NBA Playoffs: LeBron James Is Still Better Than Michael Jordan (Couch Commentary)

Story by Ryan Thies

A sportswriter comparing current players to Michael Jordan is like someone driving 55 in the fast lane: someone always does it, they’re usually old, it’s always annoying, and they’re just getting in the way of the rest of us.  But it’s playoff season…so I guess this time it’s going to be me. Here’s the thing: Jordan not having a dominant big man, having only one real quality sidekick, and still winning six titles, means that current players trying to live up to that legacy (read: LeBron James) not only need to win it all, but they need to do it repeatedly…without any help.  Obviously this standard is ridiculous; it’s like telling every Olympic High-Jumper it only counts if they cut off one leg.  And yet something crazy is happening right now, and I promise you this isn’t just playoff hyperbole, but right now LeBron James, losses and all, is better than Michael Jordan.

Just to clarify, I don’t mean that the best of LeBron is better than the best of Jordan.  What I mean is that we’re constantly comparing today’s LeBron to the best of Jordan, and that’s not fair.  It’s like comparing an appetizer to the main course.  Comparing the first six years of LeBron to the last six years of Jordan isn’t apples to apples, it is apples to Shakespeare.  

We don’t think about that half-ass part-owner of the Bobcats, we don’t think about the old man wearing a Wizards jersey, and we don’t think about that guy that wore #45 for half a season.  Thinking of MJ as one of those guys would be like thinking of Barack Obama as “Barry the high school basketball shooting guard.”  The Michael Jordan that we remember is the guy that pushed off Byron Russell and hit the game winning shot in Utah.  And we know he pushed off, and we loved that about him.  He did what he needed to do to win and Lord Help You if you tried to stop him.  The “Urban Dictionary” defines Jordanesque as “a word to define all forms of perfection.”  To us, Michael Jordan will always be those 6 years.  He will always be perfect… and every other player, past, present and future gets screwed because of it.

But guess what?  He wasn’t perfect.  And I’m still not referring to that guy on the Wizards or that weirdo wearing 45.  I’m talking about the Chicago Bulls’ #23.  Be Like Mike himself.  He wasn’t perfect.  He wasn’t.  He wasn’t suspended for 18 months for gambling, no matter how juicy that story is.  And he didn’t win every game he ever played.  He won 6 Championships.  Which is amazing.  Extraordinary.  And everything else your Word-of-the-Day calendar can come up with.  But he wasn’t perfect.  So walk with me back through his career, because unlike everybody else making the LeBron v. MJ comparisons, I’m actually going to look at them during the same point in their careers.

The first three

Do you honestly remember the first few years?  The Bulls win totals in his first 3 years: 38, 30, and 40.  Their playoff record those 3 years: 1-9.  Three straight first round exits.  But for those of you that point out that MJ never missed the playoffs I only need to point to LeBron’s Cavs missing the playoffs his two years despite averaging 38 wins but Jodan’s Bulls made the playoffs with a record of 30-52.  In fact the reason the win total was so low was that Jordan missed most of that 2^nd season with an injury; could you even picture someone being able to injure LeBron to the point he misses 60 games?  

There’s no denying that Jordan for the most part had better stats those first three years- his rookie season he averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists on 51.5% shooting.  Those are fantastic numbers.  By year 3 though his rebounds dropped (5.2), assists dropped (4.6), but his points skyrocketed to 37.1.  LeBron’s year 1 numbers weren’t as good as MJ’s (only 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists.)  However LeBron kept improving across the board to that point that year 3 his points had gone above 30/game (31.4), but his rebounds (7.0) and assists (6.6) improved drastically as well.  Again- you can’t compare LeBron the 21-yr-old to peak-of-his-career Jordan; but if you compare Year 3 MJ with Year 3 LBJ, clearly LeBron has more going for him.

The next three

In Year 4, MJ and the Bulls made a leap.  The next 3 years they won 50, 47, and 55 games respectively.  Those same 3 years the Bulls went 23- 20 in the playoffs, making it to the Eastern Conference Finals 2 years in a row.  Not surprisingly these 3 years were Jordan’s statistical peak, culminating in 88-89 (Jordan’s 5^th year) in which he averaged 32.5, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists.  Also not surprising though is that LeBron’s Cavs also made a leap; winning 50, 45, and 66 games respectively, making the Conference Finals twice, and making the NBA Finals once.  Just like the other #23, LeBron’s 5^th year was his statistical best so far averaging 30 a game, plus 7.9 rebounds, and 7.2 assists.  While Jordan’s stats were better LeBron was winning more- both in the regular season and the playoffs.  So can you honestly defend Jordan as the better of the two based just on stats like points?  Isn’t that why Jordan was so great, because he won so much? 

