Why LeBron James is the GOAT of Basketball

Michael Jordan is often viewed by many NBA fans as the greatest player of all time, but they are wrong, LeBron James is the greatest player ever to set foot on a court. LeBron has better numbers than Jordan, and people fail to remember that Jordan went on his championship run with elite talent around him. LeBron carried a very mediocre Cleveland Cavaliers team to a championship single-handedly with some assistance from Kyrie Irving.

One of the biggest arguments Jordan fans make against LeBron is that he couldn’t win without a super team. Most people say all Jordan needed was a ball and a court and the rest just fell into place. When you look at the numbers, that statement isn’t true. Before his Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame teammate, Scottie Pippen joined the Bulls in 1987, Jordan never got out of the first round of the playoffs and had a 1-9 record in the playoffs before Pippen came into the picture. Jordan also couldn’t get his team above a .500 record before Pippen. 

In LeBron’s first tenure years with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-2010), he had a grand total of zero hall of fame teammates and only two of his teammates made all-star appearances. The Cavs made it clear that they didn’t have a clear plan to give James the materials to get them a championship-contending team because they never surrounded James with any talent until Kyrie Irving came along. Regardless of the consistent incompetence from the Cavaliers organization, LeBron led a not very talented Cavs team to the finals in just his fourth year in the league at only 22 years old. Despite the loss to the Spurs in the finals, it was still an incredible accomplishment. As one of the NBA’s rising stars and one of its best players already, LeBron averaged 27.3 points per game for the Cavs. 

Besides LeBron, this 2007 Cavaliers team had zero all-stars, zero all-NBA selections, no all-defense selections, and no all-rookie selections. LeBron clearly proved that he could carry a mediocre team on his back to the promised land, regardless of his age. In his first seven years in the league, he led the Cavs to two Eastern Conference Finals with little to no talent around him.

Basketball fans also argue that if you look at Jordan's stats compared to LeBron’s, he is the better scorer by far, but this is also not the case. According to the NBA stats, LeBron has Jordan beat in points, assists, blocks, rebounds, and minutes during the regular season. Even looking at playoff stats where it matters the most, LeBron still has Jordan beat in those same categories once again plus more converted game-winning buzzer-beater shots. LeBron has a total of five game-winning walk-off playoff shots, which is the most in NBA history, while Jordan has only three. Michael Jordan averaged three more points in his career average during the regular season than LeBron, but both are considered the best of their time.

Most basketball analysts love saying that LeBron isn’t clutch and Jordan was always better and more efficient in “crunch time,” so let’s look at the numbers. LeBron has a total of 97 game-tying or go-ahead shots, which is second to the great Kobe Bryant with 101. Jordan is number three in this category. In the playoffs, LeBron is 12-23 (52%) on game-tying or go-ahead shots. Most people consider Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving more clutch than LeBron, but the four of those players combined are 12-40 on game-tying or go-ahead shots, which is 22% less than LeBron. 

LeBron is the GOAT in the Lebron vs. Jordan debate, but the next best player in history besides Jordan is Kobe Byrant. In my eyes it’s not even close, LeBron has more points per game, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. LeBron is superior to number three and two on the NBA GOAT list. Also, by the end of LeBron’s career, he will have also passed the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points scored all-time. This will be one of many great things that LeBron will have accomplished by the time he laces his shoes for the very last time. LeBron is one of the best scorers of his time, has been able to carry teams with not a lot of talent deep into the playoffs or a championship, and he has more elite numbers than Jordan. LeBron James is the GOAT of basketball.

By Avner Belsky