By Michael Lepoutre
Before you say anything, let me just be the first (or millionth) to say that you can not compare the careers of LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Maybe one day? Of course! It's LeBron freaking James for crying out loud. But the man is 27-years-old. He's going to be amazing, possibly the best. But not yet.
BUT, just because comparing the two megastars is so juicy in itself, Season's Over is taking a more practical route: how does LeBron James's performance in the 2012 Finals compare to those performances of Jordan's in '91, '92, '93, '96, '97, and '98? Let's take a look:
2012 LeBron James (28, 10, 7)
Let's set the stage first, just a quick run-down of what the MVP precisely did to the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. 28.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 7.4 APG is the line that has everyone talking about, as it should be. The man nearly averaged a triple-double in the entire series, but more importantly, he was consistent. He didn't score more than 32 and he didn't score less than 26, and he was (to repeat myself) THE MAN when it came to being "clutch." So with that being said, let's really take a look at how this performance stacks up:
LeBron vs. '91 Jordan (31, 6, 11)
This one was tough, but in taking down the mighty Lakers, Michael Jordan accomplished without criticism what James has been trying to do for a while now–take a backseat. Jordan averaged 11.4 assists in the '91 Finals, his highest Finals average, en route to a five-game series win. And he also averaged 30+ points in every game in just his first Finals in just his seventh season. Then he cried with the trophy and the rest is history. Advantage: Jordan
LeBron vs. '92 Jordan (35, 4, 6)
Jordan made it look like he was a grown man playing Biddy basketball in Game 1, sinking six 3-pointers en route to a Finals record 35 points in the first half. He was less amazing in Game 2 when his sloppy play lead to a Trail Blazer overtime comeback, but he came in clutch in Game 5 with 46 points to put Chicago up 3-2, and it's hard to ignore the simple fact that he averaged 35.8 points per game. Ridiculous. Advantage: Jordan
LeBron vs. '93 Jordan (41, 8, 6)
It's amazing that someone can average more than 40 points a game in a series and have it not be considered one of his finest performances. It's weird to consider, that despite a scoring performance of 55 in Game 4, that he was less influential in '93 than in other years. But for the sake of our argument, the claim has to be made that LeBron was more important to the Heat in 2012 than Jordan was to the Bulls at the end of the first three-peat. Advantage: LeBron
LeBron vs. '96 Jordan (27, 5, 4)
This is really the only instance for me in which LeBron was clearly better. The team was easily the most dominant in the history of the game with Jordan back playing at his ridiculous level, but when it came time to the Finals, it was his least memorable performance by far. Obviously 27, 5, and 4 is nothing to sneeze at, but it's the safest to say is worse than 28, 10, and 7. Advantage: LeBron
LeBron vs. '97 Jordan (32, 7, 6)
If we were to compare the performances by lines only, then this one would have to go James's way. But when you factor in Jordan leading the team past a 2-2 series tie (something LeBron can't yet put on his resume), the Flue Game, a game-winning shot in Game 1, and a series-winning pass in Game 6, it's not even close. Advantage: Jordan
LeBron vs. '98 Jordan (33, 4, 20)
This one would be Jordan's masterpiece if only for the fact that he basically did it without Scottie Pippen (who was battling back injuries throughout the series), but there are so many other reasons why his final championship run was the sweetest. With monster games on the road in Utah, including the iconic series-clinching shot in Game 6, Jordan said goodbye (sort of) to the game of basketball like no one had ever done before. Advantage: Jordan
Before you say anything, let me just be the first (or millionth) to say that you can not compare the careers of LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Maybe one day? Of course! It's LeBron freaking James for crying out loud. But the man is 27-years-old. He's going to be amazing, possibly the best. But not yet.
BUT, just because comparing the two megastars is so juicy in itself, Season's Over is taking a more practical route: how does LeBron James's performance in the 2012 Finals compare to those performances of Jordan's in '91, '92, '93, '96, '97, and '98? Let's take a look:
2012 LeBron James (28, 10, 7)
Let's set the stage first, just a quick run-down of what the MVP precisely did to the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. 28.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 7.4 APG is the line that has everyone talking about, as it should be. The man nearly averaged a triple-double in the entire series, but more importantly, he was consistent. He didn't score more than 32 and he didn't score less than 26, and he was (to repeat myself) THE MAN when it came to being "clutch." So with that being said, let's really take a look at how this performance stacks up:
LeBron vs. '91 Jordan (31, 6, 11)
This one was tough, but in taking down the mighty Lakers, Michael Jordan accomplished without criticism what James has been trying to do for a while now–take a backseat. Jordan averaged 11.4 assists in the '91 Finals, his highest Finals average, en route to a five-game series win. And he also averaged 30+ points in every game in just his first Finals in just his seventh season. Then he cried with the trophy and the rest is history. Advantage: Jordan
LeBron vs. '92 Jordan (35, 4, 6)
Jordan made it look like he was a grown man playing Biddy basketball in Game 1, sinking six 3-pointers en route to a Finals record 35 points in the first half. He was less amazing in Game 2 when his sloppy play lead to a Trail Blazer overtime comeback, but he came in clutch in Game 5 with 46 points to put Chicago up 3-2, and it's hard to ignore the simple fact that he averaged 35.8 points per game. Ridiculous. Advantage: Jordan
LeBron vs. '93 Jordan (41, 8, 6)
It's amazing that someone can average more than 40 points a game in a series and have it not be considered one of his finest performances. It's weird to consider, that despite a scoring performance of 55 in Game 4, that he was less influential in '93 than in other years. But for the sake of our argument, the claim has to be made that LeBron was more important to the Heat in 2012 than Jordan was to the Bulls at the end of the first three-peat. Advantage: LeBron
LeBron vs. '96 Jordan (27, 5, 4)
This is really the only instance for me in which LeBron was clearly better. The team was easily the most dominant in the history of the game with Jordan back playing at his ridiculous level, but when it came time to the Finals, it was his least memorable performance by far. Obviously 27, 5, and 4 is nothing to sneeze at, but it's the safest to say is worse than 28, 10, and 7. Advantage: LeBron
LeBron vs. '97 Jordan (32, 7, 6)
If we were to compare the performances by lines only, then this one would have to go James's way. But when you factor in Jordan leading the team past a 2-2 series tie (something LeBron can't yet put on his resume), the Flue Game, a game-winning shot in Game 1, and a series-winning pass in Game 6, it's not even close. Advantage: Jordan
LeBron vs. '98 Jordan (33, 4, 20)
This one would be Jordan's masterpiece if only for the fact that he basically did it without Scottie Pippen (who was battling back injuries throughout the series), but there are so many other reasons why his final championship run was the sweetest. With monster games on the road in Utah, including the iconic series-clinching shot in Game 6, Jordan said goodbye (sort of) to the game of basketball like no one had ever done before. Advantage: Jordan
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