The unending argument - Jordan vs. James (a look at the playoffs)

 Michel Jordan - LeBron James.

This argument is all over Facebook and it really never ends. I've broken down their careers on another site. For this, I'm going to look just at Playoff Jordan vs. Playoff James.  Specifically, I'm going to look at their "game scores."

Game Score was created by John Hollinger to give a rough measure of a player's productivity for a single game. The higher the score, the better the game. 

Although LeBron came into the NBA at an earlier age, he didn't play his first playoff game until the year he was 21. Jordan played at North Carolina for three years. His first playoff season was his rookie year when he also was 21.

So let's break it down year by year.

Jordan age 21 (1985)						James age 21 (2006)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
L	23	7-19	4	10	21.5	W	32	12-27	11	11	23.3
L	30	9-17	4	12	24.3	L	26	7-25	9	2	6.7
W	35	12-26	8	7	28.2	W	41	16-28	5	3	27.4
L	29	6-16	7	5	24.3	L	38	13-23	6	5	23.0
						W	45	14-23	7	6	38.4
						W	32	15-25	7	7	22.8
						L	22	9-18	4	4	12.2
						L	30	11-23	14	7	22.8
						W	21	9-18	10	10	21.9
						W	22	8-23	8	9	10.4
						W	32	13-30	5	5	21.1
						L	32	8-20	11	5	20.7
						L	27	11-24	8	2	15.5
Averages						Averages
1-3	29.3	43.6%	5.8	8.5	24.6	7-6	30.8	47.6%	8.1	5.8	20.5

Although James' Cavs had a deeper playoff run, LeBron turned in some clunkers. If 20 in game score is a good game and 30 is a great game, LeBron had one great game, eight good games and four bad games. Jordan had four good games.

Jordan age 22 (1986)						James age 22 (2007)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
L	49	18-36	4	2	29.3	W	23	7-14	9	7	24.2
L	63	22-41	5	6	47.2	W	27	8-22	8	7	22.5
L	19	8-18	10	9	15.4	W	30	11-22	6	9	24.1
						W	31	8-22	11	7	27.5
						W	21	8-21	11	7	15.6
						W	36	12-24	1	12	31.3
						L	18	5-16	6	12	16.2
						W	30	9-16	9	7	24.6
						L	20	5-14	5	2	15.3
						W	23	8-20	8	8	16.8
						L	10	5-15	10	9	13.5
						L	19	7-19	6	7	11.0
						W	32	12-21	9	9	28.5
						W	25	8-19	7	11	24.3
						W	48	18-33	9	7	38.1
						W	20	3-11	14	8	22.1
						L	14	4-16	7	4	5.0
						L	25	9-21	7	6	13.6
						L	25	9-23	8	7	15.9
						L	24	10-30	6	10	7.8
Averages						Averages
0-3	43.7	50.5%	6.3	5.7	30.6	12-8	25.1	41.6%	7.9	7.8	19.9

The age 22 seasons were really the beginnings of both the Jordan and James legends. Jordan hit the eventual world champion Boston Celtics for 63 points, really the first time Jordan exploded on the national scene. He also followed that up with a clunker in game three as the Celtics swept the Bulls.

James led the Cavaliers all the way to the NBA Finals against the San Antonion Spurs.

That run included one of his top playoff highlights, a 48-point explosion against the Detroit Pistons, which included the stretch where he scored the final 25 points for Cleveland in a two-overtime win in Game Five. That's something Jordan never accomplished.

The Spurs, though, held James in check.

