An argument by Brody Watkins

I will start this by saying that it is safe to assume that if LeBron or MJ is put on any team, that team will automatically make the playoffs and most likely the finals. So with that being said, let’s look at a comparison of each player’s post season stats.

Post-Season Stats

When it come to post-season points, LeBron is the number one scorer of all time in the post season with 7,631 points. MJ falls to number two with 5,987 points. So not only is LeBron way ahead of MJ, he is number one of all time. When it comes to assists, LeBron is number two of all time with 1,919. MJ isn’t even in the top ten with only 1,022.  So LeBron wins both points and assists. Next is rebounds. LeBron ranks at number six all time with 2,391. MJ isn’t even in the top twenty-five with only 1,152. So of the three most important stats in basketball, LeBron wins all three. Not to mention LeBron is still playing, so his numbers will only go up.

So now we will talk defense. LeBron James is ranked number one in all time steals with 454. MJ falls behind at number three with only 376. LeBron also wins another stat: blocks. LeBron is number ten all time with 252. MJ isn’t even top twenty-five with only 158. So LeBron is not only a better offensive player but a better defensive player as well. These are just the post-season stats, and LeBron has won all of them, not to mention that he is number one all time in some.

Rings

I don’t want to hear the six rings argument. Firstly, that is a team accomplishment. Secondly, if rings decided who is the best, then Bill Russel would be number one with eleven total rings. Thirdly, quality of the ring is greater than the quantity of the rings. With that being said, let’s look at not only rings, but how many times each player made the finals, along with who they played against and who they played with on their team.  MJ won his first ring in 1991 against the Lakers, a Lakers team that consisted of a 32-year-old Magic Johnson and a 30-year-old James Worthy. Magic Johnson would retire in 1991 and James Worthy in 1994. So MJ beat an old Lakers team. Not very impressive. Not to mention MJ was drafted in 1984 and had just now made the finals in 1991. Oh, and he couldn’t do it on his own. He repeatedly was a first-round exit until he got Pippen and Rodman on his team. So MJ needed two other all-stars to even make the finals. Next MJ would beat the Trail Blazers in 1992. The only memorable player from that team is Clyde Drexler. Not impressive. In 1993 MJ would best the Suns. Ask anyone to name a player from that Suns team and the only one that they might can name is Charles Barkley. Again, not impressive. In 1996 MJ would beat the Supersonics. This ring was MJ’s best, as he played Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. However, when compared to who LeBron has played, it isn’t very impressive. Next in 1997 MJ would beat the Jazz. That sounds great and all until you realize that MJ was struggling against a 35-year-old John Stockton and a 34-year-old Karl Malone. Yes, those are two all-time great players. Two all-time great players who were old and at the end of their careers. Not impressive. In 1998 MJ would beat the Jazz again. This is his most famous ring as he hit a shot that would win the series. Again, he struggled against a now even older John Stockton and Karl Malone. Not impressive. So, yes, MJ has six rings and he went 6-0 in the finals, but he didn’t play the most high-quality teams. And, again, he never made the finals until he had two all time greats with him.

Now for LeBron. LeBron has been to the finals ten times, and eight of those were all in a row. His finals record isn’t the best as it is 4-6, but there is good explanation for that. His first finals appearance was in 2007, only four years after he was drafted. So what took MJ seven years, LeBron did in four. Not to mention LeBron had NOBODY else on his team to help him. He would get swept by the Spurs, but this was a prime Spurs team: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and Tim Duncan, aka the greatest PF of all time. Not to mention they were coached by the second-greatest coach of all time, Gregg Popovich. The importance of this finals appearance is that he did it after only four years in the NBA (he came straight out of high school, unlike MJ) and he did it with no help, single-handedly carried a team of bums to the finals. Next, in 2011 LeBron would play the Mavs in the finals and lose. Now, this was Lebron’s worst final appearance. I’m a reasonable person, and he did not do well. However, this was his first year at the Heat, and he took them to the finals for the first time in a while. This was also the first year of his eight straight finals run, and he played against a good Mavs team that had legend Dirk Nowitzki and beat the defending champion, the LA Lakers. Again, this was his worst and only bad finals, and even he will admit that. Now, 2012 is a different story. Going up against a star stacked team, the OKC Thunder, LeBron would get his first ring. Playing against NBA super stars Russel Westbrook, James Harden, Kendrick Person, and top ten player of all time Kevin Durant, LeBron came out victorious in five games. This ring was against one of the best teams in NBA history, and LeBron proved that he was eligible for the GOAT conversation.

