Sports

It's official. LeBron James is a better basketball player than Michael Jordan

Parth AroraJune 10, 2015 | 14:20 IST

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who think LeBron James is the greatest basketball player in the world, and those who are wrong.

James' performance in these National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs has been transcendent. He has been dropping ridiculous triple-doubles left, right and centre while averaging 41.5 points, 8.5 assists and 12 rebounds a match in the finals.

 

With All Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love out with injury, James has taken a bunch of ragtag role players to a level where they are being competitive with the Golden State Warriors, who, this season, has been perhaps the most dominant basketball team of the last decade.

The Cleveland Cavaliers weren't supposed to be 1-1 with the Warriors after two matches (easily could've been 2-0!) but it is and it's a testament to James' ability to carry a team like no player we've ever seen.

James is the greatest player of his generation and but this run makes him a legitimate candidate for the title of Greatest of All Time (GOAT). Michael Jordan won six rings and was simultaneously an unstoppable force and an unmovable object, but he had Phil Jackson on the sidelines and Scottie Pippen on the court. James has a rookie head coach and a point guard on minimum salary.

Without further ado, here are three reasons why James is better than Jordan:

1. Style

James is unlike anyone we've ever seen. He's an "alien" who was created by extracting the best skills of Magic, Bird and Jordan, simmered in steroids.

In these playoffs, he's played the creator when Love and Irving were playing, the primary scoring option after Love's injury and now is some sort of a hybrid power point guard. He controls everything around him, and in a way Jordan never did, as his style was more forceful rather than cerebral.

Even if you had put three players on Jordan, he would try to beat all of them and score, and had you put three on James, he would ping an unthinkable pass for an open three-pointer.

James is the king of the chessboard, while Jordan, at his peak, was probably the greatest, most destructive queen.

2. The ability to make teammates better

James is making Tristan Thompson and Mathew Dellavodova look like star players. Jordan wasn't in LeBron's stratosphere when it comes to passing, and he didn't start winning until Scottie Pippen became an All Star.

James, on the other hand, makes specialist role players seem like All-NBA players. I'm pretty sure he can make me look good on a basketball court.

3. Versatility

James is six-feet-eight-inches tall, weighs 260 pounds and is built like a freight train apart from being one of the fastest players in the league. He also has a glorious handle which allows him to get to the rim at will. In short, James, like life is unfair.

His physical gifts and ball handling skills allow him to play in all five positions on the court while attacking or defending, making a James-led team a shapeless monster. Jordan on the other hand was just an incredible shooting guard. He defended, he scored and he hit clutch shots.

But in these playoffs James has come out swinging the hammer and it has been glorious. Watching him will his team to victory against a moster opponent is the theatre of sport at its peak and if I'm playing a match for my life, I'm taking James over Jordan.

Last updated: June 10, 2015 | 14:20
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