Why LeBron catching Kareem does not make him better than Jordan

What happens in the big NBA moments?

“That one right there made me the greatest player of all time”, LeBron James stated in an episode of ESPN’s “More Than An Athlete” series in 2018. James was referring to the 2016 NBA Finals when he and the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame the Golden State Warriors. The series had all the narratives of an Oscar-winning film. They were losing 3-1 against a 73-9 team, and with everything they had, James and the Cavaliers came back and delivered a championship to his hometown.

Looking back, James contributed a huge part of the sequence that led to them winning that Game 7 with a block that was heard around the world. However, had Kyrie Irving missed the shot to put the nail in the coffin, the outcome might have been completely different. This is not the only case in which a teammate saved James on the way to a championship.

Fans will forever remember Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals for Ray Allen’s corner three-pointer that kept Miami in the series. What happened just seconds before was James missed the shot to tie the game.

The basketball gods were greatly in their favor as Chris Bosh grabbed the board and passed the ball out to Allen who happened to be in the perfect place at the perfect time. The Heat went on to win the game in overtime and the series one game later. But had Allen missed, the championship parade would have taken place in San Antonio that year.

Another point of contention for this subject is LeBron not having Jordan’s killer instinct. When the pressure is on, LeBron is a hit or miss, whereas Jordan gave us the impression that he would rather die than fail. Statistically, James has hit more clutch shots than Jordan.

But that brings back the argument of what results have those shots produced. It is also important to point out that Jordan played in the NBA for fifteen years. James is in his 20th season, so automatically James’ numbers are higher due to the number of games he has played. Looking at their careers, especially at the championship level, you can quickly distinguish that Jordan is allergic to losing while James is immune to it.

Other ways show how much the ghost of Michael Jordan’s career haunts LeBron James — be it on the NBA court or their rendition of Space Jam, which Jordan wins as well. No matter who you think the GOAT is, there is no denying how much both men had impacted the game of basketball.

At the end of his career, LeBron James will be remembered for his work on and off the court. If he becomes the all-time leading scorer, he eclipses one of the greats in one aspect, but it takes more than that to catch up to the high bar that was set by Jordan.