The foundational question that a basketball fan answers at the beginning of his/her journey into following a professional sport is ‘who is the greatest athlete to ever play that sport?’ In basketball, that discussion usually comes down to two players, Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Shane Battier, LeBron James’ former teammate from the Miami Heat, recently spoke to Pablo Torre about this evergreen basketball debate. Battier had a hilarious reason for why James wins this debate against Jordan.
“We’re going to be arguing Jordan versus LeBron forever. And this game is the reason why it’s plausible. I’m always going with LeBron for a simple reason, for a simple reason. Lebron did something twice that Jordan, I don’t think, could have done once. He won two NBA titles with Shane Battier as a starting power forward. No way, no way, no way Jordan could have done that. As great as Jordan was, LeBron dragged me across the finish line. The albatross had never been so heavy. And that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.”
Shane Battier averaged 5.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 88 games for the Heat in the 2012 regular season and playoffs combined. The Heat won their first championship with James that season.
In the second championship season with the Heat, Battier averaged 6.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 94 games in the 2013 regular season and playoffs.
According to Battier, carrying an average power forward like him to a championship in back-to-back seasons makes James worthy of being deemed the greatest of all time, in his eyes at least.
What Makes LeBron James The Greatest Player Of All Time?
Michael Jordan put basketball on the global map; that fact cannot be changed. However, if you were to choose any player who can play in any position in any era under any coach and in any system, the person with the most objectifiable skill needed to excel on any team, the answer to that question would undoubtedly be LeBron James.
James went to the Finals for 10 straight years, whereas Jordan only went to six. While Jordan won six championships, James single-handedly carried average teams to the Finals on multiple occasions with the Cavaliers en route to his four NBA championships.
James has averaged 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in 1,562 regular-season games. Meanwhile, Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 steals in 1,072 regular-season games.
While it cannot be denied that Jordan was the player with the best scoring ability and fiercest killer instinct on the court in NBA history, we saw Kobe Bryant become what many deemed a replica of Jordan. We will never see another LeBron James or a player like him in multiple generations of players. Playing at the highest level of the game for as long as he has makes him the greatest player of all time.