In 2013 LeBron would go back-to-back as he beat the team that swept him in 2007, the Spurs. This Spurs team consisted of again the greatest PF ever, Tim Duncan; Tony Parker; Manu Ginobli; Danny Green; and one of the best defensive players of all time, Kawahi Leonard. Not to mention, this great defensive star was guarding LeBron. It didn’t even matter as LeBron averaged 25, 10, and 7 against him. Oh, and they had the second greatest coach, Gregg Popovich still. The next year was a rematch and this time LeBron would lose to the stacked Spurs team he beat the year before. He still averaged 28,7, and 4 but would sadly fall short to a super star team of the Spurs.  Now, in 2015 LeBron returned to the Cavs, a team that hadn’t made the finals since LeBron carried them in 2007, and took them straight to the finals in just one year of being there. He would lose the the Warriors, a team with MVP Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and another great defensive player of all time, Andre Iguodala. The only reason LeBron lost is because he had to play this star-stacked team all by himself, as his star teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, were both injured. These injuries were out of LeBron’s control, but LeBron still averaged 35,13, and 8. All this while Iguodala, a defensive superstar, guarded him.

Now on to 2016, the greatest ring ever won by any player ever. Playing against the the 73-9 Warriors, the greatest regular season team ever, LeBron would do what no player had ever done in the finals. Being down 3-1 LeBron would come back and win the series. He averaged 29,11, and 8, and scored 41 points back-to-back in two games. He also had the greatest block in NBA history on Andre Iguodala to keep the Cavs from losing the game. This ring was won against the team with the greatest regular season record ever, and it was won on a 3-1 comeback. Greatest ring ever won.

Now, in 2017 he would play the same star-stacked Warriors team with Curry, Thompson, Green, and now Kevin Durant, a top ten player of all time. LeBron would obviously lose to this team, as no one would ever beat this NBA super team. This was the greatest regular-season team of all time with the addition of Kevin Durant. The important take from this finals was that even though LeBron played this team, he averaged a triple double (33/10/12), something that no NBA player has ever done in the finals. LeBron is the only player to average a triple double in the finals ever, and he did it against the NBA’s best super team. That stat is something that separates LeBron from MJ and everyone else.

In 2018 LeBron had an MVP-worthy season at age 34 and single-handedly carried the Cavs to the finals. Kyrie Irving had left and LeBron had NO ONE. An important note is also his performance in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, as he carried the Cavs to winning the series by averaging 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists, all this with no one else even close to good on his team. In the finals against the same Warriors team as last year, he would lose. He averaged 34,10, and 8 against, again, the NBA’s greatest super team. In game one he scored 51 points himself and still lost. He is the only player to ever have a 50+ point game in the finals and still lose. This just proves that he had no help at all and had to do everything himself. And I’m not even going to mention the infamous J.R. Smith incident that every NBA fan can recall. This was the last year of his eight-year finals run and his last year with the Cavs. In 2020 he would take the LA Lakers to the finals after they hadn’t been in ten years. He would beat the Heat to win his fourth ring and to get the Lakers their first ring since 2010. He averaged 29, 11, and 8.

So, in conclusion, yes, MJ went 6-0 and never lost while LeBron, as of now, has a record of 4-6. But looking at the quality, LeBron played way harder teams than MJ and never had any help. MJ played not-so-difficult teams while always having two super stars with him. LeBron played three finals with absolutely no one to help him. And, once again, he beat the greatest regular-season team in NBA history on a 3-1 comeback. And he is the only player to ever average a triple double in the finals. MJ nor anyone else has ever done that, only LeBron.

 Most Valuable Player

Yes, MJ has five MVP’s and LeBron only has four, but hear this: in 2010 Derrick Rose won the MVP with averages of 25, 4, and 7. That same season, LeBron averaged 26, 7, and 7. Not to mention that LeBron would beat Derrick Rose in the Eastern Conference Finals, 4-1. So clearly MVP’s don’t mean much when LeBron had better averages and beat the so called “MVP” in the ECF. But I want to look at something deeper, something that can really prove who the most VALUABLE player is.

From ’91-’93 MJ and the Bulls won the finals. MJ would take time off for baseball in ’94, so the Bulls played the 1994 season without him. They didn’t make the finals, but they made it to the second round of the playoffs and finished third in the east. So even without MJ, the Bulls still had a successful season. In 1995 the Bulls played without MJ again and finished fifth in the east and still went to the second round of the playoffs.  So, in yet another season without MJ, the Bulls were still a successful team.  My point is that when MJ left the Bulls they didn’t become awful but instead were still a dominant team in the NBA, even without MJ.