Jordan age 23 (1987)						James age 23 (2008)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
L	35	12-25	6	7	30.8	W	32	12-19	6	4	26.7
L	42	14-29	4	4	28.5	W	30	9-19	9	12	29.6
L	30	9-30	11	7	21.5	L	22	10-19	7	3	12.6
						W	34	11-25	12	7	23.2
						L	34	8-21	10	7	27.4
						W	27	8-17	13	13	33.0
						L	12	2-18	9	9	-0.7
						L	21	6-24	5	6	6.8
						W	21	5-16	8	4	20.2
						W	21	7-20	6	13	19.1
						L	35	12-25	3	5	22.4
						W	32	9-23	12	6	21.6
						L	45	14-29	5	6	32.8
Averages						Averages
0-3	35.7	41.7%	7.0	6.0	26.9	7-6	28.2	41.1%	8.1	7.3	21.1

Jordan had another excellent playoff run, but his Bulls got swept. To this point, his Chicago teams are 1-9 in the playoffs. LeBron got off to a strong start, but then had back-to-back terrible games to start the playoff series against Boston, which James' Cavs would lose, 4-3. Jordan, even in limited fashion, is better in the playoffs for the third straight year.

Jordan age 24 (1988)						James age 24 (2009)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
W	50	19-35	7	2	34.2	W	38	13-20	8	7	35.9
W	55	24-45	6	3	40.3	W	29	7-14	13	6	26.5
L	38	12-25	5	9	30.2	W	25	9-19	11	9	26.5
L	44	18-25	5	4	37.4	W	36	10-24	13	8	32.2
W	39	12-22	4	6	27.8	W	34	12-20	10	3	31.7
L	29	10-22	11	6	20.8	W	27	9-14	3	5	27.1
W	36	14-22	11	1	28.7	W	47	15-25	12	8	43.8
L	24	8-20	7	3	12.9	W	27	9-22	8	8	18.8
L	23	11-22	7	5	21.0	L	49	20-30	6	8	44.7
L	25	10-22	8	8	18.6	W	35	12-23	4	5	22.2
						L	41	11-28	7	9	31.3
						W	37	11-24	14	12	33.3
						L	25	8-20	6	7	16.1
Averages						Averages
4-6	36.3	53.1%	7.1	4.7	27.2	10.4	32.1	51.6%	8.2	6.8	27.8

The Bulls finally got out of the first round and it took a historically good series from Jordan to do so. Jordan torched Cleveland for an average of 45.2 points in the five-game series. Jordan and the Bulls then ran into Detroit and its Bad Boys defense and the Pisotons made Jordan look somewhat average in four of the five games. James had his best, most consistent playoff run yet, even though it ended in the Eastern Conference Finals. In 14 playoffgames, he had two special games (40+ in game score), five great games, four good games and only two bad games (below 20). For the first time in four seasons, James averaged a higher game score than Jordan in the playoffs.

Jordan age 25 (1989)						James age 25 (2010)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
W	31	12-21	5	11	26.6	W	24	9-19	6	5	19.2
L	30	10-22	5	10	22.5	W	40	16-23	8	8	38.3
W	44	18-34	7	10	35.6	L	39	14-26	10	8	31.3
L	50	14-28	3	4	37.3	W	37	11-17	12	11	39.9
W	44	17-32	9	6	32.7	W	19	5-12	10	9	18.7
W	34	11-17	10	12	32.7	W	35	12-24	7	7	31.6
L	15	7-17	8	3	8.4	L	24	7-15	7	4	18.2
W	40	14-25	15	9	41.4	W	38	14-22	8	7	36.9
W	47	12-18	11	6	39.9	L	22	7-18	9	8	13.8
L	38	13-30	8	10	33.9	L	15	3-14	6	7	9.1
W	40	14-22	5	10	34.3	L	27	8-21	19	10	22.1
W	32	10-29	11	4	16.4
L	27	9-20	4	4	16.9
W	46	16-26	7	5	42.8
L	23	5-15	2	4	13.9
L	18	4-8	5	9	17.2
L	32	13-26	4	13	20.9
Averages						Averages
9-8	34.8	51.0%	7.0	7.6	27.8	6-5	29.1	50.2%	9.3	7.6	25.4

For the first time in this head-to-head matchup, Jordan's Bulls made a deeper playoff run, getting to the conference finals before losing to the Pistons. After a strong start, the Pistons again held Jordan in check for five of the six games. Still, for the fourth time in five years, Jordan was the better overall performer. James had one terrible game and four poor ones in 11 playoff games in 2010. The Celtics knocked the Cavs out in the conference semifinals, convincing LeBron he needed to go elsewhere to compete for championships.

