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The term : Greatest Of All Time holds a great amount of honor and respect, when given to certain people.

If you were to ask a hundred fans who they believe the G. O. A. T is, a large portion would say Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Those are two strong, smart answers. After doing a lot of research, I believe that there are seven or eight players with a real chance to call themselves the G. O.

A. T. Arguably the most famous athlete of all time is Michael Jordan, and LeBron being arguably the best basketball player to ever play. Basketball fans love to debate which player they think is the best of all time. There is so many things to take into account when debating in this topic, shooting, passing, rebounding, the list goes on and on. LeBron is more versatile. Lebron James can play any position on the court and excel, which is something that cannot be said about any other player in NBA history.

His athleticism, strength, and speed makes him able to match up well on centers, and his playmaking, basketball IQ, and his ball handling skills causes him to be a mismatch for shorter and weaker guards. Besides being able to defend any position, Lebron can also do everything on offense as well. Another versatile player that could be thought of as the most versatile player ever would be Magic Johnson. However, Magic isn’t a better shooter than Lebron as shown in their career three point percentage. Magic shoots a career 30% from being the arc, but Lebron shoots 34% from three. Lebron was also a much better defender than Magic. Lebron has made it onto six All-Defensive teams so far, but Magic never made it to one.

Lebron’s versatility is unparalleled in NBA history, which is why he’s truly one of a kind. LeBron is better all around. LeBron has good playmaking ability and helps get his teammates involved. He can play defense either it’s in the post or on the perimeter. LeBron is the only player in NBA history to compile at least 27, 000 points, 7, 000 rebounds, and 7, 000 assists.

Michael averages 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Even though Michael scores more a game, LeBron scores the ball more efficiently, and in less shots. LeBron plays more versatile defense than Michael because he can guard all 5 positions: point and shooting guards, small and power forwards, and the center. Even at 6’8, he can guard 7 foot centers and forwards. He averages more rebounds and assists. He is a better passer, but that aspect goes overlooked by many people. They both average around the same blocks per game at around 1.

5. He shoots better, has a better shooting percentage, and he makes shots more efficiently. The King’s BPM (Box Plus Minus) is also greater than that of MJ’s.

This stat measures how much a player contributes per 100 possessions above (or below) a league average player. These two players rank first and second all-time, but James has the upper hand by a fairly significant margin. It should be noted that this stat can be broken down into offensive BPM, and defensive BPM—and James leads in both. LeBron is a better leader than Michael Jordan.

LeBron is a great leader and role model to his team. The things Jordan has said to his teammates are just unacceptable and proves not a good leader as LeBron. Michael Jordan might be the best scorer of all time but that does not mean he’s the best basketball player of all time. Michael has lost numerous first round playoff games. LeBron has lost 0. Michael spent years losing to the Celtics and the Pistons. The way he got past the pistons is because the team got old.

They were a 48 win mediocre team. Not to mention that in the 1993-94 season MJ retired to play baseball. When he retired, the Bulls still had almost the exact same record, only having two less wins and two more losses. This can be examined to show that the Bulls really didn’t need Jordan to be a successful team.  LBJ has played better teams and players than MJ ever did. LeBron also mounted the greatest comeback in NBA history.

In 2016, the Golden State warriors broke the record for most wins in a season with a record of 73-9, beating MJ’s ’96 bulls with a record of 72-10. The Cavaliers were down 3-1 in the finals. With LeBron averaging 30, 11, and 9, they became the first team to ever come back being down 3-1 in a finals series. Also in 2007, he lead his team to the NBA Finals. His second best player, Larry Hughes, only scored 15 points per game.

LeBron took it upon himself to lead his team, only to be swept by the San Antonio Spurs due to a lack of support for LBJ. Both players have had great teammates around them. Now this isn’t a bad thing in order to win you need a good team. So LeBron James has played with some great players like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh who are both two future hall of famers. However, Jordan couldn’t win championships until Pippen and other great role players got there too. So when you bash on LeBron James for winning because of his teammates then you’ll also have to think about how Jordan couldn’t win without his teammates.

Jordan has also had Dennis Rodman on his team. But the point of this is that Michael Jordan and LeBron James have both had great players on their teams. MJ has more rings. When arguing over whos the better of  these players, people like to bring up how MJ has more rings than LBJ. “ He has more rings than LeBron, that’s why he is better.” This is probably the worst argument to use when debating this topic. LeBron has 3 rings versus MJ’s 6.

Bill Russell has won 11 championships with the Boston Celtics. So if you say that 6 is better than 3, in what sense is 6 better than 11? Michael Jordan has been quoted to say : “ There’s something about 5 that beats 3″, and” Now he may be better than that, but Kobe won five championships. LeBron won three.” This is the worst argument that he could have used, because there are a couple players who have won more championships than him, like Bill Russell. But people don’t usually anoint Russell as the G. O. A.

T, because there are other things that go into the argument. When Michael completed his first 3-peat, people were beginning to put him in the debate for greatest ever. You can’t determine greatness based off postseason success, because it is a team based game. LeBron is so dominant that in 2016, the Warriors had to create a super team just to take down The King. The lineup consisted of 3 players who scored over 20 points per game. Stephen Curry, a back-to-back MVP was the team’s leader.

Kevin Durant, who was acquired in the off-season, was an MVP and still playing like one. Klay Thompson, one of the greatest shooters of all time, who made around 40% of his 3-pointers. The team was created just to beat LeBron, which is crazy to think about. Michael Jordan won more. Without the so called “ G. O.

A. T”, Chicago won 55 games. They won 57 the year before with Jordan. Don’t forget too, Jordan retired days before the season, not giving the Bulls a lot of time to prepare. At one time period, they went 30-5, and Scottie proved he was an MVP candidate.

If it weren’t for Luc Longley’s mistakes, they could have beaten New York. I do not think they would have beaten Hakeem and the Rockets, but they were in some ways just as impressive. Winning six championships in the fashion that Jordan did it is impressive no matter how you slice it. But, Jordan fans love to bring this up, and it is not as world breaking as you would think. In 1991, Magic Johnson was no longer as great, and Kareem was really old. The Showtime Lakers were on their way out, and it was obvious they weren’t the same team. In 1992, they beat a team with Clyde Drexler, Cliff Robinson, and Terry Porter.

Scary. In 1993, they actually faced a decent Suns team led by Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson and Dan Majerle. They had no inside defense though, just like none of these teams do. In 1996, they had a team of Kemp and Payton and nothing else, and then in 1997 and 1998, the Bulls beat the Jazz, probably the hardest challenge, but still kind of overrated. They had one guy who scored at will in Karl Malone, and I do not think they were very scared of John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek. There were some fishy calls in 1997, but still, you cannot discredit Chicago. Still, the competition is overrated. LeBron James is the best basketball player of all time, and also the most complete.

MJ has him is his clutch shots, scoring, and his rings. Everything else LeBron beats him. LeBron will eventually pass every single stat of Jordan. LeBron without a proper team to help led them to the finals while Jordan needed an Superstar. LeBron James and Michael Jordan are respectively the best player in their own eras. Both have very entertaining play styles and marvelous highlight reels. LeBron James is now 33 years old, and in his 15th season, playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron will forever have an impact on the game of basketball, and will change the game for years to come.