Now for LeBron. LeBron was drafted by the Cavs in 2003. The last time they had made the playoffs was 1998. In 2006 he would take them to the playoffs for the first time since 1998 and in 2007 he would take them to the finals for the first time ever. So the Cavs can credit this success to LeBron, as he had absolutely no help on his team. In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the Cavs would make the playoffs. In the 2010-11 season, LeBron would leave the Cavs and join the Heat. For the entire time LeBron was gone, the Cavs never made the playoffs. So the Cavs went from being a team that was in the playoffs every year, to a team that couldn’t even make the playoffs at all, all because LeBron left.  When LeBron joined the Heat, they went to the finals, and this was their first finals appearance since 2006. From 2011-2014 LeBron stayed at the Heat, and every year he played there, he took them to the finals. In the 2014-15 season he would leave and join the Cavs again. So when LeBron left the Heat, they didn’t even make the playoffs the next season. They went from being a team that was always in the finals every year, to a team that didn’t even make the playoffs, all because LeBron left. When LeBron went back to the Cavs, he would stay there from 2015 to 2018. They made the finals every single year he played there. While he was away at the Heat they never made the playoffs once. Once he joined back they went to the finals every year. Wherever LeBron goes, they go to the finals. He would leave the Cavs after 2018 and join the Lakers in 2019. In his second year at the Lakers, they won the finals, the first time they had been to the finals since 2010. Not to mention that from 2014-2019 the Lakers had not made the playoffs. In only two years, LeBron turned the Lakers from a team that couldn’t even make the playoffs, to the NBA finals champions and the best team in the NBA. It is also worth mentioning that ever since LeBron left the Cavs for the Lakers, they haven’t made the playoffs. So the Cavs went from being in the finals every single year, to a team that doesn’t even make the playoffs, all because LeBron isn’t there to carry them.

So, in conclusion, LeBron is clearly more valuable to a team than MJ. MJ left his Bulls and they still found success without him. LeBron joins a team and they go the finals every single year. LeBron leaves a team and they go from being a top-two team in the NBA to a team that can’t even make the playoffs. Also, notice how every team LeBron goes to, they win a championship. So, LeBron is more valuable than MJ is.

LeBron Records & Achievements

Regular Season

• Only player in NBA history to record at least 35,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, and 9,000 assists.
  • No other player has at least 27,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, and 8,000 assists
• Only player in NBA history to post at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, and 100 steals in four consecutive seasons.
• Only player in NBA history to post at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, and 100 steals in a single season for at least eight seasons.
• Only player in NBA history to average at least 25 points per game for 15 consecutive seasons.
• Only player in NBA history to be in the top 5 all-time in points and top 10 all-time in assists.
  • No other player is in the top 10 in both categories
• Only player in NBA history to have at least 9,000 rebounds and 9,000 assists.
• One of two players in NBA history to win four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards in a span of five years.
  • The other is Bill Russell.
• One of two players in NBA history to win at least two NBA Most Valuable Player Awards for two different franchises.
  • The other is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
• One of two players in NBA historyto win NBA MVP, Finals MVP, and an Olympic gold medal in the same year.
  • The other is Michael Jordan (1992).
• One of two players in NBA history to win at least four NBA MVP awards and four NBA Finals MVP awards.
  • The other is Michael Jordan.
• One of two players in NBA history to record a triple double against all NBA teams.
  • The other is Russell Westbrook.
• One of six players in NBA history to win consecutive Finals MVP Awards.
  • Includes Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant
• Only player in NBA history to score 10 points or more in 1,000 consecutive games

• Only player in NBA history to post 30 or more points and shoot over 60 percent for six consecutive games in a single season
• One of five players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in their rookie season
  • Includes Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Tyreke Evans and Luka Dončić.
• One of five players in NBA history to average a triple-double in a calendar month
  • With Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Russell Westbrook and Luka Dončić. James is the oldest in age to do so.

• Only player in NBA history to record at least 35 points, 15 assists, and 0 turnovers in a game.