Again- we have been comparing LeBron, everyday for his first 6 years, to Jordan.  But we’ve been comparing him to Jordan’s second 6 years.  Jordan’s first 6 were statistically fantastic but stop and think about his team’s performance for a second.  Jordan’s playoffs win percentage his first 6 years: 45% (24 and 29.)  Far from perfect.  MJ’s first six years in the league his team’s playoff performances weren’t even average.  Meanwhile the Cavs over these last 6 years- 36-24, a 60% win percentage.  But here’s the real deciding factor for me:

Year 6.  1990 for Jordan.  2009 for LeBron.  Jordan’s Bulls lose in 7 in Eastern Conference Finals (16 games total).  LeBron’s too loses in the Eastern Conference Finals but in only 14 games total.  These were the two statistically greatest playoff performances ever. 

Bill Simmons likes to talk about the 42 Club- in 13 or more playoff games, any player that has points, rebounds, and assists combine to 42.  There have been 14 players ever to do it- and they are exactly who you’d expect: Jordan, Magic, Bird, Shaq, etc.  Only Shaq, Bird, Jordan, and now LeBron did it more than twice.  And only Jordan not only cracked 42, but in 1990 he averaged 50.7.  That year, in those 16 games, Jordan shot 51.4%, scoring 36.7 a game, grabbing 7.2 rebounds, and passing out 6.8 assists.  This year, in his 14 games, LeBron shot 51%, averaged 35.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 7.3 assists…a 51.7 avg!  Let me repeat: this year LeBron put on the greatest statistical performance EVER.  The best of LeBron, this past postseason, was better than Jordan’s best.    

The Three-Peat(s)

Of course, then again, maybe Jordan’s best isn’t defined by points, rebounds, and assists.  Jordan’s best probably began in his 7^th year, with his first Championship.  In fact, excluding ’94 (no Jordan) and ’95 (#45 Jordan), the Chicago Bulls would go on to win 388 games over the next 6 full seasons (65w/season).  Jordan’s 7^th year began a run for the Bulls in which they would go 90-26 in the playoffs (a winning percentage of 78%.)  In all those seasons, he would never have another statistical one as good as 1990, but instead he did whatever it took to win. 

But think back to that 1990 season, after he lost in the Eastern Conference finals, after he put together his best statistical postseason ever, all Michael Jordan could do was go back home, work out harder and remember what it felt like to lose so that he’d never have to again.  Something, hopefully, LeBron is already doing.

Because the Jerry Stackhouses and Vince Carters- the talented young scorers- took some of the burden of “the next MJ” title but to think that Jordan was just a scorer is missing the point.  It’s LeBron that we really dropped the weight on.  We expect him to win.  On his own.  A lot.  We expect him to be perfect.  But, of course, he’s not.  No one is: not even Michael Jordan, at least in 1990. 

The first six years of his career, LeBron James has been better than Michael Jordan was.  But it’s the next 6 years that will make the difference.  

Tags: general basketball couch commentary

Val said:

Better? You only compared the offensive contributions, which I think MJ still trumpts LJ. MJ is better than LJ offensively and defensively in their first 6 years, how is LJ supposed to be better? The only thing LJ did better was to get his team mates involved (assists) and to rebound which is a given since he is a forward compared to MJ who is a guard. Ok LJ was a better 3 pointer too but that's it.

RON said:

thats a lot that he was better at. most of basketball is working as a team. if you played you would know that. The threes is a big deal cause you win and loose by the three. Also if lebron wanted to put up 50 points a game he could but he would rather have some teammates score as well. Another thing is that if you look at the defensive end lebron is one of the best defenders to ever play the game. He is faster than jordan ever was and a heck of a lot stronger to. He is all around a better athlete. If you tell me that lebron cant play any other sport football teams begged him to play tight end but he loved basketball to much.

ronnie said:

The closest thing to Jordan is Kobe Bryant. Kobe is the best player in the league right now not Lebron. You should be comparing Kobe and Michael. Not Michael and Lebron.

