Yes it’s hard to compare eras. Let’s not forget Julius Erving who helped popularize the NBA . Magic and Bird affected it even more. Jordan obviously was great with a great work ethic. However, rules were ignored to bolster his standing. His most famous highlight is of him pushing Craig Ehlo out of the way for a game-winning shot, which was a blatant foul. traveling and carying the ball are now Accepted with a loss of integrity to this beautiful game.
The best teams were just before the Bulls run of championships. Those Boston and Lakers years were The best.
The league was watered down after The Pistons finally broke through . Then by the time the bowls and Jordan broke through the competition was poor .
No one ever dominated the game like Wilt Chamberlain and he did win championships.
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James ranks somewhere around eleventh on my list, well to the rear of Russell, Jordan, Chamberlain, Magic, Bird, Jabbar, West, Pettit, Cousy, and Mikan. He can score all the points he wants, but he will always trail these figures because he of his divisiveness, whining, and lack of loyalty to anyone but himself. The greats were great with one team, and it was their team, emphasis on the latter. Lebron James is a free agent who will always take his talents where it serves him. Great athlete, no class.
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Nonsense @JET.
Best basketball player, EVER. Best passer ever (thousands more assists than MJ), best rebounder by position ever (thousands more rebounds than MJ), best set-up man ever. One of the greatest defenders ever. And yes, with all those other things under his belt, he has surpassed even Jordan in scoring well before he's even close to done.
You write "he can score all the points he wants" but he's never considered himself a scorer." Exactly, and he's STILL a more incredible scorer than MJ himself.
You compiled a nice list there. There are things that LeBron, and only LeBron can do compared to EVERYBODY on that list due to his unparalleled strength, speed, and quickness. Greatest basketball player, capable of doing more incredible things, that any other player ever.
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It's fun to have a beer and make comparisons. I'm convinced, however, that the great ones should not be ranked. Who was a better artist? Rembrandt or Picasso? Kind of a silly question.
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Put an asterisk on all post-3 point line scoring stats. Imagine what a player like Rick Barry could have scored with a 3 point line in the prime of his career. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would surely have added the 3 to his repertoire, if he were coming up in today's less-defense, more offense game.
And if you want to discuss dominance, remember they changed the college game to outlaw dunking because of Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor, before he changed his name).
That's not even mentioning Bill Russell's game defining abilities. Or how long and successful the careers of players like Isiah Thomas might have been under current minimal-contact foul rules.
Comparing players from different eras is a parlor game in every sport. But greatest basketball player of all time? Still Russell, with Abdul-Jabbar not far back in second place.
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The debate will never end but I would lean towards Lebron 1) for his approach to off-the-court issues and 2) if you want to rank the best basketball player of all time you have to consider that the guy skipped part of his career to go play baseball.
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Can't we like and respect both guys?
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@Amy I don't think a debate over which is "the greatest" means that you don't like and respect whomever you put at #2. The reason both are in the discussion is because their games are held in such high regard. It's splitting hairs at this point and any "knock" one one is only relative to the greatness of the other.
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Nothing against LeBron James, but it doesn't matter what numbers he puts up - he will never, ever have the mystique and impact that Jordan had. Other than perhaps only Wilt Chamberlain, Jordan is more responsible than anyone else for making NBA basketball what it is today, its popularity and its place in American culture.
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I think James is every bit the equal to Jordan.
That is, providing that he quits basketball and plays professional baseball for a year.
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Congratulations LeBron!
Thanks for remembering Michael Jordan as your hero.
Thanks for being an honorable role model to so many kids!
Thanks for all of your wonderful philanthropies!
Thanks for bringing the championship to Cleveland!
May all you have given to so many return to you and your family
as health and happiness!
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My choices for Greatest Player of All time are Bill Russell and Michael Jordan. Russell especially, and MJ both refused to lose.
LeBron on the other hand flat out quit on his Cavs team in Game 5 of CLE vs. BOS at CLE in a series tied 2-2.
The spin was that he was upset because his hand hurt ad he knew he was leaving in July. I wouldn't want to take a chance on that happening again.
3
Jordan scored these points in more than 100 fewer games, and about 140 of them were played when he was approaching 40 and his average was down by about 30%. He might have done more if three-pointers were allowed. So give him scoring, but LeBron beats Jordan on many other criteria.
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@William
Three-pointers most certainly were allowed in Jordan’s era. The three-point shot is a bigger part of today’s NBA, but it has been a viable shot option since before Jordan entered the league.
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comparisons from different eras are unfounded and unfair.
suggesting a 1967 corvette stingray is the "greatest" ever because it won every race in it's day... when a new corvette is faster but has way more to compete against.
I get it - it's to compare against the others in that day - but times have changed and difference between the top and the bottom is much smaller.
@George it's not like MJ played in the 50's, he played in the 90's, an era where the top teams then could easily compete with the top teams now, perhaps even more so if they're allowed to actually play defense.
