LeBron James is not the NBA’s all-time greatest, and it’s not even close

27 Dec 1997: Guard Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls confers with an official during a game against the Atlanta Hawks at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls won the game, 97-90. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport

Overall body of work

Who really had more help?

6-0 trumps 3-6. Every. time. For all you math mastication, 6-0 = 100%. 3-6 = 33.3%. which one equals more? We can look at Bill Russel and his 11 chips in 13 years, but really that Boston Celtics squad back in the late 50’s and into the 60’s were untouchable – first of their kind really.

But, MJ didn’t have Havlicek, Russell, Cousy or Heinson on his teams, either. He did have Pippen, and in his own right is underrated, but LeBron has had FAR better talent – hand picked at that – surrounding him and only manged three chips in nine tries. Oh and by the way, he wouldn’t have two of those rings if not for Ray Allen or Kyrie Irving.

I don’t remember MJ having a ball wizard like Irving or a stealth shooter like Ray Ray. Interestingly enough, though he doesn’t get a lot of credit, Kevin Love produced more for LeBron James than any PF Michael had on his teams. Rodman was a defensive/rebounding guru, but Love was supposed to be offensive relief. Interestingly enough:

Kevin Love: 18p/11r/2a,
Rodman: 7p/13r/1a

Being said, MJ not only had to score more, but had to carry his team farther for longer with more weight. And the PG battle? Not even in the same league:

More from Sir Charles In Charge

Kyrie Irving: 22p/3r/5a
Steve Kerr: 6a/1r/2a

And Michael had more help? How Sway??

There’s no refuting that LBJ has had to do more than his fair share when his team doesn’t perform, but that’s not an excuse to fail or even falter. Not only did MJ’s team NEVER see seven games in a playoff series, he never claimed to be the best player in the world and then lose. How is that a pre-requisite for greatness? It’s not. Without having to be said, Jordan is also undefeated in the NBA finals. That has to mean something, right?

Winner: Michael Jordan

Some could argue that the league was watered down and MJ played when Bird and Magic left. True, but not all true.

The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic were expansion teams that were introduced in the late 80s and early 90s, opening up the league to more of a dissolved talent. Sure, but when you have players like O’Neil and Penny, then Mourning, Jones, and Hardaway – its difficult to argue how diluted the talent actually was. LeBron plays in a MUCH softer era where hand checking can get you a technical foul (lol), and super teams are forming overnight. There’s nothing really spread out anymore – as far as talent – like when Michael was in the league.

Alas, MJ still comes out on top. With less help, in less time, Jordan eclipsed most – if not all – of his adversaries when on the basketball court. Didnt matter who he played, when they played, or even if he was throwing up with over a 100 degree fever on the sidelines. NOTHING stopped Jordan.

Winner: Michael Jordan

To summarize, when defining the “greatest of all time”, you’ll find the narrative that reads “used for talking about someone or something that is better than all other people or things that have existed”. By definition – LeBron should never be in the “greatest of all-time” discussion. He’s still light years away from Jordan, though its easy to forget what happened 20 years ago opposed to what is going on today. For today, LeBron certainly surpasses his peers in more categories than not. All-time? Mmm – not so much.

You cant be the best of all-time if you don’t beat the best of all-time – records, statistics, ect. Even in sneaker sales LeBron doesn’t come close to Jordan, though their marketability could be seen as similar. EVEN STILL Jordan pulls away. The effect he had on culture in the 80s/90s are still alive and has hardly seen a downward trend. Per a report from Nike in 2016, MJ accounted for 8% of Nikes sales to LeBrons 0.4%. That’s right, less than 1% of sales from the same company came from James. By the way, Jordan’s been retired since 2003

Winner: Michael Jordan

This argument will go on for years, much loner than ill be able to write about sports. Still, numbers dont lie – late 80s kids, 90s kids, and even the King himself wanted to “Be Like Mike”. Only, its doubtful anyone ever will – present company included.

Jordan runs away with this by an apropos landslide, 6-0.