King James Gospel
Fansided

23 Reasons Why LeBron James Is Better Than Michael Jordan

By Sam Beech

June 19, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) leaves the media press conference following the 93-89 victory against the Golden State Warriors in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
June 19, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) leaves the media press conference following the 93-89 victory against the Golden State Warriors in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 19, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) celebrate during the second quarter in game two of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
May 19, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) celebrate during the second quarter in game two of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Regular Season

  1. Field goal percentage

Both of these players were efficient shooting the ball in their career, but James has a slight edge here. James has hit almost exactly half of his shots in his career, while Jordan is just a hair behind:

LeBron 50.0%, Jordan 49.7%

  1. Rebounding

Jordan actually has a slight edge in offensive rebounding, a skill he is often underrated in. But James has a significant edge in defensive rebounding, thanks in part to his height and overall size advantage.

LeBron 7.2 (per game), Jordan 6.2

  1. Assists

James is often called the best passer in basketball, despite playing a small forward. He has the most total assists for a small forward in NBA history. While Jordan was solid passer in his own right, he did not quite have the ability to find teammates like James does. In terms of offensive game, this is the area where most experts agree that James has a significant advantage over Jordan.

LeBron 7.0, Jordan 5.3

  1. Three-point field goal percentage

James is often criticized for not being efficient from the perimeter. While most agree that Jordan has more touch on his jump shot, he was actually even less efficient than James. Neither of these players will be remembered for three-point proficiency, but James does actually have an edge here, which may surprise some.

LeBron 34.2%, Jordan 32.7%

  1. Box Plus-Minus (BPM)

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 in to offensive BPM, and defensive BPM—and James leads in both.

LeBron 9.1, Jordan 8.1