LeBron James and Michael Jordan were once again the subject of another inquiry as to who of them is the better player, this time in a one-on-one game. It’s a dream match-up that was asked last week during the Michael Jordan Flight School camp in Santa Barbara, California where the former Bulls player was taking on questions from anyone.
“This is the ESPN question,” Jordan said. “I know it’s going to be all over ESPN. If I was in my prime, could I beat LeBron in a one-on-one game?”
A long pause followed where murmurs could be heard from the campers.
“No question!”
Naturally, social media was flooded with Jordan’s answer where the Hall-of-Famer took his own side as expected. There was nary a negative reaction as the general public still holds Jordan in higher regard over James.
If there is anything that Jordan has innately, it’s self-confidence. He had that when he was dominating the league from his playing days with the Chicago Bulls, he had it when he was 40 years old while playing for the Washington Wizards, and he still has it as an NBA owner and Jordan Brand CEO. So it’s not a surprise that his competitive juices were piqued when the question was raised and he subsequently gave a definitive answer.
LeBron, of course, responded with his own version of the game where he would win against Jordan.
“Oh, I take myself,” he said in an interview with
Today. “For sure. I mean, I’m gonna take myself versus anybody. I’ll tell you one thing — they’re gonna have to have a few wheelchairs and a couple ambulances there to get us off the floor.”
But looking at the match-up objectively, is LeBron really destined to lose to Jordan in a one-on-one game?
LeBron has the height and heft advantage over Jordan who will have his hands full trying to defend James in the low post.
I’m a big fan of both as they are the two players who I admire the most from among the NBA’s pantheon of greats. I’m still a Jordan fan now while being a LeBron fan at the same time. I had never passionately followed any player after MJ until LBJ came along and made me a huge fan and collector of a specific player once again. This gives me a degree of objectivity on the matter that others may not have as I can see how one would have problems when matched up with the other in their primes. This is why you don’t ask First Take’s Skip Bayless this question.
One-on-one basketball is very different from five-on-five and that’s the key in looking at this battle between two all-time greats. LeBron has the height and heft advantage over Jordan who will have his hands full trying to defend James in the low post. And that is where the King can take this match-up.
In fact, that’s the one area where Jordan had plenty of problems while guarding Magic Johnson during the 1991 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and the L.A. Lakers. In Game 1 of that series, Magic was unstoppable in the post, controlling the tempo and the game with crisp passes and scoring when necessary while backing down the much smaller and lighter Jordan. As a result, the Bulls lost the game at home and it was all because they had no answer for Johnson.
In Game 2, Bulls coach Phil Jackson made the adjustment that changed the course of the series. Scottie Pippen was then assigned to guard Magic because he was longer and bigger than Jordan and the Bulls promptly went about sweeping the Lakers the rest of the series.
In 1990, there was actually a proposal for Jordan and Johnson to play one-on-one for charity. Then NBA Players’ Association President Isiah Thomas said “I believe that this sets a bad precedent.” The proposal was finally rejected by the league but many from the media secretly believed that Magic would beat Jordan. In as much as Magic wouldn’t be able to stop Jordan, the same is true for Jordan trying to stop Magic in the post. The Finals game between the two the following year added to the speculation as Magic dominated Jordan in the post.
The point is, with LeBron being the same size and as polished in the post as Magic was, Jordan would find it difficult stopping James in a one-on-one game. And LeBron is also faster and more athletic than Magic, giving Jordan a more challenging match-up than the Laker great.
While many haters and critics of James would easily give Jordan the game, I will hesitate knowing how good LeBron has become in his prime and knowing that he is still becoming even better. James’ historic 2015 NBA Finals performance versus the Golden State Warriors shows us how much better he has become.
Yes, I believe James can and will win some games versus Jordan no matter how blasphemous it seems to Jordan fans.
I’m actually torn as to who I would pick between the two in their primes with LeBron’s prime still being written as we speak.
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If the one-on-one between the King and His Airness was a best-of-seven series, I believe that after six games, the series would be tied 3-3 with Game 7 being the deciding factor between the two. Yes, I believe James can and will win some games versus Jordan no matter how blasphemous it seems to Jordan fans.
As to who would win that winner-take-all game? Let’s just say that I wish it would end in a tie but I know that I’ll have to choose between the two.
Not now but maybe someday.
For now, I’m just glad I was able to watch Jordan play in his prime as I am now able to witness LeBron in his.
Who would you pick in a match-up between Jordan and LeBron in their prime? If you were a betting man, who would you pick to win?