LeBron vs. Jordan: After Lakers Championship, Is There A Debate Between The Two Legends?

The LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan debate has seemed like a never-ending one for years, and that’s probably not going to change anytime soon.

Leading the Los Angeles Lakers over the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals, James has strengthened his case to be considered the greatest basketball player of all time. James won his fourth championship and became the first player in history to win the Finals MVP award with three different franchises.

Jordan has six rings compared to James’ four, having engineered a pair of three-peats with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. The Bulls’ legend was 6-0 in the Finals. James improved his Finals record to 4-6.

For many, Jordan’s perfect record in the Finals makes it just about impossible for James to ever surpass his legacy. Jordan dominated the league for a decade straight, winning the scoring title in each of his last 10 full seasons in Chicago.

Even after the final two years of his career with the Washington Wizards, Jordan ranks first all-time with 30.1 points per game.

James has never won more than two titles in a row, doing so in 2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat. James and the Heat were upset by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. Jordan has no such black mark on his record.

The length for which James has been the NBA’s best player—and could continue to do so—is the basis for his GOAT case.

Despite finishing second in the regular-season MVP race behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, James is undoubtedly the best player in the league. It’s a title he’s held since at least 2012 when he won his first championship. James has been in the discussion for the league’s top player since the 2008-2009 season, which was his first of four MVP campaigns in five years.

James has been an All-NBA First-Team selection a record 13 times to go along with 11 top-three MVP finishes. Jordan was an All-NBA First-Team selection and a top-three MVP finisher 10 times, and he did it while taking nearly a two-year break from professional basketball.

The closest thing James has had to a break was playing 55 games last season and missing the NBA Finals for the only time in 10 seasons. As he continues to defy Father Time, there’s no indication he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

James averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists against the Heat for his fourth Finals MVP award. He became just the second player ever to score at least 25 points and shoot at least 50% from the field in every Finals game. James never put up worse than 25-9-7 in any contest.

Now that he has Anthony Davis by his side, James and the Lakers could be competing for titles over the next several years, putting Jordan’s six rings in reach.

The total stats and prolonged period of greatness are in James’ favor. Seemingly unbeatable at his peak and without a blemish on the grandest stage, Jordan might still have the edge.

But James proved in the NBA bubble that the debate is far from over.