Who’s the Greatest Basketball Player of All Time?

Basketball fans have used this terminology to debate for decades. Standing for “greatest of all time,” you’ve more than likely encountered a heated discussion on this subject. When people talk about the greatest player to pick up a basketball, the honor typically falls onto one of two athletes. 

First, Michael Jordan. Literally nicknamed “the GOAT,” Jordan has an extremely loyal fanbase. With a prestigious 6-0 finals record and more accolades than I can count, Jordan is always involved in these talks. 

Next, we have LeBron James. Coined “the king,” he’s effectively dominated basketball since 2003. He’s emerged as the clear superstar for all teams that he’s played on through his brute strength, high IQ, and natural leadership. 

Onto the hot topic of today’s piece, who’s the greatest basketball player of all time? I’d say LeBron (I have my reasons). However, this debate is so close that it typically comes down to your weighing analysis of facts. Today, I’ll be presenting some of those facts and leaving the decision up to you. We’ll look at a few metrics, accolades, and records in an attempt to build an educated opinion. 

LeBron James:

• 1,265 games played
• 34,241 total points (27.1 ppg)
• 9,405 total rebounds (7.4 rpg)
• 9,346 total assists (7.4 apg)
• 50.4% field goal percentage
• 16x NBA all-star 
• 4x NBA champion (4-7 finals record)
• 4x NBA finals MVP
• 4x NBA MVP
• 13x NBA first team
• 1x scoring champion

Michael Jordan:

• 1072 games played
• 32,292 total points (30.1 ppg)
• 6672 total rebounds (6.2 rpg)
• 5,633 total assists (5.3 apg)
• 49.7 field goal percentage
• 14x NBA all-star
• 6x NBA champion (6-0 finals record)
• 6x NBA finals MVP
• 5x NBA MVP
• 10x NBA first team
• 10x scoring champion

As you can tell, this basketball debate is razor close. You could make warranted arguments for both sides, which is what makes it so challenging to decide. I can’t even come close to capturing the essence of both players’ greatness, even though their accolades, as they make up only a small portion of the impacts that they left on the NBA.

To indeed formulate an opinion on this subject, we’d need to see both players directly compete in their prime seasons. It’s difficult to ground in opinion in the numbers, as we see a plethora of lurking variables that impact both the accolades and the impacts. 

Honestly, I think that debating this is pointless. Legends cannot be compared; that’s what sets them apart from the rest of the world. In my opinion, we should sit back, accept greatness, and be thankful for how these two athletes have revolutionized the game of basketball.