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Debating Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James and which NBA legend had the highest peak

Michael Jordan ou LeBron James ?

The five words guaranteed to spark a completely balanced and rational conversation devoid of any unbalanced subjective opinion.

The NBA’s (greatest ever) GOAT conversation has revolved around Jordan and James for years, and it has only intensified as James added to an already amazing resume. It’s now here again with Jordan and James among the 75 greatest NBA players released to celebrate the NBA’s 75th anniversary season.

TOP 75 SUMMITS IN NBA HISTORY: 75-51 | 50-26 | 25-11 | 10-1

It’s hard to bring anything new to this argument – you can only yell about the lack of “clutch gene” of James or Jordan playing against “plumbers” so many times before everyone else is. ready to type – but The Sporting News takes a different approach approaching. Instead of comparing the two basketball legends based on their overall careers, we decided to focus solely on their all-time highs.

Here’s the setup: two of our editors will do what everyone else does every day … debate. Jordan Greer will represent Team MJ and Kyle Irving will respond on behalf of Team LeBron. A third, Carlan Gay, will review the cases on both sides and then deliver a final verdict. Let’s dive into …

The case of Michael Jordan

(Getty Images)

For this drill, I’m referring to Jordan’s summit as his first three-lap race with the Bulls (1990-93). It seems crazy to exclude that other three rounds or the season in which he scored an absurd 37.1 points per game, but there has to be a cut. (I’m sure Kyle will run into the same issue with James. Yeah, those guys are pretty good.)

Over those three seasons, Jordan averaged 31.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.6 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. He led the league in scoring in each of those seasons and did so effectively, shooting 51.7% from the field with almost 23.6 attempts per game. If leading numbers are more your style, Jordan finished No.1 in all three seasons in – deep breath here – player efficiency rating, offensive win shares, win shares, win shares by 48 minutes, box plus / minus offensive, plus / minus box and value against the replacement player.

MORE: The Greatest MJ Game You Definitely Can’t Remember

He was an iron man, playing in 240 of 246 possible regular season games. Chicago went 185-61 (0.752 winning percentages) during that span. He has been an All-Star three times, a member of the All-Defensive First Team three times and a member of the All-NBA First Team three times. He won the NBA MVP award in 1990-91 and 1991-92.

Jordan only became a freak in the playoffs, averaging 33.7 points, 6.6 assists, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.0 block with shooting divisions of 49, 7 / 38.7 / 83.6 (placement fields / 3 points / free throws) over three championship races. He set an NBA Finals record with 41.0 points per game in 1993. He crossed the Pistons of Isiah Thomas, the Lakers of Magic Johnson, the Trail Blazers of Clyde Drexler and the Suns of Charles Barkley. on the way to these titles. You know, some of the 75 greatest players in the NBA.

But the numbers only tell part of the story. Once Jordan defeated the “Bad Boys” of Detroit and captured his first ring, he reached a whole new plane. His domination seemed inevitable. Of course, he changed hands in the air and finished the layup. Sure, he drilled six 3-pointers in the first half of an NBA Finals game and shrugged it off. Of course, he finished three consecutive seasons with a Championship trophy in one hand and an NBA Finals MVP trophy in the other.

Of course he did it all. Of course, he is the right choice here. It’s Michael Jordan.

– Jordan Greer

The LeBron James Affair

(Getty Images)

Am I allowed to choose between 2010 and 2018, when James went to the NBA Finals in eight consecutive seasons, as his peak? Does it have to be a shorter duration than that? Oh sorry. OK, I’m going to continue with the five seasons from 2009 to 2013 in which he racked up four MVP trophies, his first two NBA titles and two NBA Finals MVPs thereafter.

During that five-year streak, LeBron averaged 27.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 51.8 percent on the field and 35.1% of 3. He may not have dominated the league scoring at any time. during that streak, but he’s been second three times, third once and fourth once. It’s the sacrifice you make when you also rank in the top 12 for total assists in each of those seasons, landing three times in the top 10. As you can guess, it has been five times. All-Star and five-time All-NBA and All-Defensive First Team during this time.

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Its 2009 playoffs were as dominant as we’ve ever seen, leading the Cavaliers to a perfect 8-0 start with back-to-back sweeps before falling in the Eastern Conference final. The loss wasn’t due to James’ lack of production, however, as he averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks, losing four games to 40 points, an epic and winning buzzer-beater and a 37-point triple-double before his team’s exit.

His final year at Cleveland was just a regular MVP season in which he averaged nearly 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, not to mention one block and one steal per game. But once he took his talents to South Beach, LeBron was truly at the peak of his powers. Say what you want about the talent around him, but that doesn’t take away from the unstoppable James individually.

MORE: Year 19’s LeBron Quest To Pass MJ

His 45-point Game 6 in Boston in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals with his team back to the wall could be the iconic LeBron performances. You know, that of the meme? Taking down Spurs’ Hall of Famers trio in 2013 with averages of 25.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game wasn’t bad either.

There was a part of me that wanted to make the point that his second stint at Cleveland was his climax, highlighted by almost an average triple-double in the 2015 NBA Finals and then beating the greatest team in history. the league in the 2016 NBA Finals. He finished with the most absurd playoff run of 2018 – his back is probably still recovering from carrying that Cavaliers team – but he felt right to go with the first LeBron .

Again, was not his entire 18-year career its peak? It’s hard to tell the difference with someone who is still this good.

– Kyle Irving

Best pic: Michael Jordan or LeBron James?

Full Disclosure: Didn’t expect it to be so difficult. I thought I would come over here and say nice job, Kyle, but I’m going to MJ here. Instead, Kyle did everything in his power to make me think about this decision even more than I initially expected.

And Kyle is right. LeBron’s peak was longer, so he had a difficult choice to make over the few seasons he would focus on to make his point. He did a great job. I just think he picked the “wrong” peak.

While LeBron’s early years in Cleveland were special, it wasn’t until he took his talents to South Beach and became Miami’s supervillain that he really entered the GOAT conversation. It took his first and second titles and the start of what would last a decade until the NBA Finals that sparked all this debate. Before that he was a great player, but he was not an all-time great player. If Kyle had chosen the right LeBron era, I might have gone with the King.

Most Jordan takes it – the writer and the player. The ball was right next to him, and he hit it with his arguments. No one was better than Jordan – the player, not the editor of The Sporting News – during that three-year period. We’ve never seen this level of single player domination before, and LeBron is the only one who has come close since.

I feel like I’m penalizing LeBron for his longevity, but Jordan, the writer, won this battle.

Good luck, Kyle. We can do it again, many, many more times. Believe me.

— Carlan Gay

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