By now, the debate over the title for GOAT between LeBron James and Michael Jordan is tiresome. Just choosing “who’s better” is such a broad conversation with so many criteria to choose from that it’s essentially meaningless. Yet that doesn’t mean we can’t engage in a fun debate on something more specific.
Let’s paint a mental picture for you, one that shouldn’t be that hard to envision: It’s been a hard-fought NBA Finals, a war of attrition, as they always seem to be. Game 7 is coming up, but your team is on the road. The crowd will be hostile, the opponent formidable, but with your one signature superstar, you know you can pull it out. So who’s it gonna be: LeBron or MJ?
Michael Jordan
Let’s get this out of the way first. Michael Jordan never played in a Game 7 in the NBA Finals, and LeBron James just wrapped up one of the greatest seven-game Finals performances in league history, including a gutsy Game 7 win on the road. I’m still choosing Michael Jordan. Every. Single. Time. In perpetuity and probably against logic and reason. But I just seriously doubt I’ll ever be convinced that anybody is as good as Michael Jordan. Maybe that’s just a byproduct of watching him as a child and into young adulthood and being caught up in the magic of it all. The reason Michael Jordan never played in a Game 7 in the NBA Finals is because he always made damn sure it never got to that point. That more or less renders the discussion moot in my mind.
This is certainly not a knock on LeBron James. LeBron James might very well be the more versatile all-around player on paper because of his size and his unbelievable skill-set. We’ve never seen an athletic specimen like him who can play and defend all five positions and has consistently shown a penchant for imposing his will on his opponents in the biggest moments. But he’s not Michael Jordan. There was always an aura of inevitability to Michael, and I would never be brazen enough to bet against him in the biggest moment with everything on the line. He would always be my first and only choice in that scenario, no disrespect to LeBron.
LeBron James
Say what you will about Michael Jordan’s unblemished record in the NBA Finals. How his proverbial “killer instinct” loomed even larger than his incredible physical gifts, and how opponents cowered in the face of the greatest of all time – especially in the playoffs. There’s no arguing Jordan’s combination of mental and physical strength; it might be unparalleled in the sporting world at large, let alone the NBA by itself.
But in a road Game 7 with a championship on the line, wouldn’t you want the most versatile player in the history of basketball? One that can play and defend literally all five positions on the floor? A guy who can drop 40 just as easily as he can dominate the action when points don’t come so easy?
Think of it like this: If Jordan didn’t have his jumper working in Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors, would you rather have he or James? And considering that shot-making was a much bigger part of the former’s game than it is the latter’s, it’s fair to surmise that James is more likely than Jordan to be the most impactful player on the floor in any single-game sample size.
The heart says Jordan, of course. He never lost in the Finals, after all, and James’ most recent win pushed his record to “just” 3-4. Then there’s this: It’s Michael f***ing Jordan. But once you take a step back and assess the potential strategic influence of both players in this specific setting, James is definitely the safer bet in a Game 7 on the road with the Larry O’Brien Trophy waiting nearby.
