Jordan vs. LeBron debate
After a ten year drought, the Los Angeles Lakers have won their 17th NBA Championship against the Miami Heat. They are now tied with the Boston Celtics with the most championships. Led by one of the greatest players ever, LeBron James won his fourth championship along with his four finals MVP’s.
The conversation of being the greatest of all time in basketball is much different than any other sports. In football, there are 53 players on the roster. In baseball, one player can only do so much for their team (ask Mike Trout). In basketball, the game can be changed by one man. One player can impact so much? Jordan changed the game of basketball, and ever since LeBron came into the league he has been thrown up against Jordan in every category.
LeBron has led three different teams to championship victories. His previous championships were with the Miami Heat (2012 and 2013) and Cleveland Cavaliers (2016). He entered the league in 2003 as the first pick in the draft out of high school. Even during high school, he was given the name “The Chosen One”. He lived up to those extremely high expectations.
The most popular debate in professional basketball is who is considered the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T). Michael Jeffrey Jordan went to the finals six times with the Chicago Bulls. He won all six. He won three straight finals, then after he took a year off to explore Major League Baseball, Jordan would go on to win another three.
LeBron has now made ten NBA finals appearances. He has won four of them. One of the biggest arguments against LeBron being the G.O.A.T is that he has lost 6 finals. Not only did Jordan lose in the first round three times to begin his career, but he didn’t have a winning season until Scottie Pippen joined the team in 1987. Although, LeBron had a winning season in his second year with Cleveland.
Jordan was the more athletic one. He was a better scorer than LeBron. Jordan won six scoring titles during his years with the Bulls. Jordan’s career is marked with the perfect record in the finals.
LeBron is now two championships away from tying Jordan. Unfortunately, the legacy of Jordan made it for it never mattered what LeBron had done. Regardless of winning four championships with three different teams, Jordan’s legacy will always be remembered as being the G.O.A.T.
By Nicholas Mundy
namundy@vwu.edu
