After putting up 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists in Sunday's 87-79 Game 7 win in Boston, LeBron James has now reached the NBA Finals in eight consecutive seasons. The first four seasons were with the Miami Heat while the last four have been with the Cleveland Cavaliers. During the first seven appearances, James has gone 3-4 in the NBA Finals, guiding the Heat to two titles and the Cavaliers to their first title in franchise history. As a result of his iron clad grip over the Eastern Conference, James is starting to evoke memories of Michael Jordan and the dominance that he had during his prime.
When comparing a player to Michael Jordan, one must be very careful. His Royal Airness won six NBA championships, six NBA Finals MVP awards, five NBA MVP awards, one Defensive Player of the Year award, and also Rookie of the Year honors in 1985 . On top of that, he's a 14x All-Star, 11x All-NBA Team member, 10x scoring champion, 9x All-Defensive Team member, and 3x steal champion, averaging 30.1 points (#1 all-time), 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game for his career.
King James in comparison has won three NBA championships, three NBA Finals MVP awards, four NBA MVP awards, and Rookie of the Year honors in 2004. On top of that, he's a 14x All-Star, 13x All-NBA Team member, 6x All-Defensive Team member, and 2007-08 scoring champion (30.0 points per game), averaging 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.6 steals per game for his career.
While James' career is not yet over, if the goal is to have a resume that closely mirrors that of Jordan, he has some catching up to do. For starters, he's only halfway to having the same amount of championship rings. Even if the Cavaliers win the title this year, James will still need to win two more titles to have six championship rings. Given that championship rings are the primary measuring stick for basketball greatness, it will be hard for James to be considered the greatest of all-time if he falls short of six rings.
As far as the other accolades are concerned, Jordan also possesses three more NBA Finals MVP awards, one more regular season MVP award, nine more scoring titles, and three more All-Defensive Team honors. Jordan also led the league in steals three times, a category that James has never led the league in. So, in the accolades department, Jordan has James beat as well. Especially on the defensive end.
With this all being said, that doesn't mean we can't compare James to Jordan or that Jordan is automatically the better player. There are things that James has going for him in this debate.
The first thing that really stands out is the raw number of NBA Finals appearances that James has, which is nine. While Jordan went a perfect 6-0 in the NBA Finals, he has three fewer NBA Finals appearances under his belt. It would be silly to say that in order for James to be considered the greatest of all-time, he'd have to be 9-0 in the NBA Finals. The fact that James has led his team to more NBA Finals appearances than Jordan is not something to ignore. Especially if he keeps finding ways to do it for the next couple of seasons.
The second thing that James has going for him is his raw consistency. Jordan won three straight NBA titles, retired from basketball for almost two seasons, and then won three straight NBA titles again, giving him six titles in eight seasons. While it's utterly phenomenal that Jordan came back and won three more titles, it's perhaps even more remarkable that James has reached the NBA Finals in eight consecutive seasons without taking a break or going on a hiatus of any kind. Night in and night out, James has shown up for the last eight years and found himself playing into June in each of those years. James' ability to take that beating and get back to the NBA Finals each time is astounding. Jordan may have six rings in eight seasons, but he can't say that he reached the NBA Finals more than three times in a row.
The third thing that James has going for him is the fact that he's had to deal with more pressure over the course of his career and he has pretty much lived up to the expectations that were set for him. When he was a junior in high school, James was already getting compared to Jordan and by the time he was drafted out of high school as the #1 overall pick to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, he was proclaimed to be the seconding coming of Jordan. Most human beings would fold under such pressure, but James instead thrived and embraced those expectations. Jordan in contrast played three years in college and got to grow into his status as the greatest of all-time. He had much more time to slowly develop while James was thrust into the spotlight before he even finished high school.
The last thing and perhaps the most important thing that James has going for him is that when watching him play, it's hard to say there's anyone in NBA history you would rather have on your team. As a 6'8", 250 pound small forward, James has the size and athleticism of Karl Malone coupled with the quickness and court vision of John Stockton. That's a frightening combination. Considering that he can play every position on the floor and do virtually everything on the court at an elite level, it's hard to automatically pick Jordan over him.
When looking at the full scope of everything, it's really difficult for me to pick who the greatest of all-time is between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Both guys have incredible resumes and if there is anyone who seriously challenges Air Jordan for the top spot on the all-time list, it would be King James.
That all said, if I have to pick between the two, I'm going to go with Michael Jordan. The reason why is he was a better defensive player and he channeled his killer instinct with much more regularity. As good as Jordan's offense was, his defense was just as good. He could shut down the best players in the game, doing a phenomenal job of reading passing lanes and getting steals. If you want to know the real secret to Jordan's championship success, look at his defense. That's where it all started.
The iconic moment of Jordan's career is the shot he hit to beat Utah in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Everyone remembers how he pushed off of Bryon Russell to nail that shot and while that was a crafty move, nobody seems to talk about the steal he had on the other end of the floor in which he stripped the ball out of the hands of Karl Malone. It was the steal that was just as important as the shot and yet it's only the shot that we remember.
As for the killer instinct, this is what separated Jordan from the rest of the pack. Nobody has been more of an assassin on the court than him. While James is starting to channel that same instinct now, he had to learn how to do it as opposed to Jordan, who had it caked into his DNA. Jordan wanted to rip out the throat of his opponents each and every time he stepped on the court, possessing an almost demon-like viciousness.
That mentality is why Michael Jordan never lost in the NBA Finals and why he was never even taken to a Game 7. Once Jordan figured it out, I don't think anyone, not even LeBron James, could stop him. That's why he'll always be the greatest of all time. Truth be told, if there's anyone who can give Jordan a run for his money in the GOAT department, it's Tiger Woods, but that's a topic for a different day.
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I don't think you should hold Jordan's mid-career retirement against him.
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