Michael Jordan or LeBron James: Who is the G.O.A.T?

Michael Jordan, also known by his initials MJ, is a former professional basketball player. He is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls. His biography on the official NBA website states: “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.”

LeBron James is a professional basketball player who currently plies his trade with LA Lakers in the NBA. James has played for Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and LA Lakers throughout his career and has won four NBA titles so far. James has been called ‘the Chosen One’ since joining NBA and ever since he has been compared with Michael Jordan on the ‘GOAT’ debate. James has idolized Jordan and even donned his number 23 when he joined NBA. So, who is better among them? Let’s find out. 

Let’s compare Jordan and James’ accolades:

Now let’s compare the duo’s finals stats:

Here we can see that when it comes to accolades, Jordan has been ahead of LeBron in those terms. But when it comes to individual stats both equally ahead of each other in stats. 

Jordan has a 6-0 finals record, which is just brilliant. He also has six NBA rings, two more than LeBron. Jordan also leads LeBron in various accolades. Apart from these, Michael Jordan has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, which James has never won in his career. Michael Jordan has three Steals titles to his name as well. LeBron has never won the steals title in his career. These records show how good defensively Jordan was during his career. Michael Jordan also has 10 scoring titles to his name in his 15-year-old professional basketball career. As compared to that, LeBron has just one scoring title to his name and that came long back in 2007 when he used to play for Cleveland Cavaliers. 

While Jordan must have scored more overall, stats reveal that James was more efficient than the former. LeBron James has better efficiency in two points and three-point range. James turned the ball over more per game as well. He is also a much better passer and rebounder than Jordan was during his 15-year-old playing career. Jordan has a better free throw percentage than LeBron, which helps to boost that points per game statistic. These stats reveal how good James is in overall gameplay and not just scoring. 

In conclusion, LeBron has better stats than Jordan and that makes him a better all-round player than Jordan. But again, Jordan was a much better scorer and has qualified for 13 playoffs in his 15-year-old career. Both have their own positives and negatives. So it’s hard to call someone a GOAT because both have been better than each other in some aspect. What do you think, who is the GOAT?