEST Defensive Player of his Era, the only one to rival MJ during his tenure was Scottie Pippen, and MJ winning a DPY Award Proves this that MJ>>>>Lebron.
Jordan was a phenomenal passer, everyone seems to “forget” this, and although his numbers may not stack up in the assist department to the likes of say Magic (considering his position wasn’t built for it) however during his tenure when he played the PG position he had double digit balanced stats proving that the man was a Passer, oh yeah, I think he won MvP that year too, go figure.
Outside Shooting…Michael Jordan>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Lebron James. How in the world do you even give the advantage to Lebron? How? Michael Jordan was far better at the fundamentals, superior first step (arguably the most broken first step in NBA History), far better choice of shots. His FG of 50% proves he was better at shooting then Lebron, who is only 46%, so tell me…how is Lebron better?
Hell, even the FT %, Michael blows Lebron out of the water with a 84% FT while Lebron is barely breaking 74%, so umm, yeah, how is Lebron got a better range over Jordan? Exactly, he doesn’t, MJ had the best fade away shot of all time, and his choices of shots were far better then Lebrons, this isn’t even close, MJ wins this department by a great deal.
Inside game of Lebron being better then Michael Jordan? If this was a joke, then I’m seriously laughing hard, because nobody, and I mean, nobody had an inside game like Michael Jordan. First off, Lebron plays in a FAR weaker league with a far more LENIENT rules, ever notice how Centers or other players can clog up to middle anymore to punish players for getting in?
Watch those Lebron highlights or when he drives in, many times, there are nobody there to contest him, why? Because of the rules today, all that stupid 3-sec defensive violations don’t allow players to contest the person driving, thus why DRIVING IS EASIER IN TODAY’S LEAGUE.
Lebron “if” he was playing during Jordan’s Era would get absolutely pounded if he tried to go in. This is what Michael Jordan first throughout his ENTIRE career, and he still produced stats overall that were superior to Lebron, all the while having a better shooting %, and everything else.
Michael Jordan had the Greatest Inside Game of All Time, and he displayed it by going up against some of the Greatest Defensive Teams of all time. Bad Boys, Sonics of 96, New York Knicks of the early 90’s, etc, etc.
Not to mention he had his BEST games up against some of the Greatest Teams of all time, 63 against the 1986 Celtics mind you, and 69 up against the Playoff contender Cav’s during that Era. So please, do not even compare, when it is shown, that stout defenses can and does cause problems for Lebron (Watch when he plays against Great Team Defense Teams), however Michael Jordan could never ever be stopped even up against Great Defensive Teams.
Teams like the Pistons and Knicks who’s fouls and punishments of going up against Jordan would be considered “flagrant” fouls today, so I don’t want to hear this garbage of Lebron somehow having a “better” inside game. MJ was not only more creative, but more intelligent at splitting defenses, and getting to the rim, this is not even CLOSE here.
Intagibles – Lebron is a good leader, however Michael Jordan was an elite leader. His will to win was and is still is untouchable by any NBA player ever. He elevated the gameplay of his teammates by his sheer will, and when they did not have the strength left to go, he willed and took games over to make sure they won (he’s done this on so many occassions it’s not even funny).
During the Biggest games, he did not flounder, where as things like LBJ will do simply fundamental mistakes during the biggest games! Not to mention in MJ’s early part of his career up to 6 years, he did not have an all around solid cast like Lebron did. Yes, he HAD Pippen and Grant for those years, but they did not proper until the 90-91 season, so it was basically MJ the entire ride as well, both had to deal with the lack of team play from their teammates.
However, Michael Jordan’s will to win, dominate and drive his team to win has been proven, over and over again, and during the most important game, he stepped his game up to the highest level, something that Lebron has not proven to do yet. Just look at MJ’s playoff’s stats, this goes hand in hand to how he elevates his gameplay when it really matters, they are even better then his regular season stats by a significant margin here.
So not even including Championships, Scoring Titles, yadi yada, Lebron James is NOT even as good as Michael jordan. Heck, Lebron James has yet to prove he’s even as good as other NBA Greats from past history, like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, etc, etc.
To end, you guys need to stop comparing Lebron to Michael, the greatest NBA player of all time. At this point, I wouldn’t even put Lebron in the Top-20 of all time, much less comparing him to MJ? You kidding me, at this point, Lebron is about as good as Dominique Wilkins was, and if you take the time look at their gameplay, Dominique and Lebron mirror each other almost exactly, except Dominique shot better at the FT line.
So not even close here man, His Airness>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>King James.
This loyd dude ,is he like looking for attention goodd. Or bad? Why would u write sumthing so obviously dumb!?
Lebron over mj in anything but height,is the dumbest thing I’ve heard
it was magical watching MJ play, Lebron is great, but not even in the same class!!!!
