Lebron’s GOAT talk ends – MJ retains his title

As predicted, Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers fell short to the Golden State Warriors in 5 games in the NBA Finals, officially ending the Lebron’s case as ‘GOAT (Greatest of All Time)’. His public ghost chasing ends as his finals record falls to 3-5. Reaching to the finals eight times is a feat of its own, but to have a case for the greatest ever, more rings need to be won than the numbers in the loss column. Need I mind everyone that all the players in the GOAT talk have winning records in the finals.

The unblemished record in the finals, alongside his tenacious drive for victory puts Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player ever. Statistically, Lebron is in the path to shatter most, if not all, cumulative records (total points, total rebounds etc) set by Jordan, but not due to his superior skill-set, rather his longevity in the league.

Michael Jordan played 15 years in the league, coming back from retirement twice during his tenure after breaking into the league at the age of 21. Lebron, on the other hand, came into the league right after high school, playing through 14 seasons without undergoing any severe injuries throughout. Mind you that Jordan played only 18 games in his second season due to injury.

Please find the head-to-head comparisons on their averages for both regular season and playoffs as below. Lebron certainly squares off closely in many of the categories, but in the end, more categories support Jordan as the greatest player. Chris Broussard, a basketball analyst for FSN told radio show The Herd that this discussion over who’s the GOAT should be put to hiatus; but I say it’s over. Numbers speak for themselves. Please enjoy.

**Source for all data is Basketball Reference dot com**

 

<Regular Season Stats>

Michael Jordan	Columns	Lebron James
30.1	PPG	27.1
6.2	RPG	7.3
5.3	APG	7.0
2.3	STLPG	1.6
0.8	BLKPG	0.8
2.7	TOVPG	3.4
49.7%	FG%	50.1%
32.7%	3P%	34.2%
83.5%	FT%	74.0%
38.3 minutes	MPG	38.9 minutes
1072	Games played	1061
15	Seasons played	14

∴4-1-4, Draw between the two

<Regular Season Advanced Stats>

Michael Jordan	Columns	Lebron James
33.3%	Usage rate	31.5%
56.9%	True Shooting percentage	58.4%
214.0	Win shares	205.4
0.250	Win shares / 48	0.239
104.4	Value over replacement player	115.9
27.9	Player efficiency rating	27.6

∴4-2, Jordan lead

<Playoffs Stats>

Michael Jordan	Columns	Lebron James
33.4	PPG	28.4
6.4	RPG	8.9
5.7	APG	6.9
2.1	STLPG	1.8
0.9	BLKPG	1.0
3.1	TOVPG	3.6
48.7%	FG%	48.5%
33.2%	3P%	33.0%
82.8%	FT%	74.2%
41.8 minutes	MPG	42.1 minutes
179	Games played	217

∴6-3, Jordan lead

<Playoffs Advanced Stats>

Michael Jordan	Columns	Lebron James
35.6%	Usage rate	31.9%
56.8%	True Shooting percentage	58.4%
39.8	Win shares	45.8
0.255	Win shares / 48	0.241
22.8	Value over replacement player	29.4
28.6	Player efficiency rating	27.9

∴3-3, Draw between the two

<Awards>

Michael Jordan	Columns	Lebron James
5x (1987-88, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1995-96, 1997-98)	Regular season MVP	4x (2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13)
10x (1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98)	ALL NBA selection (1st team)	11x (2005-06, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17)
1x (1984-85)	ALL NBA selection (2nd team)	2x (2004-05, 2006-07)
11x	League leader in scoring	1x
1x (1987-88)	Defensive Player of the Year	–
9x (1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98)	Defensive First Team	5x (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
–	Defensive Second Team	1x (2013-14)
1x (1984-85)	Rookie of the Year	1x (2003-04)
14x	All Star Selection	13x
3x (1988, 1996, 1998)	All Star MVP	2x (2006, 2008)
6x (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)	Finals MVP	3x (2012, 2013, 2016)
6x (1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98)	Championships	3x (2011-12, 2012-13, 2015-16)
–	Runner-ups	5x (2006-07, 2010-11, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17)

∴10-1-3, Jordan lead