By Dylan O’Toole
Round Table reporter
The consensus among most basketball fans is that Michael Jordan is the best player ever. Recently, however, Lebron James has been creeping into this conversation.
There are many arguments for and against the two, statistics among them. Jordan is ahead of James in points, field goal percentage, and steals, but James leads in assists, rebounds, and blocks.
Many sportswriters and former players have recently been weighing in on the topic. Charles Barkley, an all-time great and teammate of Jordan’s on the 1992 Dream team said, “I do think he can be better than Michael.”
Barkley added, “I thought I would never compare somebody to Michael Jordan. But this guy, LeBron James, he does everything well. Michael did everything well. LeBron James is just bigger, stronger, faster. That’s the only difference.”
Even Jordan’s former Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen, with whom he won six titles, said. “LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game because he is so potent offensively that not only can he score at will, but he keeps everybody involved.”
After James’ dismal performance in the 2011 NBA finals, many were wondering if James could pull through in big moments, but that question was answered in the 2012 NBA Finals when he put up a triple double in the championship-clinching game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and won the Finals MVP award.
In his career, James shoots 41.7 percent in the last five minutes of a game with the score within five points, in the same situation James has a 12.9 +/-. Additionally, in the locker room James is a better teammate and leader; Jordan has been known to be overly obsessed with winning, which can be a good thing, but there have been instances in which Jordan has gone over the top and upset teammates.
James has taken a leadership role in the Heat locker room and is leading by example, especially last season as he led them to their second championship in franchise history and his first championship.
Although James still only has one championship and Jordan has six, James is the best player in the NBA right now and is the best player ever.
