Top 100 NBA Players: #2 - LeBron James

LeBron James

LeBron James is one of the youngest players on this entire list, yet he has somehow risen to #2 already, and #1 is an eventual possibility for him, whether you are a fan of his or not. Many try to say that LeBron is not that great, that he'll never be as great as Michael Jordan, but there are problems with that reasoning.

People say that Jordan was greater because he won 6 titles in 6 tries, and LeBron has 3 in 7 tries. The problem is that we are comparing 1990's Jordan with 2010's LeBron, when we should be comparing 2000's LeBron with 1980's Jordan. At the end of 2011, his first season in Miami, LeBron James was 26 years old. Here is a comparison of the career accomplishments and statistics of Jordan and LeBron at age 26:

Jordan - 6 playoffs, 2 conference finals, 0 NBA Finals, 1 MVP, 3 years as best player in the league
James - 6 playoffs, 3 conference finals, 2 NBA Finals, 2 MVP, 6 years as best player in the league

Jordan - 32.8 pts, 6.3 reb, 6.0 ast, 2.8 stl, 1.1 blk, .516 FG%, .282 3P%, .848 FT%
James - 27.7 pts, 7.1 reb, 7.0 ast, 1.7 stl, 0.8 blk, .479 FG%, .329 3P%, .744 FT%

When looking at them statistically, LeBron had more triple-double potential, but Jordan was still a little better overall. When looking at their accomplishments at age 26, LeBron is the clear-cut winner, matching or beating Jordan in every category. The fact is that back in the 1980's, people were saying the same things about Jordan that they used to say about LeBron, that he's great but he'll never lead his team to a title, that he doesn't know how to involve his teammates enough, etc. At age 27, Michael Jordan won his first of six NBA Championships, and LeBron did the same 21 years later.

Now let's take a look at Jordan and LeBron at age 31 (James' current age):

Jordan - 10 playoffs, 5 conference finals, 3 NBA Finals, 3 championships, 3 MVP's, 6 seasons as best player in the league
James - 11 playoffs, 8 conference finals, 7 NBA Finals, 3 championships, 4 MVP's, 8 seasons as best player in the league

Jordan - 32.2 pts, 6.3 reb, 5.9 ast, 2.7 stl, 1.0 blk, .514 FG%, .845 FT%
James - 27.2 pts, 7.2 reb, 6.9 ast, 1.7 stl, 0.8 blk, .498 FG%, .744 FT%

Statistically, both showed a small regression between 26 and 31, but it was very slight in both cases. LeBron did improve his shooting percentage by nearly 2 points, so the argument can be made that he slipped less. In terms of accomplishments, LeBron is still ahead of Jordan's pace in every category, although Jordan's year of retirement affected a couple of the numbers.

The fact is, you can't claim that LeBron will never be as great as Jordan based only on the fact that he has lost in the NBA Finals 4 times. In his 13 seasons on the Bulls, Jordan reached the Finals 6 times, and LeBron has done it 7 times in the same number of seasons. Twice, LeBron was able to drag a team to the Finals without a single healthy All-Star caliber player beside him, while Jordan had Pippen as support through all of his title seasons.

LeBron is the holder of many "youngest" records, including youngest #1 pick, youngest Rookie of the Year, youngest to record a triple-double, any many others. He is also one of 4 players in history to lead his team in all 5 of the major statistical categories for a full season, along with Dave Cowens, Scottie Pippen, and Kevin Garnett. In 2005, at the age of 20, LeBron was already the best player in the NBA, becoming only the third player to be the best within his first two seasons, and the other two happen to be Kareem and Wilt, who fell right behind him in these rankings.

Could LeBron James end up as the best player in the history of the NBA? Definitely. Will he? That depends on a lot of factors. If he is able to win championships in the next two seasons while maintaining his current level of play, it could be enough to surpass MJ. If he fails to win but continues his Finals streak, it would probably take 3. A lot depends on him maintaining his health, which has been steady throughout his career, and maintaining his drive to win, which can become tough after multiple titles. However it turns out, we are currently witnessing the prime years of one of the greatest players ever to wear an NBA uniform.