Happy 40th birthday, LeBron James! 40 reasons he is better than Michael Jordan

The greatest basketball player of all time turns 40

By Toby Adeyemi
Dec 30, 2024
11:25 am

Happy 40th birthday to LeBron James! It’s sometimes crazy to me that people still try to argue Michael Jordan over this man. In celebration of his 40th birthday, we are putting this debate to rest once and for all. Here are 40 reasons why LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan.

The first 20 reasons LeBron is better

LeBron has more longevity than Michael Jordan: LeBron has dominated the league for more than 20 seasons and is still playing at an elite level at 40. MJ only played 13 and retired well before 40.
LeBron is a better scorer than Michael Jordan: LeBron surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Passed MJ in 2019.
LeBron is a better father than Michael Jordan: LeBron James got his son Bronny drafted. Michael Jordan could not get either of his sons drafted.
LeBron is a better passer than MJ: LeBron can call himself one of the best point guards in NBA history. He is the reason we now have point forwards. MJ hated to pass.
LeBron had the greatest NBA Finals ever: LeBron came back from 3-1 against the 73-9 Warriors in the NBA Finals. Jordan never came back from down 3-1. (Of course, it must be noted Jordan was never down 3-1 in any Finals, but work with me here.)
LeBron is more durable than Michael Jordan: LeBron has never suffered a career threatening injury. MJ broke his leg in his second season.
LeBron is a better teammate than MJ: Every teammate gets better with Bron. Michael Jordan punches and fights his teammates.
LeBron is better off the court than MJ: His philanthropy, including the “I PROMISE School,” set a new standard for athlete activism. Jordan on the other hand invested in prisons.
LeBron has a better All-Around Game than MJ: LeBron is higher than Jordan all time in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks, and steals. He is the first player with 40,000 points, 11,000 rebounds and 11,000 assists.
LeBron is more efficient than Jordan: LeBron boasts a higher career field goal percentage than Jordan. And a higher 3-point percentage as well.
LeBron is more adaptable than Jordan: LeBron has thrived with multiple teams and in different systems. Once Michael Jordan left Chicago, his career fell apart.
LeBron faced better teams than Jordan: He’s faced tougher competition in the NBA Finals, including teams like the Warriors with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant and the Spurs dynasties led by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.
LeBron is a better playoff scorer than MJ: LeBron holds the record for most playoff points scored.
LeBron has more triple-doubles than Jordan: LeBron has recorded 112 triple-doubles, Michael Jordan has only 28.
LeBron is a better shooter than Jordan: LeBron has more three-pointers made than Jordan and at a better percentage too. Jordan was an awful three-point shooter.
LeBron did all of this with no father figure: LeBron became the GOAT with no father at home and a mother struggling with drug addiction. Michael Jordan grew up in a middle class two-parent household.
Lebron has dominated multiple eras: LeBron has succeeded in both the physical early 2000s and the fast-paced modern NBA, Jordan only dominated when teams could barely score 90 points.
LeBron was way more hyped than Jordan: LeBron came into the league with people comparing him to MJ already along with other high expectations. Nobody expected Jordan coming out of college to be as good as he was.
LeBron has more All-NBA’s than Jordan: LeBron has 20 All-NBA seasons compared to Jordan’s 11.

The last 20 reasons Jordan is worse

LeBron has more All-Stars than MJ: LeBron is a 20 time All-Star compared to MJ’s 14.
Basketball IQ: His understanding of the game is often called unmatched by peers and analysts.
He is more clutch than Jordan: LeBron James has passed MJ in game-winning field goals in both regular season and playoffs.
Playoff success on multiple teams: LeBron is the only player to lead three franchises to championships.
LeBron is a more versatile defender than Jordan: He’s defended every position effectively throughout his career. Jordan could only guard guards.
LeBron won his rings without a legendary coach: LeBron James won rings without an iconic coach. Erik Spoelstra, Frank Vogel, and Tyronn Lue were his coaches he won with. MJ had Phil Jackson.
LeBron did more with less than Jordan: LeBron took a team to the Finals in 2007 and his second-best player was Larry Hughes. Michael Jordan couldn’t get past the second round of the Eastern Conference until Scottie Pippen arrived.
High school to NBA: LeBron came straight from high school and dominated. Jordan had three years of college coaching from a coaching legend.
LeBron had The Block: LeBron is the owner of the greatest defensive play in NBA Finals history, and maybe in all of NBA history.
LeBron James was the fastest player to do EVERYTHING scoring wise: LeBron was faster than Jordan to 10K points, 20K points, 30K points, and Jordan never reached 40K points
LeBron beat his rivals in their prime, Jordan could not: LeBron has beaten Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant in their primes. Jordan was not able to beat Isiah Thomas, Larry Bird, or Magic Johnson until they were over the hill.
LeBron won a title during a global catastrophe: LeBron won the bubble championship, which nearly every player who entered the bubble says was the hardest championship to win
LeBron has won more games in a row than Jordan: LeBron and the Miami Heat have the second longest win streak in NBA history at 27 games. The most Jordan ever won in a row was 18 during the 1996-1997 season
LeBron has the greatest game against the Celtics ever: LeBron had the iconic Game 6 in Boston where he scored 45 points and 15 boards in a win-or-go-home game. Whenever Jordan played the Celtics, Larry Bird and crew would spank him. Even when Jordan scored 63 against Boston on April 20, 1986, the Celtics won in overtime 135-131 and went on to sweep the series.
LeBron has more gold medals than Jordan: LeBron has three gold medals for Team USA and Jordan only has two.
LeBron isn’t afraid like Jordan was: LeBron always spoke up for injustices in the Black community. Jordan would stay quiet because “Republicans buy sneakers too.”
People teamed up to beat LeBron: The second and third best players of this era, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, had to team up to beat LeBron because they knew they couldn’t beat him on their own. Bird, Magic, and Thomas didn’t have to team up to beat a prime MJ.
LeBron went to 10 Finals which is more than Jordan: LeBron has lived in the NBA Finals. Appearing in the Finals for almost half of his career, including eight straight appearances. Jordan only went to six NBA Finals.
LeBron never took a break: LeBron has played 22 seasons of NBA basketball with no breaks in between. Michael Jordan retired twice.
LeBron played through the social media era: LeBron had to play in an era where not only media critiques you, but the everyday Joes troll you as well. Jordan could never; three straight NBA Finals was enough to make him retire.
LeBron has Savannah: LeBron is still with his beautiful high school sweetheart. Jordan’s marriages were constantly rocked by scandals.