Jordan age 26 (1990)						James age 26 (2011)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
W	38	15-27	8	7	25.7	W	21	4-14	14	5	21.6
W	36	12-21	9	11	34.8	W	29	10-19	7	6	25.2
L	48	20-35	9	5	33.5	W	24	8-15	15	6	24.2
W	25	8-19	6	5	18.8	L	31	11-20	7	6	27.6
W	39	16-30	5	6	31.3	W	16	5-13	10	8	15.5
W	45	18-36	8	7	35.7	W	22	8-19	6	5	15.6
L	49	19-34	5	5	35.9	W	35	14-25	7	2	26.7
W	45	16-31	6	11	38.4	L	15	6-16	7	4	10.6
W	37	17-26	9	8	35.8	W	35	12-28	14	3	24.5
L	34	12-27	7	5	26.7	W	33	11-20	7	4	24.2
L	20	5-16	7	7	17.1	L	15	5-15	6	6	12.2
W	47	17-32	10	4	33.4	W	29	12-21	10	5	22.0
W	42	13-26	4	9	35.4	W	22	6-13	6	10	26.3
L	22	7-19	4	8	17.5	W	35	11-26	6	6	24.8
W	29	11-20	10	2	20.6	W	28	8-19	11	6	24.2
L	31	13-27	8	9	23.0	W	24	9-16	9	5	21.0
						L	20	8-15	8	4	15.6
						W	17	6-14	3	9	13.6
						L	8	3-11	9	7	5.9
						L	17	8-19	10	10	12.4
						L	21	9-15	4	6	13.6
Averages						Averages
10-6	36.7	51.4%	7.2	6.8	29.0	14-7	23.7	46.6%	8.4	5.9	19.4

LeBron detractors, and there are many, always point to the 2010-2011 season as proof that James was not on Jordan's level. James played awful in the six-game NBA Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Using Game Scores as a standard,he only had one good game, the opener, four bad games and an awful game in Game 4 (8 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists).

LeBron was passive the entire playoff run, though, choosing to defer to Dwayne Wade. In 21 games, he never had a game score about 30 and he had nine below 20. Jordan, on the other hand, had his best, longest run yet. In 16 games, his game score topped 30 nine times and only dipped below 20 three times. Jordan was clearly the better player in this playoff season.

Jordan age 27 (1991)						James age 27 (2012)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
W	28	8-15	6	6	27.3	W	32	10-14	4	3	29.9
W	26	9-16	5	5	21.3	W	19	8-18	7	9	16.4
W	33	14-28	3	7	29.7	W	32	9-21	8	5	19.2
W	29	8-15	5	5	27.8	L	27	9-21	4	4	13.9
W	29	12-26	8	9	23.0	W	29	7-16	8	7	25.4
L	46	20-34	4	6	35.0	W	32	12-26	15	5	29.5
W	25	11-27	4	12	21.1	L	28	10-22	9	5	26.4
W	38	14-31	19	7	29.2	L	22	10-22	7	3	12.0
W	22	6-15	3	6	13.2	W	40	14-27	18	9	37.2
W	35	10-20	3	7	29.4	W	30	12-19	10	8	28.6
W	33	11-19	7	7	34.6	W	28	12-23	6	7	25.0
W	29	11-17	8	8	27.9	W	32	13-22	13	3	26.3
L	36	14-24	8	12	32.6	W	34	7-20	10	7	29.8
W	33	15-18	7	13	34.7	L	34	16-26	8	5	25.3
W	29	11-28	9	9	24.8	L	29	12-25	6	3	11.3
W	28	11-20	5	13	28.6	L	30	11-25	13	2	21.9
W	30	12-23	4	10	26.1	W	45	19-26	15	5	36.4
						W	31	9-21	12	2	22.4
						L	30	11-24	9	4	22.3
						W	32	10-22	8	5	24.7
						W	29	11-23	14	3	20.4
						W	26	10-20	9	12	25.3
						W	26	9-19	11	13	25.5
Averages						Averages
15-2	31.1	52.4%	6.4	8.4	27.4	16-7	30.3	50.0%	9.7	5.6	24.1

