Steemit, its been to long but I'm back.
This time with something I'm excited to talk about. Like the title says, I think Lebron James is already a better player than MJ. I think Lebron is the G.O.A.T. So I'll get the elephant in the room out of the way first. Mike was 6-0 in NBA titles and Lebron is 3-5. That however is the same argument that people tried to make about Tom Brady and Joe Montana. Joe was 4-0 and Brady had lost titles. Well at what point do you go to so many championships that its inevitable that you'll lose a few. This isn't to say that Lebron losing 5 championships isn't somewhat of a negative but I believe the benefit outways the negative at this point and will continue with each championship he gets to, win or lose.
I don't want to just dig into statistics because stats don't always tell the whole truth. Stats can sort of tell the story you want to tell. I do think they are important. You can't never score a point and claim to be the best scorer of all-time but if you are a top ten scorer you could make an argument based on a lot of different levels.
So just some stats to make a basic argument that Lebron belongs in the conversation:
Lebron will finish in the top 3 all time in scoring passing MJ.
Lebron will finish possibly inside the top 50 all time in rebounds, pretty high for somebody that largely played point guard most of his career.
Lebron will finish inside the top 10 in assists.
Lebron is currently 2nd in player efficiency behind MJ but could catch and pass him.
Lebron is 2nd in offensive win share all time
Lebron is 20th in defensive win share, 1 spot ahead of MJ
So pretty good stats for a guy that probably still has 5 years of playing at a very high level. Those are just regular season stats. Lets look at playoff stats, that's where Lebron really shines.
Playoff scoring, Lebron is 1st
Playoff rebounding Lebron will finish at least 6th all time
Playoff assists, Lebron is 3rd
Playoff win share 1st
Playoff defensive win share 4th
All of these stats are pulled from Basketball-reference.com. My image uploader is down or I would add some photos for proof.
Statistically there is a strong case for Lebron as the G.O.A.T Will Lebron may never have been considered the best at anyone thing at a given time in his career, his stats will crush everybody. Scored more than scorers, assisted better than passers and rebounded better than bigs. The one thing he was better at than everybody else, he never got hurt. While that is not a stat it is important when you are considering greatness. Its hard to be great at something that you can't do because your hurt.
The big thing that I think stands out with Lebron is that he is the dynasty. Lebron has never had a great coach, only briefly had all time great players on his team and never had stability. Michael had Scottie Pippen and Mike never won without Scottie. Michael had the greatest head coach of all time and never won without Phil Jackson. Michael had stability. Michael also lacked the longevity that Lebron has.
The Cleveland Cavaliers won 61 games Lebrons last year there in his first stint. The year after he left for Miami they won 19 games. The Miami Heat won 54 games his last year there and won 37 the next year.
The year after MJ left the Bulls, while they still had Phil and Scottie they won 55 games and went to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. That team was very good even without MJ.
So going back to the beginning I believe this is why there is such a disparity in the Finals win lose records. MJ was the best player with the best team and best coach. Lebron is the best player with an average team and average coaching.
If you disagree I would love to know why. Whether he is the best or not but you like sports I believe you should take time to appreciate watching him, it may be awhile before we see someone of his status again.