Over the previous days, we showed how Michael Jordan clearly tops LeBron James in postseason play, using a five-part analysis of a series-by-series breakdown of their respective postseason careers. By means of Jordan’s near perfect resume when playing for a championship-ready team, he towers over LeBron (and probably any other player in NBA history) and make any debate a fruitless one.
However, in comparing LeBron James and Michael Jordan on a series-by-series basis, we didn’t get to examine one of the most important influences for their respective postseason journey. Namely, the Eastern Conference became much weaker during LeBron’s years than during Jordan’s years. While this is through no fault of King James, it doesn’t have an indirect impact on his fortunes in the pursuit of NBA championships. We didn’t get to this big picture in the previous days, because we simply focused on LeBron’s opponents.
Therefore, we will show today how the Eastern Conference postseason field looked EACH YEAR in LeBron James’ and Michael Jordan’s respective careers. We use the two-point standout player system to determine the strength of championship-readiness in the conference for each year, illustrating the conference’s progression through the years.
THE EASTERN CONFERENCE: A YEAR-BY-YEAR BREAKDOWN
The table below will give a brief overview of the championship contenders in each year. Here, we can get give a glimpse of each championship contender in the Eastern Conference during Jordan and LeBron eras.
Table 1: Standout Player Points (Eastern Conference Playoff Teams)
| Year | Seed 1 | Seed 2 | Seed 3 | Seed 4 | Seed 5 | Seed 6 | Seed 7 | Seed 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 East | ATL 2.0 | CLE 1.0-2.0 | CHI 1.5 | TOR 0.5 | WSH 1.0 | MIL 0.0 | BOS 1.0 | BRK 0.0 |
| 2013-14 East | IND 0.5 | MIA 2.0 | TOR 1.0 | CHI 0.5 | WSH 0.0 | BRK 1.0 | CHA 0.0 | ATL 0.0 |
| 2012-13 East | MIA 3.5 | NYK 2.0 | IND 1.5 | BRK 1.5 | CHI 0.0 | ATL 0.5 | BOS 1.0 | MIL 0.0 |
| 2011-12 East** | CHI 2.5-3.0 | MIA 3.0 | IND 0.5 | BOS 2.5 | ATL 0.5 | ORL 1.5 | NYK 1.5 | PHL 2.5 |
| 2010-11 East | CHI 2.0 | MIA 2.5 | BOS 3.0 | ORL 1.5 | ATL 0.5 | NYK 0.0 | PHL 1.0 | IND 0.0 |
| 2009-10 East | CLE 2.5 | ORL 2.0 | ATL 1.5 | BOS 3.5 | MIA 1.0 | MIL 1.0 | CHA 0.5 | CHI 0.0 |
| 2008-09 East | CLE 2.5 | BOS 4.0 | ORL 2.0-2.5 | ATL 0.0 | MIA 1.0 | PHL 1.5 | CHI 0.0 | DET 0.5 |
| 2007-08 East | BOS 4.0 | DET 1.5 | ORL 2.5 | CLE 1.0 | WSH 1.0 | TOR 1.0 | PHL 1.0 | ATL 0.0 |
| 2006-07 East | DET 2.0 | CLE 1.5 | TOR 1.0 | MIA 1.0 | CHI 2.5 | NJN 2.0 | WSH 0.0 | ORL 0.5 |
| 2005-06 East | DET 3.0 | MIA 2.5 | NJN 3.0 | CLE 1.5 | WSH 1.5 | IND 1.0 | CHI 0.0 | MIL 0.5 |
| 1997-98 East | CHI 3.0 | MIA 2.0 | IND 2.5 | CHA 2.0 | ATL 1.5 | CLE 1.5 | NYK 0.0-1.0 | NJN 1.0 |
| 1996-97 East | CHI 4.0 | MIA 1.5 | NYK 1.5 | ATL 3.0 | DET 2.5 | CHA 2.0 | ORL 1.0 | WSH 1.0 |