Both James and Jordan finally won NBA titles in their age 27 seasons. Jordan's Bulls had gotten better as Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen entered their primes and Jordan didn't need the huge scoring bursts. In 17 games, he scored more than 40 points just once and had five games of 10+ assists. What keeps showing out, though, is consistency. Jordan had four Game Scores above 30 and just one below 20.

James had one of his signature moments in this playoff run. After beating Boston twice in the Eastern Conference FInals, the Celtics squeaked out three straight wins. Facing elimination, and another year of 'failing to win the big one' questions, LeBron scored 45 points on 19-of-26 shooting with 15 rebounds. The game score of 36.4 was just his second highest of that year's playoffs, and was better than any individual game Jordan played. LeBron remained inconsistent, though. He had the two Game Scores of more than 30, but that was offset by five under 20. Overall, Jordan again was the better player.

Jordan age 28 (1992)						James age 28 (2013)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
W	46	21-34	11	9	37.7	W	27	9-11	10	8	25.3
W	33	12-23	13	6	27.8	W	19	6-14	8	6	14.4
W	56	20-30	5	5	49.8	W	22	9-14	5	6	14.9
L	31	12-23	6	3	23.1	W	30	13-20	8	7	25.6
W	27	12-24	6	5	18.9	L	24	8-17	8	7	22.5
W	32	12-24	9	3	20.9	W	19	7-12	5	9	19.2
L	29	12-26	4	4	19.6	W	25	6-17	8	7	23.8
W	37	11-23	5	3	24.7	W	27	9-20	7	8	20.9
L	21	9-25	4	8	6.8	W	23	5-14	7	8	20.5
W	42	15-29	6	4	31.0	W	30	12-24	10	10	24.1
W	33	15-29	6	7	27.5	L	36	14-20	8	3	30.4
L	20	7-22	11	3	12.8	W	22	8-17	4	3	16.6
W	36	13-27	6	9	26.0	L	24	8-18	6	5	19.4
L	35	15-33	5	6	20.8	W	30	13-26	8	6	21.7
W	37	13-28	3	5	29.0	L	29	10-21	7	6	22.1
W	29	10-27	8	8	20.3	W	32	8-17	8	4	29.2
W	39	16-27	3	11	36.9	L	18	7-16	18	10	20.4
L	39	16-32	5	10	25.1	W	17	7-17	8	7	17.9
W	26	11-22	7	4	17.1	L	15	7-21	11	5	10.3
L	32	11-26	5	6	17.3	W	33	15-25	11	4	29.6
W	46	14-23	5	4	33.3	L	25	8-22	6	8	21.2
W	33	13-24	4	4	25.3	W	32	11-26	10	11	25.8
						W	37	12-23	12	4	32.5
Averages						Averages
15-7	34.5	49.9%	6.2	5.7	25.1	16-7	25.9	49.8%	8.4	6.6	22.1

Both Jordan and James picked up their second NBA titles. Neither needed much heroics either. Jordan had a 56-point explosion in the first round for his best game score yet, then he pretty much kept things under wraps until the Finals against Clyde Drexler and the Blazers.Jordan had a Game Score of 36.9 in Game 1 and followed it up with a 33.3 in Game 5 to knock the will out of Portland.

With Wade and Chris Bosh, LeBron didn't have to extend himself much, either. He saved his best game for last, getting a 32.5 Game Score in Game 7 against the Spurs with 37 points and 12 rebounds.

Overall, Jordan was clearly the better player.

