The Great Debate Rages Onward Pt. 3,953

It's weird that every year I feel like it has to be said but here we are with a tradition unlike any other, when I, the Puma of Chocolate Origins has to take off your rose colored glasses in regards to a debate that frankly we should all be sick of. That's right the annual who is the greatest basketball player of all time debate.

No, not you silly! 

Now while I think the Michael Jordan is the GOAT, there is a case to be made for one LeBron Raymone James Sr. I'm here to break it down for you a bit if you're one of these there is no way this can be true people.

Statistics:
They are pretty comparable statistically. Points per game, Jordan has the edge with an average of 30.1 while LeBron has an average of 27.2. James has the edge however in rebounds per game, assists per game, and shoots a higher percentage from the field.

Let's take a look at the stats shall we?

If you do a deep dive into some of the more advanced stats (analytics holla!) you'll see they have an almost identical player efficiency rating (Jordan- 27.9, James-27.7) The one that stood out the most to me was his value over replacement player, in short it takes a player's scoring averages over 100 possessions and compares that to the average player's statistics. Jordan had an astounding 104.4 VORP. LeBron has a VORP of 124.9. Yikes.

Supporting Cast:
One of the things that people seem to want to overlook is, Jordan had a pretty solid supporting cast and a superior coach. During the first three peat Jordan had a crew of Scottie Pippen, an NBA Hall of Famer, Horace Grant, an All Star forward, and solid shooters like Craig Hodges, BJ Armstrong and John Paxson. In LeBron first trip to the finals he drug Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao, Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall along with him.

Larry by God Hughes was the sidekick on a Finals team. 

The Miami years swung the advantage to LeBron, but his return to Cleveland has had a much less stellar group. During the 2nd 3 peat for the MJ led Bulls he had Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Toni Kukoc with Ron Harper providing veteran defense. LeBron had Kyrie Irving who while being one of the top 3 point guards in the league was injured quite a bit and Kevin Love who also battled injuries. Advantage: Jordan. 

Intangibles:
Most recently after a game 1 collapse by the Cavs a moment on the bench where LeBron is downright furious has gone viral. I totally understand that frustration but some in the media has said it's unbecoming of someone who would be king. 

MJ was not always the most composed.

Well you know what else can be considered unbecoming of the GOAT? The time MJ punched Steve Kerr in the face, or the time he punched Will Perdue in the face, or tormenting Kwame Brown, or tormenting Bill Cartwright. And these were his teammates! Say what you will but you have to admit James is a way better teammate than Jordan. 

NBA Finals Performances:
This is the big thing. Michael Jordan never lost in the finals. A perfect 6 for 6. Lebron has a record of 3-5 in the finals, and possibly 3-6. While that's huge, what is often overlooked that in his 15 seasons, LeBron has led his team to the Finals 9 times. Over half of his career he has contended for a title. That's damn astonishing. 

This children is what is known as a flex.

And while Finals are important should the ultimate team accomplishment be the end all statistic for determining the ultimate individual honor? If that was the case Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would like a word. 

So it may seem like I am caping for LeBron, if you wanna call it that then go for it.I prefer to call it what it actually is, a fair assessment.  Mike is my favorite player and in my eyes the GOAT, but he was not without flaw. When you constantly move the goalposts for one player and the other player is given ALL the benefit of the doubt it just gets annoying. All right, I'm gonna go to bed because I have to go to work tomorrow.