Michael Jordan or LeBron James? It’s a debate basketball fans both love and hate having since it often results in face-melting hot takes. Well, Jordan’s most famous former Chicago Bulls teammate, Scottie Pippen, just tossed some gasoline on the fire.
When asked Thursday during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take how close LeBron is to catching Jordan in the G.O.A.T. race, the six-time NBA champ and seven-time all-star gave what some might consider a surprising answer.
“The numbers don’t lie. He’s right there,” Pippen said of James. “He probably will never catch [Jordan] in terms of MVP, but in terms of statistics, LeBron is right there and when you look across the board—not just scoring—check his assists, check his rebounds, he’s probably ahead of Jordan.”
Jordan is the consensus best to ever do it and as you can see below some of the stats and accomplishments he had during his 15-season career are simply staggering.
James, the consensus best of his era, is in the middle of his 15th season and although his point totals aren’t quite on Jordan’s level, some of his complementary stats are better.
Here’s a look at how the two stack up.
| Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FG% | FT% | NBA MVPs | Finals MVPs | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Jordan | 38.3 | 30.1 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 49.7 | 83.5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| LeBron James | 38.9 | 27.2 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 50.3 | 74 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Pippen and First Take host Stephen A. Smith continued to debate Jordan vs. LeBron after Pippen’s initial comments. Although Pippen ultimately conceded he does consider Jordan the best, he doubled down on his James comments.
“Statistically, LeBron James is a better basketball player and here’s why: He fills the stats up across the board night in and night out,” Pippen explained. “You’re talking about a kid who can easily average a triple-double if he chooses to. I don’t think Michael Jordan had that option.
“I appreciated watching a guy like LeBron because night in and night out he plays the game the right way. He’s not the greatest scorer that we’ve ever seen, he’s not a guy that goes out of his way to try to be a scorer. He plays the game the right way and he’s a willing passer and I love the way that guys play that way because I played that way.”
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