Who Is the NBA’s GOAT, Jordan or James?
So, who’s better, Michael Jordan or LeBron James?
For the Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant, such comparisons are odious since each player offers unique strengths and the matter can never be resolved by the players competing against one another. For others, it comes down to personal preference - or maybe the era in which they grew up watching the game.
Regardless, Jordan holds the NBA scoring record, whereas James has arguably proven himself to be the more efficient player overall. So, perhaps each player is the greatest in his own right, a notion whose merits we’ll explore herein.
“Air Jordan”
Fans have described Jordan’s playing as a work of kinetic art. In his 1984-93 and 1995-99 years with the Chicago Bulls, he instantaneously took stock of opponents’ weaknesses and gave no quarter as he effortlessly maneuvered around the court.
A master of subterfuge, he left opponents in his wake before they knew what had happened to them. The numerous photos of “Air Jordan” seemingly suspended in flight before the net capture the extraordinary power and grace of his movements. His recognition as one of the greatest all-around players of all time is well deserved.
James has called Jordan an “assassin” with respect to his relentless scoring and said that he thinks they would have been ideal teammates. He’s also said that for him Jordan has always been a kind of “ghost” whose achievements he’s been chasing his entire career.
“King James”
Perhaps best described as a 6’9” dynamo combining strength, speed, and size, “King James” is one of the truly great all-around players in NBA history. In high school, he led his team to three state championships during his four years of play. When he was a junior, Sports Illustrated featured him on the cover, proclaiming him “The Chosen One.”
James was the first selection of the 2003 NBA draft, snapped up by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He went on to sign with the Miami Heat after becoming a free agent, then ditched the Heat for Cleveland before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. He’s known for his aggressive pursuit of a shot, regardless of how many opponents he faces at the net. He’s constantly focused on points, no matter how they’re achieved, shooting or passing.
In terms of James’ likely reputation two decades from now, Jordan has remarked that he “may be me.”
Jordan’s Enduring Achievements
Jordan’s lifetime stats encompass 32,292 points, 6,672 rebounds, and 5,633 assists. He’s a six-time NBA champion and winner of two Olympic gold medals. An NBA MVP five times and NBA Finals MVP six times, he retired as the all-time leading NBA scorer with 30.1 points per game.
In his third season with the Bulls, he posted one of the NBA’s most spectacular scoring runs, becoming only one of two players to reach 3,000 points within a season.
And in terms of his Player Efficiency Rating and Win Shares Per 48 Minutes, Jordan remains the all-time champion. Numerous fans cite his performance in a 1990 game against the Cleveland Cavaliers - with 18 rebounds and 69 points - as the single greatest one-game feat of any basketball player, anytime, anywhere.
Jordan has, of course, already been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. If James were to retire tomorrow, his place there is guaranteed to follow on a first ballot. It’s also hard to dispute that he represents, for people around the world, the face of the NBA today.
James’ Solidifying Legacy
A phenomenal scorer, James is also inching ever closer to breaking one of sports’ most sacred records, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time points scored record of 38,387. James’ to-date career total of more than 36,000 total points is impressive in and of itself.
James has already broken Bernard King’s 1990-91 record as the oldest player to achieve more than one 50-point game in a single season (which he did in 2022). At the other end of the age spectrum, LeBron at age 28 became the youngest-ever NBA player to reach a career total of 20,000 points.
Like Jordan, James has also won two Olympic gold medals, and his 10 NBA Finals (including eight in a row, culminating in 2018) surpass Jordan’s total of six. Although MJ won all six of his Finals appearances, LeBron’s 4-6 Finals record still looks strong. He has also won four Finals MVP awards.
Early in 2022, he reached a rarefied position held by no other player in the history of the NBA: 10,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists.
MJ’s Charitable Giving
Michael Jordan donated the profits from The Last Dance, a documentary about his final Bulls season, to Friends of the Children, which he has said is especially important to him because it provides long-term mentors who work with under-served kids from the time they are in preschool until they graduate from high school.
MJ has also funded health clinics and numerous Chicago-area youth education programs and served as a Make-A-Wish ambassador, bringing in millions of dollars to the nonprofit and personally granting hundreds of critically ill children’s wishes. He contributed his entire 2001 salary from the NBA to 9/11-related philanthropy, and as chairman of the Charlotte Hornets Foundation, he has directed millions toward health, education, and military philanthropy.
LeBron’s Charitable Giving
The LeBron James Family Foundation has focused on James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio. He has built a real estate development program in his old neighborhood that includes residential buildings, a school, and a sports complex as part of a larger-scale social assistance effort.
The foundation has also developed local after-school enrichment and mentoring programs and devoted special attention to the I Promise School, which serves some of the area’s most “at-risk” students, providing not only academics, but also character development guidance.
Their All-Too-Human Side
Neither Jordan nor James is a stranger to controversies of their own making.
Scottie Pippin and others have called out Jordan for not showing his teammates the respect they deserved. For Pippin, Jordan showed an arrogant, dismissive attitude the entire time they played together.
After becoming manager of the Washington Wizards in his retirement, Jordan made bad hiring decisions, and not even putting himself onto the court could pull that team into the playoffs for either of his two seasons there.
And in the 1990s, when Jordan’s endorsement of Chinese-manufactured Nike products allegedly made with sweatshop labor generated global controversy, he said that “hopefully”
Nike would “do the right thing,” but that he was focused only on doing his job. To many, this showed a huge lack of moral responsibility.
In 2019, James criticized then-Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey for tweeting in support of human rights protesters in Hong Kong, calling Morey “misinformed.” This led numerous fans to question James’ commitment to human rights.
When COVID vaccines became available, James got vaccinated, but drew the ire of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who castigated LeBron for saying he wouldn’t urge other people to get the life-saving vaccine. To Abdul-Jabbar, it was an abdication of the responsibility that comes with celebrity.
Let’s Have Two Greatest Players of All Time
Regardless of some less-than-stellar personal moments, both MJ and LeBron have earned their status as sports legends and popular heroes many times over.
In a world that constantly comes up short on the grace and power they’ve brought to the court, and on the force of their community-building when they’re at their best, there’s no reason to choose between the two: Basketball has more than enough room for two GOATs.