When Lebron can outperform MJ’s performance this man is simply the next in a line of “could this be the next Michael Jordan?” How many players in the history of any sport could bring their game up under the most adverse conditions like the flu game in the 1997 NBA Finals where Michael Jordan put up 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals despite being extremely ill? Lebron might have similar skills in the offensive categories, but he is not MJ. I would definitely disagree with the writer on the defensive side of the ball as MJ was a 9 time NBA All-Defensive Team member and would likely have been chosen twice more had he not retired.
OK Let’s break this down ( comparison is skill and talent wise and in MJ’s and LBJ’s prime, not in achievements and career overall)
1. Defense: Wow, you may be the first person in the whole world to actually post that LeBron is better defender than Jordan, congrats. You crearly have no understanding what defense means in baketball and you only assume it is blocks (or probably steals). In fact lot of players who have lot of steals and blocks plays horrible defense by gambling too much and leaving his man wide open..
Jordan was unique all time defender who had all the aspects of world class defense: one on one stopper, team defense and also playing passing lanes.There were very few perimeter defenders who were able to do all of this defensively ( Pippen and Payton comes in my mind).
MJ’s best shotblocking seasons were from 1986-88 when he had 1.52 and 1.6 blocks per game ( both 82 games), while also leading the league in steals with ridiculous 3.2 per game, all backed up by superb lock down defense. LBJ’s best is 1.1 blocks per game, while being 3 inches taller than MJ..so much for the better shotblocker theory..
LeBron entered the leage as truly weak defender and got better in years, and he is really great playing powerhouse defense against the likes of Paul Pierce, but thanks to LeBrons broken defensive stands quicker players leave him in dust. He simply lacks the ability to play constantly solid lock down defense..He is no doubt worse defender than Jordan..
2. LeBron is taller and about 50 pounds heavier and plays small forward, so he should naturally get more rebounds, but the statistic difference is very small and if you take out MJ’s handicap in body proportion his rebounding skill is better than LBJ
3.Passing: this one is close, LBJ is truly exceptional passer but it is hard to compare because he basicaly plays(ed) point guard for Cavs and has the ball in his hands all the time. MJ unlike almost all perimeter stars today made immediate decisions with the ball, quick passes, shots or drives, he played always within the flow of the game, not dribling 20 seconds on the perimeter and than launch contested 3 pointer.
Also MJ played fantastic off ball and didn’t entirely need the ball all the time to be efective..
When he played point guard at the end of 1988 he demonstrated the ability to avarage over 10 assist per game if he would play that position plus he had like 10 triple doubles in 11 games in that period.. so I would say in passing they are pretty equal..Decision making and basketball IQ clearly goes to MJ in gargantuan advantage
4. Outside shooting: MJ didn’t grow up with the 3pt line so it took him few years to develop (43% in 1996) but it was never a need for his game since he had unparallelled midrange game, thanks to his gigantic hands, jumping ability, body control and shooting touch, MJ could shoot anytime from anywhere and made quality high percantage jumpers. He also developed unmatched post game for shooting guard.
While LBJ is so so 3pt shooter (33.3% last season – actaully better than Kobe).,and he made significant progress in this category, his jumper is still erratic and unreliable. His midrange game practically nonexistant and remains his biggest weakness. Huge advantage Jordan
5. Driving to the basket: LBJ has unmatched combination of power and quickness, so he gets to the basket at will, but you have to remember he does that in an era with much softer rules, were the officiating changed to support perimeter players and penetrations, like no handchecking and 3 sec., in MJ era he didn’t had any of these supporting rules, instead he faced brutal physical defense and 7 footers waiting to hammer him under basket ( no flagrant fouls, what is flagrant 1 today was a common faul in the 80’s).
MJ had the quickest first step among shooting guards in history when he was at his prime and would rip this league apart with his driving ability. They will have to change the rules back only beacause of him, he would easily avarage 15 FT’s per game..
6. Intangibles : Whether it is mental toughness, leadership, performance in clutch, raising his game when it matters, competitivness or killer instinct MJ has no contest among any other player in history
While LBJ is a monster in todays basketball he has serious flaws in fundamentals and often plays the wrong way. Also he strugles against great physical defense, just like Kobe and other todays perimeter players, unlike MJ who faced much tougher, better defenses and less advantage rules and always shined against them..
My final words: If you put prime MJ ( 1986-1993) in todays league, with todays soft rules and support for ofensive players, MJ would avarage 40-45 PPG with close to 60% shooting. GAME OVER.
