LeBron James was declared the chosen one at the age of 16. He was the one who was supposed to take over from Michael Jordan and hence was given the nickname "King James". From being the cover athlete of Sports Illustrated while still in high school to becoming a 4 time NBA Champion and then going on to lead with his voice on topics of social justice. He is the greatest success story in the league's history.
Michael Jordan was the pioneer that led the NBA to the global stage back in the 90s. The heights of global fame and stardom that he achieved put him in such rare air that he is still to this day considered the greatest athlete of all time. He relentlessly pursued greatness and won 6 championships with the Chicago Bulls. After retiring he went on to become a business tycoon amassing a huge amount of wealth. A few years later he bought the Charlotte Hornets and became the first-ever American athlete to do so.
Michael Jordan was all about taking over the game and single-handedly outplaying his opponents with his dominant game. LeBron is a more balanced player who scores when challenged to score but his game is more about getting his teammates involved, grabbing rebounds doing those little things that help a team get to victory.
| Career (Averages) | LeBron James | Michael Jordan |
| Points | 27.1 | 30.1 |
| Rebounds | 7.5 | 6.2 |
| Assists | 7.4 | 5.3 |
| Steals | 1.6 | 2.3 |
| Blocks | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Turnovers | 3.5 | 2.7 |
| Minutes | 38.2 | 38.3 |
| Field goal % | 50.5 | 49.7 |
| 3-point % | 34.6 | 32.7 |
| Free throw % | 73.4 | 83.5 |
| Career (Totals) | LeBron James | Michael Jordan |
| Games | 1,366 | 1,072 |
| Points | 37,062 | 34,241 |
| Rebounds | 10,210 | 6,672 |
| Assists | 10,045 | 5,633 |
| Steals | 2,126 | 2,514 |
| Blocks | 1,041 | 893 |
| Turnovers | 4,788 | 2,924 |
| Minutes | 52,139 | 41,011 |
When one is comparing two different eras, it’s not ideal to just look at the major stats. Sometimes, advanced stats give us an insight into the playing style and a real nitty-gritty way of evaluating two different aspects of the same attribute.
| Advanced Career Stats | LeBron James | Michael Jordan |
| Player Efficiency Rating (PER) | 27.3 | 27.9 |
| Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) | 142.6 | 116.1 |
| Box Plus/Minus (BPM) | 8.9 | 9.2 |
| Win Shares (WS) | 249.5 | 214.0 |
| True Shooting % (TS%) | 58.8% | 56.9% |
| Usage Rate (USG%) | 31.6% | 33.3% |
Playoffs are where LeBron James's talents are really unleashed. Every year during the playoffs, he proves to everyone watching why he is one of the greatest to play the game. While on the other hand, Jordan's 6 in 6 should speak for itself.
| Playoff (Career Averages) | LeBron James | Michael Jordan |
| Points | 28.7 | 33.4 |
| Rebounds | 9.0 | 6.4 |
| Assists | 7.2 | 5.7 |
| Steals | 1.7 | 2.1 |
| Blocks | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Turnovers | 3.7 | 3.1 |
| Minutes | 41.5 | 41.8 |
| Field goal % | 49.5% | 48.7% |
| 3-point % | 33.7% | 33.2% |
| Free throw % | 74.0% | 82.8% |
| Playoffs (Career Totals) | LeBron James | Michael Jordan |
| Games | 266 | 179 |
| Points | 7,631 | 5,987 |
| Rebounds | 2,391 | 1,152 |
| Assists | 1,919 | 1,022 |
| Steals | 454 | 376 |
| Blocks | 252 | 158 |
| Turnovers | 975 | 546 |
| Minutes | 11,035 | 7,474 |
LeBron James has been to the finals 10 times, coming out with the championship on four occasions. Jordan went to the finals 6 times and astoundingly won all 6 of them without ever needing to go to Game 7.
