COLUMN: LeBron passes MJ

     This might be a first, writing about the NBA. I’ll be honest, I do not watch it, I do not follow it, I really do not care about it.

     But I do have an opinion about it!

     I get a little bothered whenever the LeBron vs. Michael GOAT debate comes up. In case you have no idea what GOAT stands for it is: Greatest Of All Time. I had to look that up once.

     A couple of weeks ago James passed up Jordan on the all-time leading scorers’ list in the NBA. James now sits in fourth place, passing Jordan, who finished his career with 32,292 points.

     LeBron also has way more assists than Jordan, 8,577 and counting versus 5,633. Over his career, MJ averaged 30.12 points per game, best ever. LeBron averages 27.15 points per game, good for 5^th all-time.

     On the defensive side, Jordan finished his career third in steals with 2,514 while LeBron sits in 16^th place at 1,929. James has about 70 more blocks but both are way down the leaders’ list. Same with rebounds, both players are way down the career list but James sits at about 2,100 more than Jordan.

     Jordan was also a .835 free throw percentage shooter. James currently sits at .736.

     The biggest difference between the two is the six championships Jordan has versus the three for LeBron. And, all of MJ’s came with just one team, the Chicago Bulls. James career moves have taken him to multiple teams where championship teams have been bought, not developed.

     LeBron James still has quite a few seasons left in him to add to his totals but it will be a challenge adding more championships to his resume with his current Lakers team.

     I’d be more impressed with James if he would have stayed with Cleveland his whole career instead of hopping from one team to another. With his talent, the Cavaliers should have been able to win more than one championship.

     A case could have been made for Jordan’s stats being even better if he hadn’t dabbled in professional baseball. James is in his 16th season, MJ played 15. Both have made 13 playoff appearances. James has played in 100+ more games.

     So in my little neck of the woods, I am officially dubbing Michael Jordan, the GOAT!