Two exceptional talents. One endless debate.
From the day LeBron James first picked up a basketball, he wanted to be like Mike. James and his closest friends idolized Michael Jordan while they grew up together in Akron, Ohio. As James grew into a tantalizing basketball prospect capable of jumping from high school to the NBA as the No. 1 draft pick, he studied, imitated and drew profound inspiration from Jordan’s tongue-wagging dunks, that fadeaway jumper, his competitive fire – even the little details of the way Jordan wore his sneakers and shorts.
“M.J. was an inspiration,” James told reporters on March 7, 2019, the night he passed Jordan for fourth place on the NBA’s career scoring list. “M.J. was the lightning in a bottle for me, because I wanted to be like him.”
Now 38 and just a game or two from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the top spot on that same list, James is one of the few players who can legitimately be discussed alongside Jordan when it comes to laying claim to the title of G.O.A.T. (“Greatest of All Time”).
No one here is picking sides (and James’ career legacy is still being written), but here is a closer look at how the two superstars stack up today when it comes to the regular season, the postseason and their respective achievements and honors (all stats are through Feb. 5, 2023):
Michael Jordan’s career scoring average (30.12 ppg) is the highest in NBA history, and he won the season scoring title 10 times. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)
REGULAR-SEASON STATS
Jordan was the flashier scorer – 10 scoring titles and the highest career scoring average in NBA history – and the better defender (leading the league in steals three times), while James has been the better playmaker with 106 career regular-season triple-doubles to Jordan’s 28.
James wins the longevity argument (with anyone), still playing at an All-NBA level and averaging 30 points per game in his 20th season with clear plans to play at least a few more. We’ll never know where Jordan’s totals would have ended up if not for a pair of early retirements (missing nearly two full seasons when he walked away the first time at age 30).
James … Avg. per game … Jordan
27.2 … Points … 30.1
7.5 … Rebounds … 6.2
7.3 … Assists … 5.3
1.5 … Steals … 2.3
0.8 … Blocked shots … 0.8
3.5 … Turnovers … 2.7
38.1 … Minutes … 38.3
50.5 … FG% … 49.7
34.4 … 3-point% … 32.7
73.5 … FT% … 83.5
REGULAR-SEASON STATS (Totals)
James … Category … Jordan
1,409 … Games … 1,072
38,352 … Points … 32,292
10,576 … Rebounds … 6,672
10,351 … Assists … 5,633
2,176 … Steals … 2,514
1,065 … Blocked shots … 893
4,922 … Turnovers … 2,924
53,708 … Minutes … 41,011
The Lakers’ LeBron James handles the ball during the second half of their game against the Boston Celtics last last month in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
REGULAR-SEASON ADVANCED STATS
The advanced stats are split, with Value Over Replacement (VORP) and Win Shares favoring James, but Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and Plus/Minus on Jordan’s side of the ledger.
James … Category … Jordan
27.3 … Player Efficiency Rating (PER) … 27.9
145.9 … Value Over Replacement (VORP) … 116.1
8.8 … Box score Plus/Minus … 9.2
254.3 … Win Shares … 214.0
58.8 … True Shooting % … 56.9
31.6 … Usage % … 33.3
The Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan holds the ball as Utah Jazz guard Jeff Hornacek defends during Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals on June 3, 1998, in Salt Lake City. (Photo by Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images)
PLAYOFF STATS
Not surprisingly, two all-world performers in the regular season have also been dominant in the postseason. Jordan has 38 career 40-point games in the playoffs and eight 50-point games (including his NBA playoff-record 63). James has 28 career 40-point games in the playoffs and one 50-point game in the 2018 NBA Finals. LeBron also has 28 career playoff triple-doubles, while Jordan has two.
James … Avg. per game … Jordan
28.7 … Points … 33.4
9.0 … Rebounds … 6.4
7.2 … Assists … 5.7
1.7 … Steals … 2.1
0.9 … Blocked shots … 0.9
3.7 … Turnovers … 3.1
41.5 … Minutes … 41.8
49.5 … FG% … 48.7
33.7 … 3PT% … 33.2
74.0 … FT% … 82.8
PLAYOFF STATS (Totals)
James … Category … Jordan
266 … Games … 179
7,631 … Points … 5,987
2,391 … Rebounds … 1,152
1,919 … Assists … 1,022
454 … Steals … 376
252 … Blocked shots … 158
975 … Turnovers … 546
11,035 … Minutes … 7,474
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, right, shoots during Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors on June 19, 2016, in Oakland. James’ Cavaliers rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to win the title. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
PLAYOFF ADVANCED STATS
Jordan is the all-time playoff leader in PER and Plus/Minus, and he boasts the highest usage percentage. LeBron has the highest VORP and Win Shares ever.
James … Category … Jordan
28.2 … Player Efficiency Rating (PER) … 28.6
33.9 … Value Over Replacement (VORP) … 24.7
10.2 … Box score Plus/Minus … 11.1
55.7 … Win Shares … 39.8
58.3 … True Shooting % … 56.8
32.0 … Usage % … 35.6
The Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan holds the Larry O’Brien championship trophy after the Bulls defeated the Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 12, 1991. It was the first of Jordan’s six NBA titles (in six career Finals appearances). (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
HONORS AND AWARDS
It’s hard to argue against Jordan’s unblemished NBA Finals record – his teams were never even extended to a Game 7 – while LeBron has reached the championship series 10 times with three different teams and a variety of different teammates. Jordan’s Bulls were favored to win all six times they reached the Finals, but James’ teams were the betting underdog seven of 10 times. He lost one series as the favorite (2011 vs. Dallas) but led his teams to a pair of series wins as the oddsmakers’ underdog (2012 vs. Oklahoma City and 2016 vs. Golden State, when Cleveland memorably erased a 3-1 deficit to beat the 73-9 record-setting Warriors).
James … Category … Jordan
4 … NBA championships … 6
4-6 … NBA Finals record … 6-0
4 … Finals MVPs … 6
4 … Regular-season MVPs … 5
18 … All-NBA teams … 11
6 … All-Defense teams … 9
0 … Defensive POY … 1
19 … All-Star teams … 14
1 … Scoring titles … 10
3 (1 bronze) … Olympic medals … 2
