Thousands of players make it to the National Basketball Association, or NBA, and many want to be the best player in the league.
There is an ongoing debate between who is the greatest of all time: Michael Jordan or Lebron James.
Jordan started his NBA career after being drafted in the first round, third pick overall, for the Chicago Bulls in 1984. Jordan made his debut in October 1984 and went on to play for 15 seasons.
Jordan played as a shooting guard and small forward, donning the numbers 12, 45 and 23 throughout his career.
He averaged 30.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game during the regular season. Jordan won Rookie of the Year in 1985 and was a five-time MVP during the years 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998.
“The difference between LeBron and Jordan is that LeBron cares about what everyone thinks about him,” said Jackson Flores, a sophomore psychology major. “Jordan does not care at all, and that’s why he was the greatest of all time, because he had that mindset that like, I don’t care if I’m hated by everyone. That’s why he won six championships.”
Jordan scored 32,292 points in total during his regular seasons, and James scored 41,978 in total.
Jordan has 11 All-NBA accolades, and LeBron has 20 altogether.
“It’s MJ,” said Mack Brice, a freshman marketing major. “He has more championships than Lebron and went six for six, winning every championship he was in. He also won Finals MVP all six times, meaning he was the best on the court all 6 times and he had more scoring dominance… winning 10 scoring titles and averaging 30.1 ppg. He has more clutch factor and was just a more mentally tough player; look at the flu game.”
Jordan played game five of the 1997 NBA finals against the Utah Jazz with flu-like symptoms that were later determined to be food poisoning. He scored 38 points in this game.
He has won four gold medals, and during playoff seasons, he averaged 33.4 points while James averages 28.4 points.
After finishing his career with the Bulls in 1998, Jordan went on to play with the Washington Wizards from 2001 to 2003 before officially retiring.
Lebron James was drafted into the NBA in 2003 as the first-round pick and is currently in his 21st season at 40 years old with no signs of stopping in sight.
James plays as a small forward and started his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While with the Cavaliers, he won Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie First Team in 2004. He even became the most valued player in 2009 and 2010 while with them.
In 2010, he joined the Miami Heat and played with them for four seasons. He won his first two NBA championships with them and was a finals MVP. He then moved back to the Cavaliers, where he led the team to their first championship win.
“I would say that probably six years ago everybody regarded LeBron as the goat, but since he passed the scoring record and he’s about to break another record I believe,” said Andrew Yawn, a senior criminal justice major. “I think that as far as like when you define a goat, you have to consider longevity, and LeBron is like the pinnacle of that.”
In 2018, James became a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and eventually won MVP, making him a player who was MVP on all three teams he played on.
James has had eight game-winning shots in comparison to Jordan, who has had nine in regular seasons.
James became the all-time leading scorer in 2023 and, in doing so, broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points.
During playoffs, their three-point percentage is neck and neck at 33.2%. Jordan is better percentage-wise with an 82.8% free throw average, while James is sitting at 74.1% per game.
James continues to play and add stats to his name, and many wait to see how much longer he will play.
Both have made an impact on the NBA and have had successful business ventures outside of the NBA, but the debate remains on who is truly the greatest of all time.