P.S. great post by Denjin
what is wrong with u people i keep seeing people say lebron was a better defender than mj r u kidding me? first all mj in his 4th year won denfensive player of the year, lebron never has won it, mj could shut a player down lebron not so much and i read mj couldnt block shots but lebron can HA how dumb are u mj is by the way 2 inches shorter but mj set the record for most blocks in a season and career by a guard in there carrers mj avg .8 blocks per game to lebrons .9 so lebron slightly higher but after 8 more years in the nba and older he gets we will see how high that stays in there first 7 years mjs blocks were def higher just like his steals are just look it up, advantage mj, plus one more thing everone says well lebron led a no name team to the finals quicker than mj ok true but lebron playd bad n they got swept, i never heard of coming in 2nd as being good mj never lost inthe finals, lebron went up against a weak league thats how he got there till he finally played a good team and it wasnt even close,mj had a no name team and went up against bird n thomas,good teams n they say well mj had pippen who was a great player true but pippen came inthe draft to the bulls and wasnt great inthe beginning mj devloped him to a great player like he did all his player, mj is better point blank, thats not sayin lebron isnt good hes a great player but not like mj
Wow Lloyd, you truly are something special. Lebron is better than Jordan. You are insane. The best part about your article is that you get absolutely nothing correct. Your breakdown of their abilities is terrible. Rebounding is one category that you can base completely on statistics and it is clear that Lebron has the edge. You think Lebron has has more range than Jordan. That is laughable. I honestly believe you have never seen either of them play and you’re just making things up as you go. I can’t even continue writing because I could go all day. Bottom line is your old a s s should know better.
lebron better at driving to the basket? that is insane. Lebron has the advantage of the defensive 3 second penalty (worst rule ever introduced to basketball). Early in jordan’s career, when he wasn’t a great shooter, he got the majority of his points driving to the rim, similar to lebron. Jordan had to deal with defenses that were allowed to pack the paint, often having to negotiate his way around 3 or more defenders (after beating his own man). Lebron gets to the rim at will because no one is in the lane. At best, he has to beat his man and maybe one big on his way to the basket. Also, Jordan averaged more blocks and more steals per game. Jordan is far better than lebron, or any other pretender to the thrown…
This is ridiculous. The only advantage LeBron has is in passing. He is a better passer than Jordan. In all other areas it isn’t even close. People really need to go back and watch some games and look at the stat sheets.
Your Right This is ridiculous. First off Rings dont mean SHIT Because its a Team Acconplishment and we are talking about a single players Stats. NO One in the History of this Game can come close to the stats of Lebron James except for Wilt Chamberlin and Oscar Robertson and thats a FACT look it up EFF Rating and Win Shares Google it! Jordan was just a better scorer but like kobe he threw up to many shots BALL HOG!!!and who played in a better era excuse me? Todays players: Kobe Bryant,Kevin Durant,D-Wade,Carmelo,D-Rose, CP3, Dirk Norwitzki, Blake Griffin,Dwight Howard, Kevin Love,Rajon Rondo,Paul Peirce, and now guys like Ricky Rubio & Jeremy Lin…….ya its Lebron James all the way thats why Jordan talks Crap on Lebron cause he see’s it Too!
Franchise…..wtf you smokin on cause obviously you’ve either never saw mike play or high af. Look @ MJ’s stat….yess…..let’s compare just the player not the teams…..MJ avgs more points, has a betterFG%(But yet you say he took too many shots, well when ya make half ya shots I think you should be able to put up as many as you want) Mj shot 50% or close to it over his career. Now who does that other than centers. Has more steals and steals per game. He’s way more efficient so I don’t know what eff you talkin about and his per is better. And all this is better then a guy whose more athletic bigger and stronger and taller then MJ, and who has the benefit of offensive 3 seconds and no hand checking. 5 mvps to 2, more scoring titles, 1 dpoy to 0, led the league in steals…….bron has never done that. Set a record for guards in blocks, bron has never done that for forwards. The simple fact that MJ could put up 26 shots per game n u could exxpect him to atleast hit half was remarkable. O n not to mention 6 finals mvps……not countin the rings…….but the mvp’sm Jordan is faar better than James. N if you don’t think so your absolutely dumb and should be banned from watching basketball
That wasn’t a very thorough break down of the comparison between the two. You forgot scoring, the entire mid range game, dunking, free throws, steals, posting up, clutch performances, etc. which all go in favor of MJ.
