NBA Legend Slams Lakers' LeBron James, Says Michael Jordan is Way Better

This former LeBron James teammate thinks he shouldn't even be mentioned in the GOAT conversation with Michael Jordan.

Feb 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; LeBron James and Michael Jordan on court during halftime during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Former two-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA Third Team point guard Stephon Marbury, who was teammates with a young LeBron James on the ignominious bronze medal-winning 2004 U.S. men's basketball Olympic team in Athens, Greece, weighed in on the eternal James-Michael Jordan debate on Monday.

By benefit of playing in the NBA from 1996-2009, the 6-foot-2 vet witnessed both James and Jordan at or very near their respective primes. But he sided with Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and five-time league MVP shooting guard with the Chicago Bulls.

Shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as MJ. https://t.co/Dxk5wGHADS

— I AM PEACE STAR (@StarburyMarbury) August 13, 2024

Jordan has James beat on scoring and defense, but James is the better passer and has a massive longevity advantage. Jordan played for just 15 seasons and retired twice during his primes before walking away for good at age 40 in 2003. Jordan also played three years at North Carolina, entering the league after his junior season in 1984. 20-time All-Star Los Angeles Lakers combo forward James, 39, just signed a new $101.4 million contract that will take him through his record-setting 23rd NBA season in 2025-26, when he will turn 41 years old. James entered the NBA straight out of a high school, which is no longer possible in the modern NBA (players need to be at least one year out of prep school).

It's a difficult comparison to make, as both players suited up at different positions in different eras. Due to the hand-check rule (which kicked in after James' 2003-04 rookie season and limited the reach of opposing defenses), there's a chance that James' own scoring numbers are fairly inflated in comparison to Jordan's. Would Jordan have played longer, had he known the threat of a seemingly injury-immune (at least, for a time) star like James was on the horizon? It's impossible to say for sure, but given his competitive drive, odds are decent that it was at least possible.

Marbury seems to cite Jordan's scoring as a key reason he's the greater player, and he may have a point. Jordan remains the most prolific scorer in league history, with his 30.1 points a game on .497/.327/.835 shooting splits. He also averaged 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks a night in 1,072 career regular season games. Given the league's new emphasis on shooting, it seems likely Jordan would also have improved that 3-point rate. James, the lead's all-time leading scorer, holds career averages of 27.1 points on a .506/.348/.736 slash line, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks a night across 1,492 games (1,490 starts).

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