viktordoomsecretwars
Superstar
It's a cool thing to say. Even Magic said that recently. But is it really true? Let's look at a quick statistical analysis. (Read carefully and this is not a bash Lebron thread)
It seems people confuse being a triple threat (i.e points, rebounds, assists) with being an all round player. This gets wildly conflated with being "all round" but that is a flawed viewpoint in the first place. By that standard, Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook are two of the best all round players of all time. We know that's not the case.
Jordan is a better offensive and defensive player than Lebron. Jordan has 10 scoring titles to Lebron's 1. Jordan has a DPOTY and 9 all NBA defensive first team nod. Lebron does NOT have a DPOTY and has 5 all NBA defensive first team nods. To anyone with a brain who watched both players, I think its obvious Jordan was clearly a superior defender. Jordan was arguably the best perimeter defender in the history of the game. Lebron has been lambasted for his defense for half of his career.
In terms of box score dominance i.e Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocks, TO% FG % and FT%, there is no better all round player than Jordan in the modern history of the game.
Basic objective analysis of stats show this.
Let's use GameScore, which is an all encompassing stat for individual games (THE NBA LINK BELOW EXPLAINS IT): https://www.nba.com/resources/static/team/v2/thunder/statlab-gamescore-191201.pdf
Let's use a Gamescore of "40" which according to Hollinger represents a 'fantastic game' and 'outstanding performance' and see which player has the most stastically dominant games of the last 40 years.
Using basketball reference : https://www.basketball-reference.co...at=game_score&c1comp=gt&c1val=40&order_by=pts
^^^ The results show that Jordan is by far the most dominant box score player of the modern era (this does not take into account all players before steals and blocks were compiled). But that's irrelevant anyway, since both Lebron and Jordan played in the modern era.
This is why I also laugh when people try and use the fact that Lebron has marginal point advantages in rebounds and assists over Jordan to prove he's better all round. Never mind this is an extremely flawed way to compare players (Westbrook has more assists/rebounds per average than Lebron and Bird has more assists/rebound average than Jordan. So?)
Never mind the fact that Lebron is a much bigger man: 6'9 small forward vs 6'6 shooting guard.
Never mind the fact Lebron has the ball in his hands all the time (more assists) : Jordan was mostly an off ball player. And when Jordan played Lebron's point guard/point forward position for less than half a season in 1989, he did it BETTER than Lebron. In his first game as a point guard in 1989, Jordan had 17 assists (which will be 2nd highest all time in Lebron's entire career) and went on a streak of 10 triple doubles in 11 games.
So I don't even believe Lebron is a better passer. At best, they're about equal. Maybe Lebron is very very slightly better passer. What I do know is Lebron plays a position where he has the ball in his hands at all times. But that's a seperate thread.
If I arbitrarily change GameScore "40" to "35" I still come up with similar results:
https://www.basketball-reference.co...at=game_score&c1comp=gt&c1val=35&order_by=pts
Jordan has 148 such games and Lebron has 81.
The point is GameScore just disproves that myth. Jordan has 56 games with a GameScore of "40" or more. Lebron is tied for 2nd with 26.
Jordan is a better offensive player than Lebron.
Jordan is a better defensive player than Lebron.
Jordan showed greater dominance of the boxscore than Lebron and was a better "stat stuffer" than Lebron despite not being a player that played with the ball in his hands. Something Lebron has done all his career.
This isn't a bash Lebron thread. He's quite clearly one of the all time greats and the best small forward in the history of the game. So let's not turn it into that.
Just trying to disprove this urban legend.
It seems people confuse being a triple threat (i.e points, rebounds, assists) with being an all round player. This gets wildly conflated with being "all round" but that is a flawed viewpoint in the first place. By that standard, Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook are two of the best all round players of all time. We know that's not the case.
Jordan is a better offensive and defensive player than Lebron. Jordan has 10 scoring titles to Lebron's 1. Jordan has a DPOTY and 9 all NBA defensive first team nod. Lebron does NOT have a DPOTY and has 5 all NBA defensive first team nods. To anyone with a brain who watched both players, I think its obvious Jordan was clearly a superior defender. Jordan was arguably the best perimeter defender in the history of the game. Lebron has been lambasted for his defense for half of his career.
In terms of box score dominance i.e Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocks, TO% FG % and FT%, there is no better all round player than Jordan in the modern history of the game.
Basic objective analysis of stats show this.
Let's use GameScore, which is an all encompassing stat for individual games (THE NBA LINK BELOW EXPLAINS IT): https://www.nba.com/resources/static/team/v2/thunder/statlab-gamescore-191201.pdf
Let's use a Gamescore of "40" which according to Hollinger represents a 'fantastic game' and 'outstanding performance' and see which player has the most stastically dominant games of the last 40 years.
Using basketball reference : https://www.basketball-reference.co...at=game_score&c1comp=gt&c1val=40&order_by=pts
^^^ The results show that Jordan is by far the most dominant box score player of the modern era (this does not take into account all players before steals and blocks were compiled). But that's irrelevant anyway, since both Lebron and Jordan played in the modern era.
This is why I also laugh when people try and use the fact that Lebron has marginal point advantages in rebounds and assists over Jordan to prove he's better all round. Never mind this is an extremely flawed way to compare players (Westbrook has more assists/rebounds per average than Lebron and Bird has more assists/rebound average than Jordan. So?)
Never mind the fact that Lebron is a much bigger man: 6'9 small forward vs 6'6 shooting guard.
Never mind the fact Lebron has the ball in his hands all the time (more assists) : Jordan was mostly an off ball player. And when Jordan played Lebron's point guard/point forward position for less than half a season in 1989, he did it BETTER than Lebron. In his first game as a point guard in 1989, Jordan had 17 assists (which will be 2nd highest all time in Lebron's entire career) and went on a streak of 10 triple doubles in 11 games.
So I don't even believe Lebron is a better passer. At best, they're about equal. Maybe Lebron is very very slightly better passer. What I do know is Lebron plays a position where he has the ball in his hands at all times. But that's a seperate thread.
If I arbitrarily change GameScore "40" to "35" I still come up with similar results:
https://www.basketball-reference.co...at=game_score&c1comp=gt&c1val=35&order_by=pts
Jordan has 148 such games and Lebron has 81.
The point is GameScore just disproves that myth. Jordan has 56 games with a GameScore of "40" or more. Lebron is tied for 2nd with 26.
Jordan is a better offensive player than Lebron.
Jordan is a better defensive player than Lebron.
Jordan showed greater dominance of the boxscore than Lebron and was a better "stat stuffer" than Lebron despite not being a player that played with the ball in his hands. Something Lebron has done all his career.
This isn't a bash Lebron thread. He's quite clearly one of the all time greats and the best small forward in the history of the game. So let's not turn it into that.
Just trying to disprove this urban legend.
I'm a Kobe stan, made the thread on how Bron not even at Kareem level let alone Mike, but I'm still never gonna say some dumb shyt like this 
a better passer than Bron?