Mike said:

Your comparing different positions... It's like saying that kareem was better than mj because he rebounded more... Of course he did... That's his position. Keep in mind that during Jordan, his first round games were best of 5, not 7. The teams Jordan played were better. The pistons in 1990 were better than the magic in 2009. Jordan had to play against less teams (which means beter talent on teams). Being the best is about more than pure stats.... Your 42 number is a waste of time to look at. Some positions are prone to put up larger numbers than others. Jordan as a sg should be rebounding less. Since lebron is like a point forward at times, his assists should be higher as well. Jordan had the triangle... Completley different set up This just shows how naive you are... Anyone can add stats... It takes a good mind to look beyond them

Sam said:

Forget about the stats....forget about who played against better or worse teams blah blah.....the fact of the matter is that the day the Cavs (or any other team which has LJ) plays an away game and the away crowd goes berserk at the mention of LJ during the starting lineup.....is the day we'll be able to say that LJ is as good (let alone 'Better') as MJ. What MJ has done for basketball worldwide is similar to what Zidane has done for soccer. He's defined a culture in basketball; he's the guy LJ grew up idolizing; he's the reason why athletes in sports worldwide wear the number 23...he's the reason why people dring gatorade, eat wheaties and wear nike; LJ is and will always be a great basketball player.....but MJ revolutionized basketball, and defined the way the game is played in the current era. Undoubtedly, MJ was, is and will always be the greatest player ever to have played the sport known as basketball. Period.

Seth said:

@Sam, you're confusing "most important" with "better." No one's saying that Jordan didn't change the game and change the way it's marketed, played, etc. That doesn't mean that LeBron couldn't be a better player than Jordan. @Mike, some positions are prone to better numbers? Then how come Jordan (as a guard) previously had better numbers than everyone ever in the playoffs- including rebounds, etc. And now LeBron has better numbers than him. LeBron this past postseason put on the best performance, by any player, ever. He's a point forward? Well, duh. You're knocking him for something that only he can do- getting his teammates involved while still scoring and rebounding himself. The guy is amazing.

w said:

Ron your a moron. Lebron is one of the best defenders ever? Lay off the crack, just because he can make chase down blocks well does not make him a great defender. Also, the rules were different in the Jordan days now if you put your hand on someone it is a foul.

Jeff Jordan said:

My pops would pick his teeth with these kids today. The new rules make it easy for these crybabies to rack up the points. Did anyone catch the finals in 2006 when Dwayne Wade lived on the line? How about the conference finals when Ben Wallace was standing in place, feet soundly set and D. Wade ran him over like a dumptruck and wallace was assesed a foul? They really want these guys to live up to my dad and be the next, when really they have to just be themselves. Not complaining, just stating the facts. Ticky tack fouls, promoting stars who dont have the talent to cash the check that the league writes them. LeBron is good, but there will never be another MJJ

Ken said:

When lebron averages 42 in the finals as jordan did against Phoenix, we can have this discussion again. LBJ got beat by the magic. If the magic are going to be compared to the detroit bad boys in the late 80's I just bought my ticket to mars. Jordan was borderline assaulted when he put up his numbers back then. todays game is built for ratings. the defense has been taken away from the game. no hand check defensive 3 seconds. and for the love of god the zone defense. LBJ would not have anywhere near those kinds of numbers back in the day. people make the mistake of not looking at what the leauge had to do when MJ left the game. the ratings fell through the basement because the offensive player was almost all but gone. I assure you LBJ and Kobe are some of the greatest to play but to compare the stats of any player to jordan is ludacris if you actually compare apple's to apple's. If michael was playing in todays game in his prime under todays restrictions with regard to defense that would be just downright unfair. defensive 3 seconds, give me a break. when jordan went to the hole you had all 5 guys colapse in the lane and try to clobber him. Jordan stats are untouchable when you actually stop and look at all the facts.

Ken said:

Jeff as you know your Pops is the GOAT. They should build him his own wing in the Hall of Fame because they Ain't got enough room in there for the GOAT. Bare witness all you yong Kobe and Lebron Lovers to the Real King of the court. the greatest highlight reel ever assemled from hoopsencyclopedia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWvxijHNWB4&feature=channel_page