Who Is The Greatest - By Peyton Reynolds

Who Is The Greatest?

by Peyton Reynolds

“Michael Jordan is the best player to ever play the game of basketball.”  True or false?

This past decade, LeBron James has been a big leader in the game of basketball.  LeBron fans and Michael fans often argue about whether LeBron will steal the title of the best player to ever play basketball or will Michael Jordan forever hold that title? It is something we may never be able to empirically prove because Jordan is in his 50’s. Statistics, on the other hand, may be able to provide evidence.

I am a total LeBron fan. It’s so hard to argue who the greatest when I get to see all these great accomplishments of LeBron’s. It is also really hard because I never did get to see MJ play. But let’s look at the stats. LeBron has two rings and Jordan has 6. LeBron, though, still has at least 9 more years before retirement. MJ saw 13 play-off appearances, and James has seen 10 so far. Jordan played in 14 all-star games while James has competed in 11.

Honors and awards mean a lot to athletes. James has been named the season MVP four times while Jordan was only named it five times. Jordan was on the All-NBA First Team 10 times, and James has been on it 9 times.

Awards, honors and rings aren't everything. Some people also argue, greatness is determined by who they played with or against. MJ played with and/or against Wilt Chamberlain, Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and many, many more great players. James has played with or is currently playing with and/or against Steph Curry, Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant and Tim Duncan. They both have had tough competition.

The reason that I think LeBron will claim the title of greatest of all time is because he has been to five straight NBA Finals appearances even when hopping from team to team. This shows that he doesn’t need a lot of help; he can and will do it without help. Many people say, “He left the Cleveland Cavaliers to go win a ring with the Miami Heat because he can’t do it all by himself.” Well wait a second, he can’t do it all by himself? James went to the Miami Heat, the first year he was there he led them to the Finals and lost to the Dallas Mavericks. The second year, 2012, the Miami Heat won their second ring, but it was James’ first. In 2013, they won the finals against the Spurs for the second year in a row. In 2014, the Spurs came back and beat the Heat for the Heat’s third year in a row as a finalist. In 2015, LeBron left the Heat and joined the Cavaliers again. They were defeated by the Golden State Warriors. The point is when LeBron joins a team, they end up in the NBA finals.

Jordan won all six of his championships with the Chicago Bulls. He never led the Washington Wizards to a finals appearance in the two years he was there. Jordan led the Bulls with the help of Scottie Pippen, to win more championship rings. James only has two rings, but at this pace he may have many more before retirement. So, the real question is, will King James claim this title or has he already?