Odds are you’ve heard about this “debate” long enough. With LeBron James making his fifth consecutive Finals appearance, the debate as to “who’s better” between James and Michael Jordan continued to rage. After all, Jordan won the Finals in six of his final seven seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The lone non-title season was one in which Jordan came out of retirement late in the season. For that simple reason, the LeBron v. MJ discussions continue, when the truth is that Jordan long ago separate himself from LeBron.
Over a two-day span, we will show from a series-by-series perspective exactly how Jordan separated himself from James in this debate. Today’s post analyzes and compares the postseason series results for James and Jordan.
MICHAEL JORDAN BESTS LEBRON JAMES: A SERIES-BY-SERIES BREAKDOWN
In this study, we will focus on the postseason team success during each player’s respective career. By making this comparison, we recognize the obvious: both players are clearly the best of their respective era, and they should be treated as such when assessing team success. Without a doubt, LeBron James was the lead option for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat when playing for those respective teams. Meanwhile, Michael Jordan was the franchise player for the Chicago Bulls from his first day on the court to his last. Even during his two years with the Washington Wizards, Jordan was the most notable option on that roster.
Of course, we will assess the series-by-series breakdown within the context of quality for each of LeBron and Jordan’s respective teams. We want to discover the series-defining success of James and Jordan in their respective careers, as we will regard the results based on that context alone. That means each team will still need to be follow the two-point standout player system to be considered contenders. The same goes for each postseason opponent James and Jordan each faced.
In Part 2, we will compare the series-by-series results for James and Jordan. These are the five factors we’re considering:
- A total accumulation of each player’s postseason advancements and eliminations in their respective careers.
- An accumulation of postseason advancements and eliminations when their respective teams are championship-ready.
- Both the record as the favorite and the record as the underdog, according to the two-point standout player system.
- More important than the former part, the record between two contenders, according to the two-point standout player system.
- Finally, the adjusted postseason advancement rate for each player when his respective teams are championship-ready.
After considering those five parts, Jordan’s superiority will be clear. Now, we’re going to show the series-by-series breakdown for James’ and Jordan’s respective careers to address these five parts of the study.
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