Jordan age 29 (1993)						James age 29 (2014)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
W	35	15-26	7	5	28.0	W	27	8-16	9	1	17.8
W	29	10-24	6	4	24.2	W	32	11-17	6	8	29.9
W	39	16-28	7	4	27.8	W	30	10-18	10	6	27.8
W	43	16-30	0	4	30.7	W	31	10-19	7	9	29.8
W	18	8-18	5	6	13.9	W	22	10-15	5	3	17.7
W	32	12-24	6	5	24.9	W	22	9-18	4	3	15.4
W	31	11-24	9	6	23.8	L	28	8-15	8	5	25.1
L	27	10-27	2	5	17.2	W	49	16-24	6	6	39.8
L	36	12-32	9	1	20.0	W	29	6-14	9	5	23.1
W	22	3-18	8	11	21.7	L	25	11-18	10	5	21.5
W	54	18-30	6	2	41.3	W	22	9-18	7	6	18.0
W	29	11-24	10	14	26.3	W	26	9-14	5	7	22.0
W	25	8-24	2	9	19.7	W	32	13-21	10	5	27.8
W	31	14-28	7	5	25.9	L	7	2-10	2	4	-0.1
W	42	18-36	12	9	31.7	W	25	8-12	4	6	24.9
L	44	19-43	9	6	26.1	L	25	9-17	6	3	20.0
W	55	21-37	8	4	38.9	W	35	14-22	10	3	27.5
L	41	16-29	7	7	30.7	L	22	9-14	5	7	18.2
W	33	13-26	8	7	24.5	L	28	10-17	8	2	20.1
						L	31	10-21	10	5	26.8
Averages						Averages
15-4	35.1	47.5%	6.7	6.0	26.2	13-7	27.4	56.5%	7.1	5.0	22.7

This is the season the winning fortunes of Jordan and James begin to diverge. The Bulls won their third straight title, while the Heat were beaten - badly - in the NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurts.

Jordan wrapped up the three-peat in style by dominating the Phoenix Suns. He had three Game Scores over 30 in the six-game series and his lowest game score was 24.5. Phoenix had no one who could slow him down. The Finals overshadowed the fact that the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals made Jordan look somewhat ordinary. In that series, he only had one great game, a 54-point explosion in Game 4. He had two Game Scores under 20 and shot just 40.0% in the series.

LeBron actually was at his most efficient in this run. He shot 56.5% over the 20 games, but he had a career low in assists and rebounds. The difference between Jordan and LeBron again came down to consistency. He had six games with Game Scores below 20, including a -0.1 clunker in the Eastern Conference Finals. Jordan never had a negative score in a playoff game.

Jordan age 30 (1994)						James age 30 (2015)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
						W	20	8-18	6	7	13.8
						W	30	11-22	9	7	20.8
						W	31	13-26	11	4	27.1
						W	27	10-24	10	8	18.1
						L	19	9-22	15	9	15.3
						W	33	13-29	8	5	24.1
						L	27	8-25	8	14	18.4
						W	25	10-30	14	8	11.4
						W	38	14-24	12	6	38.1
						W	15	7-23	9	11	7.9
						W	31	12-26	8	6	20.0
						W	30	10-22	9	11	24.5
						W	37	14-37	18	13	29.0
						W	23	10-20	9	7	20.3
						L	44	18-38	8	6	24.8
						W	39	11-35	16	11	28.9
						W	40	14-34	12	8	31.6
						L	20	7-22	12	8	11.4
						L	40	15-34	14	11	30.7
						L	32	13-33	18	9	20.2
Averages						Averages
						14-6	30.1	41.7%	11.3	8.5	21.8

At age 30, Jordan famously decided to retire and pursue a baseball career. So he essentially punted on this season.

LeBron, meanwhile, left Miami after four straight Finals runs to go back to Cleveland where he teamed up with Kyrie Irvin and Kevin Love. This trio, though, wasn't as good as the one he left in Miami and LeBron had to shoulder more of the load in the playoffs. When Irving got hurt in the Finals, it was pretty much all LeBron. His stat lines show it. He averaged a career playoff high in rebounds and assists and his scoring ticked back up over 30 a game. But he had to work extremely hard for it. His shooting percentage dropped from 57 percent in Miami to 42 percent. That inefficiency dragged down his Game Scores. Still, you have to give this year to LeBron because Jordan wasn't playing.

