Jordan vs. LeBron and Kobe: Not an Exact Science! Jordan is the GOAT!

By Derrick Clyburn

The debate about who is the GOAT in the NBA world has been going on for decades. How do we define the GOAT? Is it the player with the most NBA Titles? The most individual awards? The Most points scored all-time? There is not an exact science, and it may be in the eye of the beholder.

Let’s look back over the past 5 decades.

The 1970’s: Walt Frazier, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

The 1980’s: Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley.

The 1990’s: Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone.

The 2000’s: Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant.

The 2010’s: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant.

I know some players were left out, but I’m creating a picture here.

I think that if a player is going to be called the GOAT.

He must possess many supreme attributes:

1. The Alpha Male(Dog); I can’t be denied, never quit attitude and heart.
2. A Very High Basketball IQ; He knows where to be on the court at all times, and knows how to exploit an opponent’s weakness.
3. An Extremely Athletic Game; Speed, Quickness, Jumping Ability, Strength, and will Dunk in Your Mouth!
4. A Supreme Scorer; He can get buckets when the game is on the line and always scores at a high clip.
5. A Great Defender; No one can be the GOAT without a defensive game. He feels that he can shut down any opponent when he decides to.
6. A Playmaker; He makes players around him better, elevating their game.
7. A True Champion; He wins on every level, and his awards speak for themselves.

My Observation

I believe from my observation watching and analyzing basketball over the past 40 years. Michael Jordan is the GOAT and it will be hard to surpass what he brought to the game on and off the court. He had an Assassins Mentality to go with the total package. The 6 Championships speak for themselves. He could possibly have had more if he hadn’t retired to play baseball in his prime. We will never know.

Kobe was the closest that we have seen to compare to Jordan. He mimicked a lot of Jordan’s mannerisms. He was assassin-like, but not as explosive as Michael.

LeBron to me, is more like Magic than Michael. He looks to facilitate the ball more, and he hasn’t shown the assassin mentality that Jordan had. LeBron is a freak of nature with his size, speed, and athleticism. We have not seen anyone display that combination of size and skill at such a high level. Shawn Kemp is the closest that I can compare to LeBron.

Below are the career stats for Jordan, LeBron, and Kobe.

Per www.basketball-reference.com

Share your thoughts.

Michael Jordan                                           CAREER AVERAGES
15 YEARS
YEAR	MVP	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	Titles	Def MVP	All   D-Team
CAREER	5	1,072	1,039	38.3	0.497	0.33	0.84	6.2	5.3	2.4	0.83	30.1	6	1	9
Playoff	6	179	179	41.8	0.487	0.33	0.83	6.4	5.7	2.1	0.88	33.4
All-Star	3	13	13	29.4	0.472	0.27	0.75	4.7	4.2	2.9	0.46	20.2
Lebron James
14 YEARS MVP		G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	Titles	Def MVP	All- D-Team
CAREER	4	1061	1061	38.9	0.501	0.34	0.74	7.3	7.0	1.6	0.80	27.1	3	0	6
Playoff	3	211	211	42.1	0.482	0.33	0.74	8.8	6.8	1.8	0.96	28.2
All-Star	2	13	13	29.2	0.518	0.34	0.74	6.0	5.85	1.3	0.15	24.2
Kobe Bryant
20 YEARS MVP		G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	Titles	Def MVP	All- D-Team
CAREER	1	1346	1198	36.1	0.447	0.33	0.84	5.2	4.7	1.5	0.50	25.0	5	0	12
Playoff	2	220	220	39.3	0.448	0.33	0.82	5.1	4.7	1.4	0.7	25.6
All-Star	4	15	15	27.5	0.500	0.32	0.79	5.0	4.66	2.5	0.4	19.3