Playoffs

• Most all-time playoff Points (7,631)
• Most all-time playoff Wins (174)
• Most all-time playoff Games (266)
• Most all-time playoff Minutes (11,035)
• Most all-time playoff Field Goals Made (2,725)

• Most all-time playoff Free Throws Made (1,749)
• Most all-time playoff Steals (445)
• First and only player in NBA history to win Finals MVP with three different franchises (MIA, CLE, and LAL)

Career

• Most playoff games with at least 20 points (232).
• Most playoff games with at least 25 points (181)
• Most playoff games with at least 30 points (118)
• Most playoff games with at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists (183)
• Most playoff games with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists (87)
• Most playoff games with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists (26)
  • All other active players have 33 combined
• Most playoff games with at least 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists (92)
• Most playoff games with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists (48).
• Most playoff games with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists (15)
• Most playoff games with at least 40 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists (25).
  • All other active players have 30 combined
• Most playoff games with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists (14)
• Most playoff games with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists (3)
  • No other player has more than one (Jerry West, Charles Barkley, Russell Westbrook, Luka Doncic, and Jimmy Butler)
• Most playoff games with at least 45 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists (10)
  • Tied with Michael Jordan
• Most playoff games with at least 45 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists (4)
  • Tied with Russell Westbrook
• 1st in Win Shares (51.0)
  • 24 more than the next player on the list Michael Jordan(39.76).
• 2nd in Box Plus/Minus (10.16)
  • 98 behind Michael Jordan(11.14)
• 1st in VORP – Value Over Replacement Player (33.1).
  • 25 more than next player on the list Michael Jordan (22.85)
• 1st all-time for postseasons with at least 500 total points (9 times)
• 2nd for consecutive 20-point games to start a playoff career (19).
  • Behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar(27)
• 2nd place all-time for playoff games scoring at least 35 points (61)
  • Behind Michael Jordan(75)
• 2nd place all-time for playoff games scoring at least 40 points (27)
  • Behind Michael Jordan(38)
• 2nd place all-time for playoff games scoring at least 45 points (11)
  • Behind Michael Jordan(23)
• 2nd place all-time for triple-doubles in the playoffs (28).
  • Behind Magic Johnson(30)
• 2nd place all-time for most defensive rebounds in a playoffs career (1,990).
  • Behind Tim Duncan(2,081)
• 2nd place all-time for most NBA Finals MVP Awards (4).
  • Behind Michael Jordan (6)
• Only player in NBA history to be in the top 10 all time in career playoff points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals
• Only player in NBA history to be in the top 5 all-time in career playoff points, assists, and steals

Single Post Season

• Only player in NBA history to score at least 25 points in 15 consecutive playoff games in a single postseason.
• Only player in NBA history to record at least 500 points, 200 rebounds, and 150 assistsin a single postseason, multiple times (accomplished this five times-2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2020)
• Only player in NBA history to record at least 600 points, 200 rebounds, and 150 assists in a single postseason (accomplished this twice-2012 and 2018)
• Only player in NBA history to record at least 700 points, 200 rebounds, and 150 assists in a single-postseason (2018)
• One of two players in NBA history to record at least 500 points, 150 rebounds, and 150 assists in a single postseason (accomplished this seven times-2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020)
  • The other is Larry Bird
• One of two players in NBA history to record at least 600 points, 200 rebounds, and 100 assists in a single postseason twice (2012 and 2018)
  • The other is Larry Bird
• One of two players in NBA history to score at least 250 points, 100 rebounds and 80 assists in the first 10 games of the playoffs (2020)
  • The other is Oscar Robertson.
• One of two players in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists per game in a single postseason (2015)
  • The other is Oscar Robertson.

Series

• Only player in NBA history to lead both teams in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals in a playoff series (2016 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Warriors).
• Only player in NBA history to lead both teams in points, rebounds, assists in a playoff series (twice, 2015 and 2016 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Warriors)
• One of two players in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a playoff series (2017 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Warriors).
  • Includes Russel Westbrook
• Only player in NBA history to win over 20 consecutive games in the first round
• Only player in NBA history to sweep 10 series in the playoffs

Conclusion

With this information, it is very clear that LeBron is indeed a better basketball player than MJ. Just look at at the numbers and also look at how many of those records LeBron is the ONLY player to ever do. The man is the only player ever to average a triple double in the finals. He is proven to be more valuable, have better stats, and to have way harder competition. Just accept the fact that MJ is no longer the greatest. I’m sure that in thirty years from now someone will overtake LeBron. People like to claim MJ is the best because he was their generation. Times change, and, with that, the greatest ever will change. I respect MJ as the number two greatest ever, right behind the true greatest basketball player ever, LeBron James. And RIP to Kobe but he isn’t even worthy of being brought into the conversation of greatest ever. With all do respect, he isn’t even top five.