The NBA Finals are tied at 2 games each and heads back to Golden State for game 5 on Sunday night. Lebron James is having an incredible series. He is averaging 35.7 points, 12 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game. James is playing like an MVP of the NBA Finals. With all this success, the media is comparing Lebron James to Michael Jordan. Is Lebron James really as good as Michael Jordan?
Michael Jordan played his NBA career with two teams, the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards. In the regular season, he averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Jordan played at an even higher level in the playoffs. He averaged 33.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. Jordan has a record of 6-0 in the NBA Finals, winning the MVP in all of them. Jordan won the regular season MVP on 5 occasions. He played in the NBA All Star-Game 14 times, winning the MVP of 3 of them. Jordan was an excellent defender. 9 times he was on the NBA All-Defensive Team and he led the league in steals 3 seasons. In 1988 he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Lebron James is one of the best players in the game today. His career stats up to this point are impressive for a 30-year-old player. He is averaging 27.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game. James is playing in the NBA Finals for the 6th time, marking his 5th straight appearance. His record so far in the finals is 2-3, with 2 Finals MVP’s. James won the regular season MVP in 4 seasons and appeared in 11 All-Star games to this point. He won the scoring title once in 2008. Lebron James has been chosen to be on the NBA All-Defensive Team 5 times. James has never won the Defensive Player of the Year.
Michael Jordan and Lebron James’ stats are similar except for the Finals record. One of the biggest differences is that Michael Jordan never tried to leave Chicago to build a championship team. The Bulls were lucky to draft and pick up talent who helped Michael Jordan. These included Scotty Pippen, Luc Longley, Ron Harper, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoc. Jordan always pushed his teammates to improve on the court.
LeBron James had to leave Cleveland to win an NBA Championship. In 2010 he left the Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. The Heat had Dwyane Wade but added James and Chris Bosh to form a “big three.” It worked for a while as they went to four NBA Finals. They won it all twice, in 2012 and 2013. James went back to Cleveland this year to join Kyrie Irving. Cleveland traded for Kevin Love who solidified the trio. LeBron is a great player but doesn’t push his teammates to get better.
Michael Jordan was a much better player. He played decent defense and was a leader on the court. LeBron James is a leader on the court but seems to care more about his offense than being a defensive player. A comparison between Michael Jordan and Lebron James can’t easily be made.
Who do you think is a better NBA player Lebron James or Michael Jordan?
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