Michael Jordan and LeBron James are 1A and 1B in the NBA GOAT discussion, whichever way you have it.
MJ is a perfect 6-0 record in NBA Finals while ‘The King’ is The Association’s all-time leader scorer.
The greatest of all time debate is likely to rumble on until the end of time, and recently reared its head on Inside the NBA.
However, after one telling stat emerged, beloved analyst Charles Barkley thinks there’s only one right answer in the age old back and forth — and it’s the man who bested him in the ’93 Finals.
Barkley’s claim came after a bombshell stat came to light.
Despite playing seven more seasons than Air Jordan, LeBron still trails the Chicago Bulls legend in one of basketball’s most telling metrics – 30-point games.
MJ racked up 562 30-point performances in just 15 seasons, while James, currently in his 22nd season, sits at 559 — three less than Jordan.
“LeBron has played how many more seasons than MJ and he’s still behind him that’s crazy,” Barkley said after Ernie Johnson highlighted the stat.
“I love LeBron but for him to be that far behind MJ and he’s played eight more seasons? C’mon man, y’all need to stop this.”
‘His Airness’ had a 30.1 career scoring average and is impossible to ignore when it comes to peak years.
Between 1991 and 1998, No.23 dominated the NBA, winning six NBA championship — and six Finals MVPs — across two separate three-peats.
Had he not retired to play baseball between 1994-1995, there’s a legitimate chance he could have won eight straight titles.
Not only that, MJ was five-time MVP, ten-time scoring champion, nine-time All-Defensive First Team member, ten-time All-NBA First Team selection and Defensive Player of the Year – a résumé unlikely to be seen again.
Jordan’s high was higher than any other player in NBA history.
The King’s clear edge is his unparalleled longevity.
Nobody in history has played this well for this long like four-time champion and Finals MVP, LeBron.
At 39, he’s better and more dominant than Jordan — who was fading out as a Washington Wizard — ever was at the same age.
Unlike Mike, the Cavs, Heat, and Lakers icon holds the majority of statistical records.
When it comes to points, rebounds, assists, games/minutes played, and playoff appearances/wins, the ‘Chosen One’ from Akron, Ohio, is near or at the top of the tree.
James has been named to a record 20 All-Star teams, and is the only player in league history to have at least 10,000 points (he has over 40,000), 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists.
His CV is so full of broken records it could fill a 200-page book.
For many, Jordan remains the greatest of all time, but the gap between him and James has never been more narrow, at least according to current players.
The Athletic recently conducted an anonymous NBA player poll revealing that 45.9 percent of current players think Jordan is the GOAT compared to 42.1 percent in favor of James.
But for those who were around to see the gold hoop-wearing, tongue-bearing scoring phenom at the peak of his powers — like Barkley — there’s only one right answer in the NBA GOAT debate.