| 1995-96 East | CHI 3.5 | ORL 4.0 | IND 0.0-1.0 | CLE 1.0 | NYK 1.0 | ATL 1.0 | DET 0.5 | MIA 0.5 |
| 1994-95 East | ORL 3.0 | IND 1.0 | NYK 2.0 | CHA 2.5 | CHI 2.5 | CLE 0.0 | ATL 0.5 | BOS 0.5 |
| 1992-93 East | NYK 2.0 | CHI 3.0 | CLE 3.0 | BOS 1.0-1.5 | CHA 0.5 | NJN 1.0 | ATL 1.0 | IND 1.5 |
| 1991-92 East | CHI 2.0 | BOS 2.5 | CLE 2.5 | NYK 1.0 | DET 2.5 | NJN 0.0 | IND 1.5 | MIA 0.0 |
| 1990-91 East | CHI 2.0 | BOS 3.0 | DET 2.0 | MIL 1.0 | PHL 1.5 | ATL 1.5 | IND 2.0 | NYK 1.0 |
| 1989-90 East | DET 3.0 | PHL 1.0 | CHI 1.0 | BOS 2.5 | NYK 1.0 | MIL 1.5 | CLE 1.0 | IND 0.5 |
| 1988-89 East | DET 2.0 | NYK 0.5 | CLE 3.0 | ATL 2.5 | MIL 0.0 | CHI 1.0 | PHL 1.0 | BOS 2.0 |
| 1987-88 East | BOS 3.5 | DET 2.0 | CHI 1.0 | ATL 1.0 | MIL 1.0 | CLE 1.0 | WAS 1.0 | NYK 1.0 |
| 1986-87 East | BOS 3.0 | ATL 1.5 | DET 2.0 | MIL 1.0 | PHL 0.5 | WAS 1.0 | IND 1.0 | CHI 1.0 |
| 1985-86 East | BOS 3.0 | MIL 2.0 | PHL 2.0 | ATL 0.5 | DET 1.5 | WAS 0.0 | NJN 0.5 | CHI 0.0 |
| 1984-85 East | BOS 3.0 | MIL 2.0 | PHL 2.5 | DET 1.0 | NJN 0.5 | WAS 0.5 | CHI 1.5 | CLE 0.0 |
NOTE: LeBron and Jordan teams are denoted in bold
Only the postseason teams were included in the table, which leaves 10 seasons for LeBron and 13 seasons for Jordan. In that time, 19 contenders faced off against LeBron’s teams and 33 more faced off against Jordan’s teams. This means LeBron on averaged faced 1.9 championship contenders in the Eastern Conference per playoff season, while Jordan faced roughly 2.54 per playoff season.
The idea that LeBron “benefits” from a weak Eastern Conference is quite legitimate, but it’s more evident now than ever. Only the 2014-15 Hawks and 2012-13 Knicks stood between LeBron and an NBA Finals appearance over the past three seasons. That needs to be kept in mind as much as anything when discussing King James’ five-year streak of Eastern Conference championships.
In fact, during that five-year stretch, there were only seven other championship contenders. That includes the 2011-12 strike-shortened season, denoted with the double asterisk, which saw all three other contenders on the opposite quadrant of the bracket in the East. That means he faced a maximum of five championship contenders in those five years. Compare that to Jordan facing a maximum of 10 championship contenders during his pair of three-peats winning the East. Have no doubt that LeBron benefited in part from a weak Eastern Conference, and it’s something that should put into perspective his 2-4 Finals record. Odds are if LeBron faced a tougher East, he makes fewer Finals appearances but still wins those multiple championships. We can’t take that much away from him.
To close, the Finals narrative of LeBron is one the truly pales in comparison to Jordan, but it’s still a battle between two all-time greats. Until the East improves as a whole, LeBron will continue to own at least half of the league.