LeBron making a case to usurp Jordan as `Greatest'

Regardless of what sport you’re talking about, sports discussions will invariably lead to the age-old argument: Who is the greatest of all time?

With his five Super Bowl rings, Tom Brady is clearly the greatest quarterback to have ever played the game. When it comes to hockey, arguments could certainly be made for Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. And it’s hard to think of anyone who accomplished more on a baseball field than Babe Ruth since the Bambino hung up his cleats some 80 years ago.

For the past 20 years, Michael Jordan has been the NBA’s undisputed G.O.A.T.

But as we all stare on in amazement as the LeBron James-led Cavaliers shred the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, Jordan’s place atop the basketball world is looking less and less like a sure thing.

The case for Jordan is 6 NBA titles in 6 Finals appearances. James has 3 championships in 7 trips.

And though his undefeated championship record speaks volumes, Jordan beat teams that didn’t have championship pedigrees. His first title came against the Lakers in 1991, a team that had Vlade Divac at center. His other five titles were earned with wins over Portland, Phoenix, Seattle and Utah.

When fans talk about Jordan, you’d think he never missed a shot — that’s not the case.

In his final three finals’ series, MJ shot a pedestrian 39 percent from the field.

LeBron, meanwhile, is 1-2 in three finals appearances against the five-time champion Spurs. He’s also heading toward a third finals match-up with the high-powered Golden State Warriors, who have averaged 69 wins in the past three seasons.

It’s clear to me that the Spurs and Warriors are both far better teams than any Jordan beat in the championship round.

A deeper look at the numbers gives a slight edge to LeBron: Jordan leads in points per game, 30.1 to 27.1; James has a higher shooting percentage, .501 to .497; is better beyond the 3-point arc .342 to .327; leads in rebounds per game, 7.3 to 6.2; and assists per game, 7.0 to 5.3.

The scary part? The “Chosen One” is still getting better. He set career highs this season in rebounds and assists while shooting 55 percent from the field.

How many more titles will LeBron James win? If he catches Jordan, he’d surpass his boyhood idol. I wouldn’t bet against that happening.