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@George Huh? the nba was far more competitve in MJ's day. The league is a joke today
Michael Jordan came from a middle class two parent family and spent two years at North Carolina before going pro at 20
LeBron James never knew his father and his mother struggled with addiction. Sometimes she worked nights and had to leave him home alone as young as 7. He remembers lying in bed hearing gunshots. He entered the league right out of high school with sky high expectations. He's handled the last 16 years with class and has never once gotten into off court trouble. Not once.
I dunno who the better player is but I have more respect for LeBron because of where he came from, where he went and how he handled it.
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@Luciano LeBron has definitely not forgotten where he came from, and you can see that in the massive amount of time and money he's put into charity work in his hometown of Akron. Most recently, that culminated in his founding a charter school that aims to help kids who had the life he had get through high school and (if their performance warrants it) the college education he never had.
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I watched Space Jam the other night with my daughters, and they were both like "Who's Michael Jordan? We like Lebron."
And don't even get me started on trying to explain Larry Bird and Bill Murray!
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What is the goal of every player, team and season? The NBA Championship.
Michael Jordan: 6 NBA Championships in 16 years for a .375 record. LeBron James: 3 NBA Championships in 15 years for a .200 record. James is terrific, but Jordan is still the gold standard of the modern era.
On the other hand– Bill Russell: 11 Championships in 13 years for an .876 record, one that will likely never be broken. And the Celtics hold the top 8 spots overall, with every player winning at least 7. Jordan comes in at #12 on this list.
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@Larry Bennett
C' mon man. The player is not the team. AND Michael has had a get supporting cast while LeBron has not. Period
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@robert brusca
You're right its not as simple as championships. If that were the case Robert Horry is better then both Jordan and Lebron.
But you're argument isn't good either. Jordan's teams were all-time greats because of him. Without him they would have 0 rings. Yes he had another hall of famer in Pippen on 3 of his rings, and 2 when Rodman played on the team, but Lebron has had at least 1 hall of famer on each of his teams (and wade already had a ring before LeBron came) and still lost more championships then he won in a crazy weak conference.
It's hard to compare because of eras, but come on. Lebron definitely isn't better than Jordan. I'd put lebron no lower then 2nd for sure though
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@Larry Bennett there were also 5 teams in the league and most players were like 5'9"
Both LeBron James and Michael Jordan are all time greats and deserve every compliment, but neither of them have won championships at the rate Bill Russell did, 11 in 13 years of play. I would never put down the accomplishments of James or Jordan because what they have done is special and will only be repeated by a select few players in the years to come. But no player has come anywhere near Russell's record. As a fan of the sport, when assessing who is the GOAT, based on Russell's accomplishments, I say there is Russell, then Jordan and James and Jabbar and whomever else deserves consideration for that title, but Russell stands alone.
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@Robert Streeter
Bill Russell didn't win the championships, the Boston Celtics did. There were other players on those teams too, and Russell would likely be the first to admit it.
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@PWR I should be clear that no player in any team sports wins a title on his own. Hopefully, you understood that, but if you didn't, let me be clear, no individual player makes a team a winner, the team does that. The player can make a difference, but the team wins. Jordan would not have won his titles without his supporting players and the same goes for James and for Russell. What I was getting at was Russell led the team for 13 years and they won 11 titles. Who else has done that? Russell stands alone as a player, the Celtics stand alone as a franchise, and neither diminishes the other.
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@PWR For two of those rings, Bill Russell wasn't just the star player, he was also the head coach. Nobody else has ever done that in the history of the NBA. He was the heart and soul of the Celtics dominance in his day.
Russell in many ways changed how the game was played, and in particular turned defense into an art form in a way it hadn't been before him. Sure, he had lots of great teammates, but there's a reason Russell stood out even among other all-time greats like Bob Cousy and John Havlicek.
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LeBron James has put his wealth to good work in the community. For that, he should be appreciated.
His game has improved over the years and he's worked hard on his conditioning.
As far as basketball goes, he's neither the player, teammate, leader or winner that Jordan is/was.
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Not the right comparison to MJ by any means. Jordan came up in the era of 3-4 years of college and took two years off after the death of his father.
Different rules too. Can you imagine if defenders weren't allowed to put a hand on Jordan--today's rule?
More importantly, Jordan was a clutch killer--won every finals. The ultimate competitor. As great as James is, he will never be Michael.
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@Forrest Claypool
Could you imagine if LeBron James got to play in an NBA in which 'Illegal Defense' still existed and you had to guard Shaq at the 3-point line? Where there wasn't a second defender waiting for him in the paint on almost every possession?
And let's not forget that Jordan won his titles in the years just after the NBA added 7 expansion teams, and with one of the greatest coaches ever for all 6 of those rings.
They're both great in their own ways, but if you're going to compare them, at least do so considering the pros and cons for each.
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Lebron James is the ultimate ambassador for achieving the American Dream through passion and hard work.
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@Jay Scott i mean winning the genetic library I think played a bigger role
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@Casey
Not sure what a genetic library is but I agree with Jay. LeBron’s hard work and dedication to his craft has made him the success he is today.