Jordan age 31 (1995)						James age 31 (2016)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
W	48	18-32	9	8	39.8	W	22	9-17	6	11	24.8
L	32	13-25	7	7	19.7	W	27	12-18	6	3	19.5
W	25	9-19	6	3	17.8	W	20	8-24	13	7	9.7
W	24	8-21	4	5	15.6	W	22	9-19	11	6	19.0
L	19	8-22	5	3	2.6	W	25	11-21	7	9	23.6
W	38	17-30	7	3	30.4	W	27	9-15	4	5	22.6
L	40	15-31	7	4	26.3	W	24	8-16	13	8	21.7
W	26	9-21	7	3	19.1	W	21	10-23	10	9	14.9
L	39	15-28	4	2	31.0	W	24	11-13	6	4	21.4
L	24	8-19	9	7	19.9	W	23	7-13	11	11	25.1
						L	24	9-17	8	5	21.2
						L	29	11-16	9	6	31.2
						W	23	10-17	6	8	21.6
						W	33	13-22	11	6	29.2
						L	23	9-21	12	9	20.9
						L	19	7-17	8	9	15.1
						W	32	14-26	11	6	23.5
						L	25	11-21	13	9	21.2
						W	41	16-30	16	7	39.2
						W	41	16-27	8	11	42.5
						W	27	9-24	11	11	23.1
Averages						Averages
5-5	31.5	48.4%	6.5	4.5	22.2	16-5	26.3	52.5%	9.5	7.6	23.4

The age 31 year was LeBron's greatest accomplishment. Down 3-1 to the record-setting 73-win Golden State Warriors, James had monster games in five and six to force a game seven and then a solid one in game seven to lead the Cavaliers to their first NBA title.

Jordan's age 31 year was his one slip up over eight seasons. He came back from baseball late in the season and wasn't sharp enough to lead the Bulls past Orlando without Horace Grant.

LeBron was the better player in this playoff run.

Jordan age 32 (1996)						James age 32 (2017)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
W	35	13-22	4	2	22.7	W	32	12-20	6	13	31.7
W	29	9-17	4	4	24.5	W	25	11-20	10	7	20.1
W	26	10-23	3	2	19.6	W	41	14-27	13	12	35.4
W	44	17-35	5	2	27.0	W	33	13-25	10	4	26.3
W	28	11-25	5	5	22.1	W	35	13-23	10	4	28.2
L	46	17-35	4	2	28.1	W	39	10-14	6	4	36.0
W	27	7-23	8	8	22.4	W	35	9-16	8	7	29.9
W	35	13-29	2	5	22.0	W	35	11-22	9	6	25.2
W	21	9-17	7	4	15.8	W	38	14-24	9	7	33.6
W	35	9-21	5	6	31.5	W	30	12-18	4	7	32.2
W	17	5-14	7	4	13.6	L	11	4-13	6	6	3.6
W	45	16-23	3	5	34.6	W	34	15-27	5	6	21.5
W	28	9-18	7	2	21.2	W	35	13-18	8	8	34.9
W	29	9-22	6	8	21.8	L	28	9-20	15	8	19.1
W	36	11-23	3	5	28.1	L	29	12-18	11	14	32.8
L	23	6-19	3	2	9.8	L	39	15-27	11	9	32.4
L	26	11-22	4	1	15.1	W	31	11-22	10	11	27.7
W	22	5-19	9	7	14.9	L	41	19-30	13	8	36.2
Averages						Averages
15-3	30.7	45.9%	4.9	4.1	21.1	13-5	32.8	56.4%	8.2	6.7	25.3

Comparisons at age 32 are interesting. This was Jordan's return to the NBA championship circle. A year after losing to the Magic, the Bulls picked up Dennis Rodman, set an NBA record with 72 wins and then went 15-3 in the playoffs.

