Jordan is the GOAT… Don’t @ Me

Jordan performs spectacular dunk, showing his amazing atheltic ability.

Jordan performs spectacular dunk, showing his amazing atheltic ability.

From winning NBA titles to averaging over 30 points per game, Jordan did it all. Although a legitimate threat, LeBron James has yet to surpass Jordan, and will not do so. While many think that LeBron is better than Jordan, this is quite obviously untrue.

Some might argue that LeBron is a better all-around player than Jordan; however, that is a common misconception. Many believe he is a better defender than Jordan and a better contributor offensively. Based off of stats, Jordan was much more successful on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.

Jordan’s defensive play far surpassed that of Lebron. He averaged 0.8 blocks per game, the exact same number as LeBron. Aside from this, Jordan also averaged 2.3 steals, significantly more than LeBron, who averages only 1.8. Jordan was also a much more decorated defender than LeBron. He was named NBA All-Defense 9 times over the course of his career, while LeBron has only received this title 6 times. Jordan also won Defensive Player of the Year one season, an accomplishment that LeBron has never achieved.

Jordan’s ability to score greatly exceeded Lebron’s. Over his career, Jordan averaged 30.1 points per game, while LeBron only averages 27.1. Jordan won an unbelievable number of NBA Scoring Titles, winning 10 in total. LeBron, however, has only won 1 NBA Scoring Title. Jordan also averaged an outstanding 37.1 points per game one season. The highest number of points LeBron has averaged in a season is only 31.4.

Jordan was much more efficient. During his career, Jordan maintained a 27.9 Player Efficiency Rating, higher than LeBron’s PER of 27.6. Player Efficiency Rating is a mathematical system that rates a player’s performance based off of all of his stats. It is an effective way of rating the efficiency of a player in one number. Even more impressive, Jordan had a striking 28.6 PER in the playoffs, compared to LeBron’s 27.9. Despite only playing 1072 games, he has scored a total of 32,292 points. Over the span of his career, Jordan only played 15 seasons, taking an offseason in his prime to play Minor League Baseball and temporarily retiring for a three year span later on in his career. LeBron is currently in his 15th season, and has played 1,116 games so far. Despite already playing 44 more games than Jordan, LeBron has only 30,236 points, a whopping 2,056 less than Jordan. LeBron has significantly more turnovers, giving up the ball an average of 3.5 times per game. Jordan only committed an average of 2.7 turnovers per game.

Arguably the most important attribute of all: Jordan was a winner. Jordan won 6 NBA Championships, never losing one. LeBron, on the other hand, has only won 3 NBA Championships, and has been defeated in the NBA Finals 5 times. This shows Jordan’s leadership skills and his ability to win for his team. He won Finals MVP 6 times and League MVP 5 times, while LeBron has only won Finals MVP 3 times and League MVP 4 times.

Despite all of this, many still believe that LeBron is better than Jordan. These stats clearly prove this statement incorrect. Jordan was a better player and a much better winner, despite playing in a superior era with tougher defenses. When looked at in depth, it is obvious that Jordan is the best basketball player of all time.