At the top of the NBA is LeBron James again. won the championship with Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, thus arriving at fourth career ring and fourth Finals MVP award and on the night of February 7, 2023, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the leading scorer in NBA history. It’s somewhat inevitable that comparisons will arise with the dominant man of the previous era: Michael Jordan, who won six titles and six Finals MVP awards with the Chicago Bulls between 1991 and 1998 and won the majority vote as the NBA’s greatest player of all time.
Coming from two different eras that gave them different contexts, it’s hard to argue that one is better than the other with any kind of authority. It all boils down to the subjective. But the statistics which remain in the history books if they serve little to enable measure what everyone has achieved.
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James dominated the NBA Finals at the age of 35 years and 286 dayswhile Jordan retired a second time at the end of the 1997-1998 season.he with the sixth ring, at 35 years and a few months younger than LeBron at the time of his last ring.
MJ entered the NBA at an older age (he made his debut in October 1984 at the age of 21 and a half) and that between the 1993 Finals and the close of the 1994-1995 regular season he took a break, during which he played considerably less games, but that’s one factor that’s already slipping away that also speaks well of LeBron’s validity with 20 seasons as a nonstop pro.
Jordan then played two more seasons with the Washington Wizards, averaging 21.2 points and 5.9 rebounds there, but he didn’t make the playoffs and it’s not his image that is very present when it comes to recognizing him.
MORE | Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Who had tougher playoff competition?
How is the statistical comparison between Lebron James and Michael Jordan? It’s time to dig into the numbers.
LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan: His Games
Michael Jordan he finished his career with 1072 Regular season matches, while that LeBron James the day he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 1410.
In the playoffs Jordan played 179 games, while James disputed about 266.
The difference in minutes on the field in the regular season It’s also awesome: 53,708 LeBron’s to Jordan’s 35,887.
More: Who are the leading scorers in NBA history?
LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan: The Points
When Michael Jordan retired in 1998, he was the second leading scorer in NBA history with 29,277 points. He is now fifth in history, with 32,292 goals. He was surpassed by Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
the star of lakes It rose slowly until it crowned it February 7, 2023 as the all-time leading scorer.
And if we count average? Here is a difference in favor of Jordan who averaged 30.1 points. JamesInstead, averages 27.2.
And if we match the matches? Yes at the age of 34 Jordan finished his season with 930 games and 29,277 pointswe are looking LeBron’s first 930 games and we find he had 25,410 points, nearly 4,000 less that air.
if we stay with Jordan’s career mark (1,072 games) and we’re looking at the King’s first 1,072 gameswe find that the advantage is also clear for Michael: 32,292 to 29,105. And the totals in that number of games?
| Player | Races | Minutes | Points | rebound | assist | thefts | plugs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Jordan | 1,072 | 41,011 | 32,292 | 6,672 | 5,633 | 2,514 | 893 |
| Lebron James | 1,072 | 41,688 | 29.105 | 7,786 | 7,561 | 1,675 | 830 |
In terms of shooting efficiency, Jordan wore a 50.5% from the field, 33.2% from threes and 83.8% from free throws. James, meanwhile, lists a 54.9% on field goals, 34.4% on 3-pointers and 73.4% on free throws.
However, Jordan could never surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which LeBron could, accomplishing a feat that crowned him as the all-time leading scorer from here on out.
LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan: Assist
This game is not just about scoring points, because both of them knew how to share the ball with the rest. An aspect in which LeBron shines most, who ranks fourth on the all-time list.
James collects 10,351 assist (averaging 7.3 per game), while Jordan retired in 1998 with 5,012 assists (5.4 per match) and end with 5,633 and 5.7 on average in 2003. Point for LeBron.
LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan: Rebound
In the battle for the boards, LeBron also takes advantage of his greater physical dominance over MJ, except that it occupies spaces closer to the basket on both sides. The current Los Angeles Lakers player wears 10,576 rebound in the NBA regular season, averaging 7.5 per game. For his part, Jordan collected 6,672 in his career with an average of 5.9.
With all these, James has 106 triple-doubles in the NBA in the regular season and 28 in the playoffs.while Jordan signed 28 in the regular season and just 2 in the postseason.
LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan: Steals and Blocks
As for the defensive numbers, LeBron has 2,176 steals and 1,065 blocks in the NBA regular season, on average 1.5 and 0.8 respectively. Jordan, meanwhile, retired with 2,514 steals and 893 stoppergiving it an average of 2.1 and 0.9 average respectively.
The comparison leaves MJ in a better position. While good defense is far from racking up steals and blocks, #23 of the Bulls was recognized in 1988 as the best defenseman in the NBA and was a member of the All-Defensive Team nine times, while LeBron barely made it to the All-Defensive Team five times and once to the second team and has not received such awards since 2014.
LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan: In the playoffs
How do the two compare until the 2022-2023 season?
| Player | Years in the playoffs | series record | Titles | Races | Minutes | Points | rebound | assist | thefts | plugs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Jordan | 13 | 30-7 | 6 | 179 | 7,474 | 5,987 | 1,152 | 1,022 | 376 | 158 |
| Lebron James | 14 | 39-11 | 4 | 266 | 11,035 | 7,631 | 2,391 | 1,919 | 454 | 252 |
The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the NBA or its organizations.