Jordan, though, was ordinary by his lofty standards. In 18 playoff games, he only had two great games (game scores of 30+) versus six bad games (game scores of below 20). In the Last Dance documentary, Jordan is dismissive of the defense played on him by Gary Payton in the last three games of the Finals. But the numbers don't lie, Jordan was just 22-60 in those final three games. The Bulls lost the first two and essentially won the final one in spite of Jordan's play.

James, on the other hand, had one of his best playoff runs yet. In 18 games, he only had two bad games versus eight great games. He was especially good in the Finals, averaging 33.6 points on 56 percent shooting, along with 12 rebounds and 10 assist. It rivals any Finals by any player. Unfortunately, James' Cavs ran into a Golden State team that had added Kevin Durant and the Warriors won in five games.

So LeBron was clearly the better player, but Jordan moved ahead in NBA Titles, 4-3.

Jordan age 33 (1997)						James age 33 (2018)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
W	29	12-25	8	8	21.3	L	24	7-17	10	12	23.8
W	55	22-35	7	2	42.8	W	46	17-24	12	5	40.9
W	28	14-24	2	6	19.9	L	28	10-22	12	8	21.5
W	34	13-25	11	6	31.1	W	32	12-22	13	7	29.8
L	27	12-29	16	6	21.8	W	44	14-24	10	8	38.1
W	21	8-20	9	3	13.4	L	22	7-16	5	7	17.2
W	27	12-22	8	4	18.9	W	45	16-25	8	7	38.8
W	24	9-23	7	7	19.3	W	26	12-30	11	13	20.8
W	37	15-31	9	3	24.6	W	43	19-28	8	14	41.6
W	23	4-15	9	3	21.6	W	38	14-26	6	7	31.0
W	34	14-25	8	1	23.2	W	29	12-19	8	11	29.3
L	29	9-35	8	1	10.2	L	15	5-16	7	9	7.8
W	28	11-31	6	5	13.8	L	42	16-29	10	12	31.4
W	31	13-27	4	8	23.2	W	27	8-12	5	12	30.5
W	38	11-20	13	9	34.0	W	44	17-28	5	3	27.4
L	26	9-22	3	6	19.9	L	26	11-22	10	5	15.3
L	22	11-27	4	4	7.7	W	46	17-33	11	9	38.8
W	38	13-27	7	5	29.4	W	35	12-24	15	9	24.4
W	39	15-35	11	4	26.1	L	51	19-32	8	8	41.3
						L	29	10-20	9	13	26.6
						L	33	13-28	10	11	28.7
						L	23	7-13	7	8	16.7
Averages						Averages
15-4	31.1	45.6%	7.9	4.8	22.2	12-10	34.0	53.9%	9.1	9.0	28.3

Jordan and James at age 33 is the last direct playoff comparison we can make and it's essentially the same as when they were 32.

The Bulls cruised to their fifth title in seven years. Chicago never trailed in a series. Jordan rebounded more this year, but essentially he wasn't asked to do nearly as much as he was when he was younger. The points were harder to come by, though. He shot below 46 percent for the playoffs.

James and the Cavs again ran into the Warriors and were swept. It took Cleveland seven games to get to the Finals. Without Kyrie Irving, James stepped up his game even more. It's hard to imagine a player ever again putting together a playoff line of 34.0/9.1/9.0 again.

James, again, was clearly the better player, but Jordan was now ahead 5-3 in rings.

