After reaching 40,000 regular-season NBA points and counting, can we officially crown LeBron James the greatest NBA player of all time?
I know some of you will root for Michael Jordan, who has long been viewed as the GOAT, but hear me out. First, let’s find some common ground. Can we agree that James has surpassed Larry Bird? Wilt Chamberlain? Magic Johnson? Bill Russell? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Kobe Bryant?
The “GOAT” debate exists in every sport from boxing to golf, and you can hear the debate in barbershops, arcades, bars, living rooms and on sports talk shows across the country. Why do we argue about who is the best? Well, for starters, it’s fun.
“Jordan vs. Jordan” The “LeBron James” debate will only continue to heat up as James continues to dominate players nearly half his age and achieves more milestones with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, my argument that James deserves the crown focuses on what he did on and off the court, not Jordan.
Michael Jordan has been the undisputed GOAT through decadence
Let’s talk about Jordan, the man who put Nike on the map and became the undisputed king. I saw him play live at the Bradley Center and I saw him win the dunk contest. Wearing his shoes; watched “Space Jam” a dozen times and watched countless buzzer beaters. I’ve seen all of his commercials and have his jerseys, cards and other memorabilia.
Last February, James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time scoring leader during the regular season, and earlier this month he became the first person to score 40,000 career points in front of a sold-out Lakers crowd. NBA players.
At 39 years old, James is the oldest player in the NBA but remains at an elite level, averaging 25 points per game.
What makes James even more eye-catching is this data: As of November 2023, among the 4,862 players who have participated in official NBA games, only 10 players have played at least 20 NBA seasons. According to Stathead.com, the ratio is 0.002%.
This makes James not just the GOAT, but the King.
On-court statistics aren’t about defending LeBron James
There is a saying in the sports world that data does not lie, and if we follow this rule, James dribbled past Jordan not long ago. This may be hard for most people to accept, and it was hard for me to accept, but it’s true.
Most people who still consider Jordan the best player would point to his six championship rings, including two three-peats. It’s an impressive feat, but the ring alone doesn’t make you the GOAT.
If it comes down to it, Boston Celtics great Bill Russell will be the GOAT with 11 rings. Although Russell is arguably one of the greatest players of all time, and teammate Sam Jones has 10 championship rings, his name has never appeared in the “greatest” conversation.
James has four championship rings but leads Jordan in almost every other statistic.
Jordan leads in scoring, averaging 30.1 to 27.1 points per game, but James leads Jordan in rebounds, averaging 7.5 to 6.2 per game; assists, 7.4 to 5.3; field goal percentage, 50.5 to 49.7; three-point shooting percentage, 34.7 than 32.7.
James also played in more than 400 regular season games. He scored more than 8,000 points more than Jordan and had more than 4,300 rebounds. While Jordan is a talented scorer, James is one of the best assisters of all time, with nearly 11,000 assists to Jordan’s 5,633. Sharing is caring.
Before the Bulls became “a team,” Jordan teammate Scottie Pippen called Jordan “a terrible player.”
Pippen said in a May 2023 interview: “He was one-on-one, shooting the ball badly, and all of a sudden, we became a team and we started winning and everyone forgot who he was. “
Pippen added that in terms of statistics, James easily beats Jordan.
“There’s no comparison. No. Does that make him the greatest player of all time? I’ll leave that question up for debate because I don’t believe there is one great player because our team is a team game. One player Okay, don’t do it,” Pippen said.
Off the court, James’ influence is much greater than Jordan’s
Being a “GOAT” isn’t just something a person does in sports; it’s what they do outside of sports. Muhammad Ali was great not just because he defeated some of the greatest fighters of his era. He is the greatest because he uses his boxing platform to advocate for racial and social justice.
James also used his star power to speak out. In 2018, he accused then-President Donald Trump of being out of touch and called some of his policies “ridiculous and horrific.” Fox News host Laura Ingraham called James’ comments “ignorant” and told James to keep his comments political, as well as his infamous “shut up and dribble.”
However, even in the face of strong resistance, James did not back down. I wish more athletes would speak out about injustice in America. Jordan, on the other hand, remained silent on issues of racism and social injustice for most of his career. It wasn’t until 2016 that he finally spoke publicly about police shootings.
James is living the true American dream through businesses and foundations
James’ story is a true American dream. He was born in Akron, Ohio, to an absent 16-year-old single mother. He didn’t become a statistic. Instead, he turned pro out of high school and co-founded a media and entertainment company. He owns stakes in professional baseball and football teams and founded the LeBron James Family Foundation, which provides school supplies and bicycles to hundreds of children.
In 2018, he also founded the “I Promise School” in his hometown of Akron. He said opening the school was his most important professional achievement. Critics have given the school mixed reviews. Black students test in the bottom 5 percent of all black students in Ohio, and 15 out of 50 teachers have resigned in the past two years; James and others say turning things around will take time.
One supporter said success doesn’t happen overnight. Many children start two to three years late. However, if the school is successful, the student is guaranteed admission to the University of Akron. Under James’ leadership, I have no doubt that the students and school will be MVPs.
James is also a proud husband and father. In 2013, he married his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson. The couple has three children: LeBron “Bronny” James, Bryce Maximus and Juri.
Bronny and Bryce aspire to one day play in the NBA with their father. To do this, James must play for another two to three years. That alone adds a dimension that Jordan and others cannot match. Meanwhile, James will break more records to increase his “GOAT” status.
Contact James E. Causey at jcausey@jrn.com; follow him@jecausey.