MJ OR LEBRON ... WHO’S THE BEST?
The debate rages around two generational stars who dominated the NBA in different eras
It’s the question that stirs so many sports debates. Who is the greatest of all time in a particular sport?
The question of basketball’s GOAT was raised again following the airing of The Last Dance, the epic 10-part documentary detailing the Chicago Bulls’ quest for a sixth NBA title.
Michael Jordan, who drives the entire project, is brought back into focus some 22 years later. It’s not like anyone had forgotten Jordan, but a near month-long run of weekly episodes brought him back to the forefront and naturally opened the GOAT debate again.
For these purposes, we’ve limited the debate to just two players: Jordan and Lebron James.
Both were clearly the greatest players of their respective generations, but who was the greatest of all?
LEADERSHIP
Jordan: Now that we’ve all had a 10-episode reminder of what a take-charge kind of guy Jordan was, is this one even really a debate? Jordan had no sacred cows, no player he wouldn’t challenge, and no length he wouldn’t go to in order to motivate a teammate. Physical intimidation (punching Steve Kerr and Will Perdue) was just the beginning. He would verbally eviscerate a teammate if he believed it would make him a better player, and based on The Last Dance, he believed this was effective with every teammate he ever had, with Scottie Pippen being the lone exception. Jordan justified this approach to himself and his detractors during The Last Dance when he said no one on the team would ever say he ever asked them to do something he hadn’t done himself. This is probably true, and it ignores the fact that the bar isn’t set the same for every player. That said, it’s fair to say Jordan got the most out of every teammate he ever played with, even if it cost him some personal relationships.
James: In his own right James is, like Jordan, a once-in-a-lifetime leader. By virtue of his own abilities on the basketball court, he immediately has the respect of every player with whom he steps on the court. But unlike Jordan, teammates of James say there is and always has been an effort to befriend all teammates, so that when he did have to come down on them for a lack of effort or discipline or focus, it didn’t come across as mean spirited. It was just trying to get the best out of them. It’s a small distinction, but it’s probably the difference between James’ teammates opinions of him and Jordan’s, some of whom openly refer to him as a jerk while still conceding he’s the greatest of all time.
SCORER
Jordan: Despite playing in a predominantly two-point scoring era, MJ was as inventive and effective as any scorer in the history of the game. He sits fifth overall among NBA scoring greats, two spots behind James, who has basically three times as many three-point attempts and makes as Jordan, not to mention two more full seasons under his belt. Jordan also did his scoring in an era when defence was extremely physical. Ask Charles Oakley or Bill Laimbeer or Rick Mahorn about defence today and you get either an eye roll or a smile. Defenders today are extremely limited in how physical they can get with an opponent. Jordan dealt with that on a nightly basis and still averaged more points per game than Lebron did. For that reason, more than any other, Jordan has to be viewed the better scorer.
James: You always get the feeling when watching Lebron that he could score any time he wanted, but he chooses to share the load. While Jordan had to be coached to give up the ball, James is a much more willing sharer. His mix of size and athleticism makes him a tough man to stop, and almost impossible when he’s coming in with speed. Obviously, James’ three-point game gives him an edge over Jordan on sheer totals, but in terms of being a pure scorer, we would still give the edge to Jordan on the belief that had Jordan played in this era, he too would have refined his three-point shot and made more use of it.
DEFENDER
Jordan: He was a lockdown defender, earning nine all-defensive team nominations, compared to the six Lebron has while playing in two more seasons. Jordan also won a defensive player of the year award in 1987-88, something James has never done. The big difference here, though, is that James clearly takes defensive series off at times, something Jordan wouldn’t allow himself or any of his teammates to do. Jordan doesn’t have the bulk or size that James does, but he would defend the perimeter as well as anyone in the game then — and perhaps now — although Kawhi Leonard might have an argument. In his 13 seasons in Chicago, Jordan averaged 2.5 steals a game, almost a full steal a game more than James in his prime.