I also don’t agree with the assessments that you did give. For instance… Michael Jordan didn’t block shots? Are you kidding me? Show me a season where LeBron had over 100 blocked shots. His highest was 93 and his second highest was 81. MJ had 125 blocked shots in the 1986-87 season and then he did it again the following year where he had 131. That was two years in a row that he had 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in one season. LeBron hasn’t touched that. Also, where is LeBrons DOY award? There’s no question who the better defender was prime vs prime. As for passing, it’s LeBron who has the advantages. He plays point forward which gives him a lot more opportunities to run the floor and get assists than a shooting guard gets. Also, MJ had the better shooting range towards the second half of his career because not only did he perfect the greatest mid ranged jumper ever, but he was able to shoot threes as well very efficiently. LeBron’s mid range jumper is suspect which gives Jordan a better overall range. Furthermore, I think they’re equal at going to the hole and that’s giving LeBron the benefit of the doubt because he doesn’t have to face hand checking, a no 3 second rule where the center could clog the lane and very physical play by highly aggressive teams like the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks who were geared to knock you on your butt! Michael was just as effective at slashing through the paint under all of those conditions. LeBron has never had to deal with any of that and people just move out of his way and giving him a clear lane. Big difference!
If you really want to make a better comparison, try this on for size…
This is Michael Jordan in his prime throughout 4 years starting from the 1986-87 season – the 1990-1991 season versus LeBron James and his average output over the past 4 years while still in his prime.
PPG MJ = 34.6 LeBron = 27.9
APG MJ = 6.3 LeBron = 7.25
RPG MJ = 6.4 LeBron = 7.6
BPG MJ = 1.2 LeBron = .9
SPG MJ = 2.95 LeBron = 1.68
FG% MJ = 52 LeBron = 51
FT% MJ = 85 LeBron = 77
3P% MJ = 24 LeBron = 34
Michael Jordan wins 5 to 3 out of 8 potential categories and it’s important to note that two out of three of those averages that LeBron leads in are around a one digit difference. LeBron plays point forward which should give him more opportunities for assists and rebounds and MJ is still right there with him! The only area that shows LeBron having significantly more skill than MJ is in his 3 point shooting but at the peak of his career, MJ didn’t use that shot very often. It wasn’t really part of his game. However, he got much better at it and used it more frequently later on when he became more of a jump shooter. Where people call LeBron James the greatest stat stuffer of all time and the best all around player ever is beyond me. He still needs to get past Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson before we can begin to discuss MJ!
One final point I’d like to make is the fact that you can erase every comparison I just made and disregard every stat I listed because the post season is where it really counts and NO ONE in the history of the NBA has achieved more than Michael Jordan has in the playoffs and finals. That’s where he showcased his greatest games, put up his best stats, broke all kinds of NBA records, proved that he was the most clutch player ever and won 6 championships along with 6 finals MVP awards. LeBron isn’t even scratching the surface of MJ’s legacy in that regard and until someone can prove to me that regular season accomplishments are better than post seasonn accomplishments, we don’t even have an argument here!
One more point I’d like to make is on the subject of athleticism and how people these days tend to have Alzheimer’s disease and forget what a freak of nature MJ was when he was in his prime! They make it sound like LeBron is a superior athlete. I have done some research on all of the available information online regarding this issue and this is what I was able to come up with…
Verticle leap MJ = 48″ LeBron = 44″ The last I heard 48 is higher than 44!
Speed MJ = 4.3 40 LeBron = 4.4 40 The last I heard 4.3 40 is faster than 4.4 40!
Quickness Everyone knows that MJ had a much quicker first step and inside moves.
Strength You can give LeBron a only slight edge here for two reasons…
#1. Strength is not just what you possess but knowing how to use it. Kobe has no problem posting up with LeBron and MJ is stronger than Kobe. I don’t see this being an advantage for LeBron James.
#2. Guys like Magic Johnson, Robert Horry and many others have Marveled over MJ’s strength. Magic who was 6ft 9, 235 Lbs said that MJ was the strongest guard ever and that he had big mans strength. Robert Horry who was 6ft 10, 240 Lbs said that MJ was one of the strongest guys you’re ever going to run into. These are two players who were around LeBron’s size who said that so I doubt very seriously that LeBron would be able to over power MJ.
Power Everyone assumes that just because LeBron plays a power game that he’s more powerful in the open court and going to the rim. Watch MJ’s early highlights and then make that assessment. It didn’t matter what two or three guys were waiting for him at the other end, he was going to score and there was nothing they could do to stop him! He was also one of the greatest finishers ever. The real difference between the two is that LeBron doesn’t have a finesse game and MJ did so he has to rely on his power game a lot more often.
So let’s tally this up…
Verticle leap = MJ
Speed = MJ
Quickness = MJ
Strength = LeBron
Power = ?
MJ wins 3 to 1 in 5 potential categories. Let’s not forget 2 other physical gifts that MJ possessed over LeBron. His hang time being one because not only could he jump high and far but he was also much more creative in the air. The other one was the size of his hands and the advantages that gave him over everyone else. LeBron cannot play one handed like Jordan did.
What other categories could we possibly add to this list? I think it’s clear who the more physically and athletically gifted player was. I’m so tired of hearing that LeBron is an athlete the basketball world has never seen. Ever heard of Wilt Chamberlain?