The Real G.O.A.T.
“You out yo gat damn mind…what you mean Bron is better than M.J.?” shouts one of the men debating a hot topic in sports. “Nah, you out yo mind…other than six rings, tell me what makes Mike better than LeBron,” says the other one. Welcome to a typical day in a black barbershop. A place where endless jokes commonly known as roasting or clowning happen consistently, sports is a daily topic, but most of all fellowship and brotherhood are actively practiced. On this particular day, a popular topic about the possibility of LeBron James being better than Michael Jordan was on the table.
For some folks, this is a no-brainer in favor of the legendary M.J. For others, it’s just as easy leaning towards LeBron. In a lot of cases, it’s a generational thang. For others like myself, it’s certainly worth noting why the “G.O.A.T.” discussion is often time between LeBron and M.J. instead of M.J. and Kobe, but that’s another discussion for another day. However, despite the generational gaps that exist within the context of the debate, there is a great deal of facts to be placed on the table before deciding either way. It will probably be impossible for me to look at all of them, but allow me to try to get as many as I can.
We’ve got M.J. at 6-0 in the finals and LeBron 3-6. Each with a Rookie of the year award. M.J. with 6 Finals MVP’s and LeBron with 3. M.J. with 5 seasonal MVP’s and LeBron with 4. M.J. with 10 All-NBA first team honors and LeBron with 12. M.J. 9 All defensive first team honors and LeBron with 5. M.J. with 1 defensive player of the year and LeBron with 0. M.J. with 10 scoring titles and LeBron with 1. M.J. averaged 30 points/game while LeBron through his 16th season has averaged 27 points/game. As you can see, in most of these categories (save for championships and scoring titles), they are fairly even.
So the question still remains. Who…is…the…G.O.A.T.? And the answer is….Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Not only is that the answer, it’s actually not even close despite some of the statistical similarities. Let’s go over some of the reasons why. The first one is obvious. 6-0 in championships beats 3-6 all day long. Some will say well LeBron got there 9 times and M.J. only six. Mentioning that doesn’t help LeBron’s case because it highlights the fact he won three less titles with three more chances. Here’s a list of guys M.J. prevented from winning championships. Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, Gary Payton (his sympathy title with the Heat does NOT count), John Stockton, and Karl Malone just to name a few. For good measure, it can also be speculated that Hakeem Olajuwon wouldn’t have hardware either if M.J. hadn’t taken a break to play baseball.
He also overcame the Bad Boy Pistons (defeating them in a clean sweep in 91 en route to the Bulls first title) and got past those fellas in New York. So, we’ve got the guys he made it past and the ones he prevented from getting titles. Now LeBron’s turn. “King James” allowed the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Kawhi Leonard, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant to walk around with hardware on their fingers. Granted, the guys I just named are all future hall of famers. However, they are all deemed by most to be inferior in talent and ability to LeBron. I would actually agree with that assessment. It is that assessment which makes his six final losses too difficult to stomach. I probably could have made an allowance for 2007 when he was 23 and swept by a Tim Duncan led Spurs team. Those other five, he must stand accountable for. I can’t recall M.J. ever losing to competition deemed inferior to him. Some will say LeBron brought Cleveland back from a 3-1 deficit to which I respond M.J. never let the Bulls get down 3-1 in the first place.
While we’re at this, let’s not forget the time LeBron abandoned his “Alpha male” status in favor of teaming up with two all-stars from his same 2003 draft class (Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh), one of whom was a former finals MVP. Like M.J. said, “I never would have teamed up with Larry or Magic. I was trying to beat those guys.” It’s not possible to be the King of the mountain by teaming up with those in your way of getting there. Lastly, when we evaluate LeBron’s physical prowess in comparison to M.J., the game should have been easier for LeBron. That ease should have translated into a better finals record than 3-6 and a decision to team up with one of your rivals. So yes, M.J. is the G.O.A.T. plain and simple. Where I can credit LeBron is that he is the better athlete than M.J. Him being the better athlete is where I believe most people are blinded regarding whether or not he is better than M.J. LeBron is arguably the greatest athlete to ever step on the hardwood (Allen Iverson being one of his strongest contenders). With that said, regardless of what generation you’re coming from, if you want to make a case for someone being better than M.J., neither “King James” nor “LBJ” fit that mold.
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