James: At six foot nine and a chiselled 250 pounds, James was the more versatile of the two men when it came to defence. He could and does guard any position, 1 through 5, while Jordan was limited to 1 through 4 back in the day, when centres were appreciated for their size and bulk, as opposed to now when they actually stretch defences by stepping out to the three-point line. When he’s interested, James can be a lockdown defender, but anyone who has watched him knows this isn’t consistently the case. For Jordan it was, and that’s what gives MJ the edge here, despite the inches and pounds he gives up to Lebron.
FACILITATOR
Jordan: It’s tough to call Jordan a ball hog, if for no other reason than he averaged 5.3 dimes a night over his career, but it was clearly not his focus. Jordan was there to put the ball in the hoop, and there’s every reason to believe that without Phil Jackson, he’s likely much less of a passer than he ever was. Jordan had early three-point specialists around him like Steve Kerr and John Paxson, but with James, entire lineups were built with outside shooters. James has played with the likes of Mike Miller, Kyle Korver, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Ray Allen, JR Smith and Channing Frye, to name just a handful. Teams doubling James paid the price and bumped his assist totals with regularity because of this.
James: Like with the three-point shot, this one comes down to desire, and James clearly, because of the way he approached team building and chemistry, was far more interested in sharing the scoring load than dominating it. James won’t be confused with Magic Johnson in the passing department (few are), but he’s inventive and has elite court vision, knowing exactly where each and every teammate is at all times.
James has averaged 7.4 assists per game to date in his career, and that’s only going up based on the league-leading 10.6 assists per night he was averaging when the season was put on hold. The presence of Anthony Davis in that Lakers lineup has a lot to do with that.
INTANGIBLES
Jordan: The drive, that fanatical need to win has rarely been as amplified as it was in Jordan. His all-or-nothing approach to championships was all consuming. Yes, he has his shoe deals and later in his career his off-season movie projects, and even his golf, but for the most part, it was all basketball for Jordan. He stepped away for a season to play baseball when it all became too much, but then came back and immediately returned to that single-minded approach. Win the Larry O’brien Trophy or the year is a failure. That was his mindset. He didn’t get involved in team building or asset acquisition to grease the wheels. He simply worked with what showed up at training camp.
James: Again, perhaps it’s the era he plays in, but James has been far more hands-on in more areas of team construction than Jordan ever was. He orchestrated the Miami golden era when Dream Team teammates James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all joined forces in Miami, where he won two of his three titles. Even on the third championship team, when he returned to Cleveland, James was joined by Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love on another elite roster. Knock it if you must, but that ability to put these things in motion is another area that sets him apart from his peers. He may not have the killer instinct of a Jordan, but he knows what it takes to win in today’s NBA.
OFF-COURT INFLUENCE
Jordan: He launched — OK, maybe blew up — the shoe era, and for that his influence away from the court can never be discounted. But as for societal issues, Jordan purposely avoided that spectrum. He focused on basketball, and away from the court, he enjoyed wagering on his golf game or at the casino. Beyond that, there wasn’t much else. The Jesse Helms story, as told in The Last Dance, when he failed to back Harvey Gantt against the racist Helms at the request of Jordan’s own mother, paints an unsympathetic picture of Jordan. In his post-playing days, he’s become a little more outspoken. He defended James when President Donald Trump attacked him, and defended the rights of NFL players to take a knee during the national anthem. But there was none of that during his playing days.
James: Probably the most clearcut win for James is in this arena. James, unlike Jordan, has spoken often and loudly about any number of issues within society that he has deemed unfair. He hasn’t worried about backlash or hurting his bottom line. He speaks openly and intelligently whether the issue is NFL players taking a knee, the lack of gun control in the U.S., or the abuse of power by law enforcement in his country when dealing with African-americans. Not bad for a guy who in 2012 was named “America’s Most Disliked Athlete” by Forbes. He’s come a long way from “The Decision” that earned him that dishonour.