Lebron vs. Jordan, that is the question
LeBron James continues to add records, titles and spectacular performances to his history. The most recent came against the Toronto Raptors, in which he was responsible for sweeping in four games to guide the Cleveland Cavaliers to the final of the Eastern Conference of the NBA. All that has again brought the question: who is the best basketball player in history?
There are two statistics in which the legendary Michael Jordan clearly exceeds James: titles won and average points per game. Jordan got six champion rings, in two different stages, commanding one of the most successful teams that has existed in the history of the NBA with his great companion, Scottie Pippen. James has three, thanks to the two he got with the Miami Heat and the solitaire with Cleveland in 2016, perhaps his greatest achievement as a basketball player. As for the points, you cannot deny the success of Jordan, who is the only one along with Wilt Chamberlain in obtaining over 30 points per game in the regular season.
But it should be noted that the star of the Cavaliers occupies a more than creditable fourth historical place, with an average of 27.4 points per game. As for the total achieved in the race, Jordan also has the advantage, but it is more than likely that James managed to overcome his mark of 32,292 points next season as they are separated by only 1,254 points, a figure that has clearly exceeded each season since he debuted in the NBA in 2003. That he already did in the playoffs, being the highest scorer of this phase in history (6,540 points) and continues to increase his advantage every year. Another record broken this year were the 866 encounters scoring at least 10 points.
But what most differentiates James from Jordan is that he is a more versatile player. This season LeBron became the first player in history to add more than 30,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and more than 8,000 assists in his career. To that is added that he is the only one to accumulate more than 2,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in the playoffs, and to be the one who has steals the most with 406, a mark he achieved this year when he beat Pippen. So, who is better? That is the question. That's what they asked another sports legend, Tiger Woods, who was on his way to becoming the best golfer in history before his career was interrupted by personal problems and recurring injuries.
"The two are great in a different way," he answered at a press conference prior to the Championship of Players of the professional golf circuit. "I think if you look at MJ (Jordan), he was a prolific scorer and played defense like no other." "LeBron is different, like a hybrid between MJ and Magic (Johnson), so he has to move the ball a lot, something that MJ never did," he explained. In my opinion this is yet another case of Messi-Cristiano. Fans blood to prove one is best than the other but the truth is they lose the chance to enjoy the magic of both.