LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers starred in the NBA play-in match against California rivals Golden State Warriors on Thursday. The Lakers star scored a three-pointer with just 58.2 seconds remaining, breaking a 100-100 tie and sealing a 103-100 win. James finished with 22 points, including 11 rebounds as well as 10 assists. Lakers, with their win, have laid claim to the seventh place in the Western Conference and fixed a matchup against Phoenix Suns.

The ‘GOAT’ debate

Michael Jordan has long been considered untouchable in the world of basketball. The unprecedented ‘threepeats’, the Finals MVP awards, the scoring titles and the Chicago Bulls air of invincibility with ‘MJ’ are some arguments that have kept his credentials as the ‘GOAT’ (Greatest Of All Time) intact.

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Other NBA greats, including the likes of Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Bill Russel and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, have crept into the debate occasionally, but Jordan’s accolades, accomplishments and sheer impact as a global culture icon have kept everyone else at bay for years. However, LeBron James has gone on to complicate the debate.

Other NBA
greats, including the likes of Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Bill Russel and Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar, have crept into the debate occasionally, but Jordan’s accolades,
accomplishments and sheer impact as a global culture icon have kept everyone
else at bay for years. However, a certain LeBron James has gone on to
complicate the debate.

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Since
making his debut in 2003, LeBron has gone from strength-to-strength and over
the years built his legacy as Jordan’s one true equal. The two have dominated the
discourse in recent times as the only contenders for the GOAT title and while the
purists still consider Jordan to be the undoubted king, James’ case only grew
stronger after he led the Los Angeles Lakers to the championship in the delayed
2019-20 season.

That was LeBron
the third team he has won the NBA title with, after doing so with the Cleveland
Cavaliers and Miami Heat. And while Jordan fans bring up his shooting and the Bulls’
unbeaten Finals records as testament to his superiority, LeBron fans argue his consistency
and title wins with three different teams, two of which were underdogs, far
outweigh the Bulls star’s achievements.

Jordan’s
achievements were no mean feat though. Younger basketball fans were given a
glimpse of his greatness with ‘The Last Dance’ documentary series, showing them
that Jordan was more than just a name on rad sneakers. Drafted by the Bulls in
1984, Jordan went on to win three consecutive NBA titles in the years 1991, 1992
and 1993.

After an
abrupt retirement ahead of the 1993-94 season, Jordan returned to the Bulls in
1995 and reinforced his status as the greatest with a second ‘threepeat’, winning
the championship in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Below is a
comparison of Jordan and LeBron’s  team
and individual accolades:

Jordan has
six-time NBA Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player) Awards, ten scoring titles –
both of which are all-time records – five MVP Awards, ten All-NBA team appearances,
14 All-Star NBA Game selections, three steal titles and many more.

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LeBron,
meanwhile, has four NBA titles and as many league and finals MVP awards. The
first two of his titles came with Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, before leading
the Cleveland Cavaliers to the championship in 2016 and heating up the GOAT
debate with his fourth with the Lakers in 2020.

Let’s take
a look at their career stats:

While LeBron has more total career points in more games Jordan is the clear winner in terms of points per game, averaging 30.1 compared to LeBron’s 27.0 in the regular season and 33.4 to LeBron’s 28.8 in Finals games. Jordan also has 10 scoring titles against just the one for LeBron, coming in 2008.

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However, LeBron
is miles ahead of the Bulls star in terms of rebounds and assists. Both are
renowned for the defensive side of their game as well, but Jordan dominates in
steals, winning three titles in that category over his career.

These incredible
achievements over their respective illustrious careers show both Jordan and LeBron
are generational athletes. And like the other great debates in sports – Rafael
Nadal vs Roger Federer, Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael
Schumacher vs Lewis Hamilton, among others – their fans can only agree to
disagree with each others’ argument for superiority. History will always
remember them as two of the greatest ever.