LeBron James and Michael Jordan will forever be compared to each other, with debates on who is better raging on even today. Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban gave his take on the subject in the latest episode of Gil’s Arena, and he doesn’t think the two icons can be compared.
“I’m a LeBron fan,” Cuban said. “And even like the MJ versus LeBron [debate], they’re two completely different players. You can’t even really compare them. If you have a good team and you need a killer, you go MJ. If you have a team that’s good and you want them to be better, and as a team get to the finals, you go LeBron.
“MJ is not going to lift up a bad team; LeBron can,” Cuban continued. “… Who would I rather have the last shot? MJ. Who’s going to help your team get better? LeBron.”
Cuban was on point when he said they are two completely different players.
Jordan was a scorer extraordinaire who was deadly in the clutch. He won a record 10 scoring titles in his career, and his nine game-winning buzzer beaters are the most in NBA history as well.
Cuban called Jordan a killer, but he doesn’t think of him as someone who could lift a bad team. That might not necessarily be true, though.
Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to a 50-32 record in 1987-88, and none of his teammates even averaged 15 points a game in that campaign. That wasn’t a terrible Bulls team, as they were very good defensively, but there aren’t too many players in NBA history who could have dragged them to a 50-win season.
That said, James is better suited to lifting up an inferior supporting cast. His all-around game tends to get the best out of his teammates, as we saw during his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James led the Cavaliers to back-to-back 60-win seasons in 2008-09 and 2009-10. He only had one teammate make the All-Star team in that stretch, Mo Williams in 2009. It was also Williams’ first and only All-Star selection. Those Cavaliers were great defensively, but James carried them on his back on offense.
As for Cuban hinting that James might not be the one you’re looking for when you need a killer, he has come up big in the big moments plenty of times. He has made eight game-winning buzzer-beaters in his career, which is tied for second with Kobe Bryant and Joe Johnson.
James has this reputation for not being very clutch, but the numbers state otherwise. Just because we have seen him pass the ball to his teammates in those situations doesn’t mean that he can’t get the job done.
Getting back to the topic at hand, while their games are different, you can still compare the resumes.
To go with those 10 scoring titles, Jordan won six NBA titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, and a DPOY in his career. He also made 14 All-Star, 11 All-NBA, and nine All-Defensive teams.
As for James, he has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, a scoring title, and an assists title. He has made 21 All-Star, 21 All-NBA, and six All-Defensive teams.
The ones on Team Jordan give him the edge for winning more titles and MVPs, while those on Team James believe his longevity puts him on top. We compared the two of them, and there was a clear winner by an 8-5 score.
