Jordan vs. LeBron Needs to Be Laid to Rest

It's the argument that keeps NBA fans awake at night and fuels social media conversations. It's the debate that seems to never have a right answer because bias and pride will never concede. It's the question that continually swirls through the heads of not just Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls fans, but the basketball faithful across the world. That question, quite simply, is "Who's better: Jordan or LeBron?" To me, as a self-proclaimed educated NBA fan, it really shouldn't be an argument. The answer is Jordan and, quite frankly, I don't care who you bring up to combat MJ, there really is no argument.

Jordan's greatness will not be matched any time soon

Let's get the obvious statistics out of the way right off the bat. Michael Jordan went six for six in his Finals appearances while LeBron is now two for six. And for those that want to disregard this year's Finals loss on account of health issues for the Cavs, he would still be three rings behind Jordan and would still be .500 in his Finals appearances assuming Cleveland wins with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. And if you want to disregard this year's Finals entirely, he's two for five in the Finals, still three behind Jordan. For now, it's as simple as Jordan taking down Hall of Famer after Hall of Famer en route to a perfect six for six in the Finals.

Now let's get away from the team aspect and look at the individual stats. Michael Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game for his career. No one has ever averaged more points in a career than Jordan did, and LeBron currently sits at 27.3 points per game. Now, LeBron has the edge in rebounds (7.1) and assists (6.9), so there's no arguing there and we'll stay away from the "Well LeBron's much bigger than Jordan so he should have more rebounds" argument too. It is what is is.

Going beyond that, individual accolades is where Jordan absolutely dominates LeBron. Both players won Rookie of the Year, but LeBron currently trails Jordan in the MVP honors by one, as Jordan ended his career with five and LeBron has four to his name at this point in time. Jordan also trumps LeBron in Finals MVP trophies with six while LeBron has two. Continuing with the offensive-oriented accomplishments, MJ claimed TEN scoring titles in his career. LeBron? He currently has ONE.

James' career has been great, but not great enough to match MJ's

Moving towards a more defense-oriented argument, all of these accomplishments led to Jordan's nomination to the First Team All-NBA ten times. LeBron on the other hand, has currently been named First Team All-NBA nine times, but has a chance to pass Jordan in that column. However, Jordan was named First Team All-Defensive nine times while LeBron has only made the cut five times. Jordan also captured a Defensive Player of the Year trophy once while LeBron has never won the honor and has finished second in the voting twice. Despite only winning DPOY once, Jordan led the league in steals three times while LeBron has never even finished second in steals per game.

At the end of the day, it seems obvious. Jordan has five MVPs, LeBron has four. Jordan has six Finals MVPs, LeBron has two. Jordan has a Defensive Player of the Year award, LeBron doesn't. Jordan has ten scoring titles, LeBron has one. Jordan averaged 30.1 points per game for his career, LeBron's averaging 27.3. It's not bias, it's not favoritism, it's not the dislike of LeBron. It's common sense and it's facts. And if you want to reference Jordan's records that LeBron is breaking, or how he may pass him on the All-Time scoring list someday, just remember that LeBron just finished his 12th season while Jordan played 15, one of which he only played in 18 games before breaking his foot, and one in which he only played in 17 games because he returned from retirement. So in all, Jordan really played about 13.25 seasons and will STILL have LeBron in almost every category by the time they're both retired.

In no way am I saying LeBron will not go down as one of the greatest players ever. In terms of physical dominance he will go down as one of the best. And yes, he has a different build/style of play than Jordan, but there's no way LeBron will boast the accolades that Jordan did. It's not a debate, it's not an argument, it's not a discussion, Michael Jordan is the best and always will be.