It happens each and every offseason. The GOAT debate among NBA fans is something of a pastime. It would feel very weird if there was a summer that went by without a ton of basketball fans debating who is better between the Chicago Bulls‘ all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan and the Los Angeles Lakers’ future Hall-of-Fame forward LeBron James.
LeBron is currently on his quest to get his fifth NBA Championship of his career. That would put him just one shy of Jordan, with his six. But LeBron is facing tall odds in a tougher Western Conference with the seven-seed Lakers this year. It will be a difficult feat for LeBron to just get past the two-seed Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.
However, there is a legitimate comparison brewing in terms of some of the counting stats, shooting percentages, and advanced metrics, in the regular season numbers between LeBron and Jordan. LeBron’s career numbers are obviously impressive, but the age at which he’s still playing at an elite level now is truly remarkable.
If nothing else, the case is easy to be made that Jordan and LeBron are the two best players in NBA history. That is true at least from a statistical standpoint.
Numbers approach to the GOAT debate between Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Lakers’ superstar LeBron James
Taking a statistical approach to the GOAT debate is something of an anomaly across different realms of basketball fans. Old school fans of basketball from the 1990s will occasionally argue that the advanced metrics of the modern age of the game are irrelevant when comparing different eras.
The problem with that approach is that statistical and accolade comparisons are about all we have to debate Jordan and LeBron.
Jordan tends to hold the edge in terms of postseason accolades, while LeBron owns a clear advantage in the GOAT debate in terms of longevity. LeBron already has 17 All-Star appearances under his belt, compared to just 14 for Jordan. But both LeBron and Jordan were named All-Stars in essentially every full year they played in the NBA.
Another area where LeBron started to approach Jordan in terms of regular season accolades was with MVPs. LeBron now has four MVPs to Jordan’s five, which is a narrow margin. LeBron could certainly eke out at least one more MVP in his career before it’s all said and done, with the level he’s played at of late.
There are a number of accolades to compare between Jordan and LeBron from the regular season and postseason in each of their respective great NBA careers. But the focus is namely on the difference in postseason stats per game and the advanced metrics crunched down.
It is insane that Jordan and LeBron have played in a combined 463 postseason games. And they both started in all of those 463 postseason appearances.
LeBron individually has 264 playoff games under his belt in his lengthy NBA career. He’s averaged 28.7 points per game, 9.0 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.9 blocks. He shot 49.6 percent from the field, 33.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 74.0 percent from the free-throw line.
Some of the advanced metrics are solid for LeBron from the playoffs too. He registered a career 10.2 box plus/minus in the playoffs, along with a 28.3 player efficiency rating, .243 win shares per 48 minutes, and 55.6 total win shares.
Meanwhile, Jordan averaged an insane 33.4 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.1 steals, and 0.9 blocks. He shot 48.7 percent from the field, 33.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 82.8 percent from the free-throw line.
That gave Jordan career postseason advanced metrics consisting of a 11.1 box plus/minus, .255 win shares per 48 minutes, 39.8 total win shares, and a 28.6 player efficiency rating.
Michael Jordan and LeBron James are by far some of the most efficient players in the postseason in NBA history. (Career BPM postseason numbers for top 25 players) pic.twitter.com/3wDcKcUwCf
— Pippen Ain't Easy (@BullsBeatBlog) May 31, 2021
Although Jordan and LeBron have some rather comparable regular season and postseason numbers as it stands now, there is an edge that goes to the Bulls legend. Even in a world of advanced metrics that was build in the day and age of LeBron as the face of the NBA, Jordan still holds the edge in nearly all respects.
I’ve discussed before the comparisons that you could have between the games of Jordan and LeBron in the regular season and the postseason. But it was when it mattered most that Jordan was able to get it done in the spotlight.
There’s a lot of numbers that prove that he still stands as the GOAT. But most of all, we should respect what LeBron is doing and appreciate his game while he’s still playing at a high level.
LeBron and Jordan look to be two of the best to ever do it, especially in the postseason. They hold a sizable edge in a number of the advanced metrics for their career in the postseason over the rest of the competition, including superstars like Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, former Lakers great point guard Magic Johnson, etc.