| NBA Finals (Career Averages) | LeBron James | Michael Jordan |
| Record | 4–6 | 6–0 |
| Points | 28.4 | 33.6 |
| Rebounds | 10.2 | 6.0 |
| Assists | 7.8 | 6.0 |
| Field Goal % | 48.4% | 48.1% |
| 3-point % | 35.2% | 36.8% |
| Free Throw % | 73.1% | 80.6% |
| Steals | 1.7 | 1.8 |
| Blocks | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| Turnovers | 3.9 | 2.8 |
| Minutes | 42.5 | 43.0 |
| NBA Finals (Career Totals) | LeBron James | Michael Jordan |
| Points | 1,562 | 1,176 |
| Rebounds | 561 | 211 |
| Assists | 430 | 209 |
| Steals | 93 | 62 |
| Blocks | 46 | 23 |
| Turnovers | 217 | 99 |
| Minutes | 2,337 | 1,506 |
| Achievements | LeBron James | Michael Jordan |
| NBA Finals appearances | 10 | 6 |
| Championships | 4 | 6 |
| Regular season MVP | 4 | 5 |
| Defensive Player of the Year | 0 | 1 |
| Finals MVP | 4 | 6 |
| Rookie of the Year | 1 | 1 |
| Scoring titles | 1 | 10 |
| Assist leader | 1 | 0 |
| Steals leader | 0 | 3 |
| All-Star selections | 18 | 14 |
| All NBA selections | 18 | 11 |
| All-Defensive selections | 6 | 9 |
LeBron James over his career and through other business ventures has amassed a fortune of over $1 billion. Obviously, basketball is the driving force behind LeBron’s wealth; when you’ve been a top player for almost 20 years, the game checks simply add up. According to Spotrac’s financial data, James has earned an impressive total of over $390 million in salary during his time in the NBA.
King James’ income isn’t limited to basketball, though. Other than his massive Nike contract and game checks, the Lakers star is also quite the entrepreneur. Thanks to investments in Blaze Pizza, Beats, and Liverpool FC, among other brands.
While LeBron James’ net worth is nothing to look down to, he’s still nowhere near His Airness. According to Forbes, Michael Jordan’s net worth clocks in at $1.7 billion.
Michael Jordan didn’t make that much in the NBA. He only commanded truly massive salaries during his last two seasons in Chicago; Jordan earned $94 million in game checks, with roughly $63 million coming in just 1996-97 and 1997-98.
However, his superstar status paid dividends. Apart from his massive contract with Nike, he endorsed everything from underwear to Gatorade and also McDonald's; those deals kept the cash flowing. In retirement, he also managed to get into an elite group by becoming an owner of an NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets.
Image source: Bleacher Report
Michael Jordan is often considered the GOAT of the NBA. At present, Jordan is the forerunner in all accolades other than All-Star appearances, All-NBA Team, and the Hall of Fame. He has a better NBA Finals record. Furthermore, he has two rings more than LeBron James. He also has three more All-Defense selections and an additional MVP award. He also holds a Defensive Player of the Year award, an accomplishment that has eluded James. LeBron's commitment to amassing his fourth ring has brought him closer to his goal - winning six or more rings.
However, Jordan was not the complete player that James is. LeBron James is the only player in NBA history with 10K points, rebounds and assists. He is in the top 10-15 of virtually every list in the league and is on pace to becoming the NBA's all-time leading scorer. James also leads the league in almost every playoff statistic, having been to the NBA Finals 10 times. He is also a much better playmaker than Jordan ever was, leading the league in assists once.
He has all the stats and longevity arguments in his favor over Jordan, who was mainly valued as a scorer on the offensive end.
While most people would say Michael Jordan is the Greatest player of all time. Few people like Detroit Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham believe Lebron James is the greatest player.
Image source: CBS Sports
LeBron James' statistics stipulate that he is the better overall basketball player. LeBron is a more efficient player, a much better passer and rebounder than Jordan was. Jordan, on the flip side, has a much better free throw percentage, which sustains the points per game statistic. The two are relatively equivalent in efficiency ratings, with Jordan being first overall in NBA history and LeBron trailing close behind at second. Michael averaged more steals per game, but both players are exactly even in blocks per game. LeBron turned the ball over more per game as well. These career stats show that LeBron James can excel in all aspects of the game, not just in scoring. He excels in more categories on an individual performance level than Jordan in both their regular-season careers and Finals.
Also read: All about Michael Jordan’s net worth
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