Jordan age 34 (1998)						James age 34 (2019)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
W	39	11-27	7	3	24.6
W	32	9-19	4	2	20.0
W	38	16-22	4	3	32.6
W	35	11-26	11	4	26.8
L	22	10-21	5	6	16.2
W	27	9-20	5	6	19.9
W	31	14-31	3	4	17.2
W	33	15-29	4	3	23.5
W	31	11-28	6	1	22.3
W	41	13-22	4	5	37.1
L	30	9-22	4	7	18.7
L	28	12-27	5	2	11.0
W	29	12-20	7	4	25.6
L	35	12-23	5	2	23.0
W	28	9-25	9	8	19.2
L	33	13-29	3	2	20.0
W	37	14-33	5	3	24.8
W	24	7-14	3	2	18.6
W	34	12-27	8	2	21.5
L	28	9-26	4	4	14.8
W	45	15-35	1	4	28.5
Averages						Averages
15-6	32.4	46.2%	5.1	3.7	22.2

At age 34, Jordan had the story book finish. His steal on Karl Malone and free-throw line jump shot sealed Chicago's sixth title in eight years and cemented his major claim to GOAT - the 6-0 record in NBA Finals.

Statistically, Jordan was far from the player he was in the first three-peat. He continued to score at a high rate, but his shooting percentage was barely above 46 percent. He rarely rebounded and his assist total was at its lowest ever.

Still, he wins this year because LeBron's age 34 was a disaster. He switched to the Los Angeles Lakers and just when the team was surging in, he suffered a groin injury and the Lakers missed the playoffs.

Jordan age 35 (1999)						James age 35 (2020)
W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score	W-L	Pt	FG	R	A	Score
						L	23	9-20	17	16	25.1
						W	10	4-11	6	7	6.2
						W	38	11-18	12	8	30.2
						W	30	10-12	6	10	31.9
						W	36	14-19	10	10	34.6
						L	20	7-15	8	7	16.2
						W	28	10-17	11	9	25.7
						W	36	13-23	7	5	30.5
						W	16	7-17	15	9	15.9
						W	29	9-18	11	7	26.1
						W	15	6-11	6	12	16.1
						W	26	10-20	11	4	17.1
						L	30	14-23	10	11	27.2
						W	26	7-18	9	8	22.9
						W	38	15-25	16	10	37.3
						W	25	9-17	13	9	24.7
						W	33	14-25	9	9	30.6
						L	25	9-16	10	8	17.8
						W	28	8-16	12	8	23.4
						L	40	15-21	13	7	39.1
						W	28	13-20	14	10	29.2
Averages						Averages
						16-5	27.6	56.0%	10.8	8.8	25.1

At age 35, Jordan probably should have been chasing championship No. 7, but the Bulls' collection of superegos (Krause, Jackson and Jordan) couldn't keep it together and Jordan chose to retire again.

James at age 35 completed another strong playoff run and picked up NBA Title No. 4. This playoff run, James was more consistent than ever. He only had Game Score below 10 and just six below 20 in 21 playoff games. He had seven above 30. The LeBron James who would occasionally disappear in a game, that player seems to be gone.

LeBron did play fewer minutes, but he seems to still be in his prime. His No. 2, Anthony Davis, is in his prime and the Lakers have more maneuverability this winter to improve the roster. Jordan's six titles are not out of reach.

Michael Jordan						LeBron James
Year	Age	Playoff Record	Finals	Champ	Avg. Game Score	Year	Age	Playoff Record	Finals	Champ	Avg. Game Score
1985	21	1-3			24.6	2006	21	7-6			20.5
1986	22	0-3			30.6	2007	22	12-8	1		19.9
1987	23	0-3			26.9	2008	23	7-6			21.1
1988	24	4-6			27.2	2009	24	10-4			27.8
1989	25	9-8			27.8	2010	25	6-5			25.4
1990	26	10-6			29.0	2011	26	14-7	2		19.4
1991	27	15-2	1	1	27.4	2012	27	16-7	3	1	24.1
1992	28	15-7	2	2	25.1	2013	28	16-7	4	2	22.1
1993	29	15-4	3	3	26.2	2014	29	13-7	5		22.7
1994	30					2015	30	14-6	6		21.8
1995	31	5-5			22.2	2016	31	16-5	7	3	23.4
1996	32	15-3	4	4	21.1	2017	32	13-5	8		25.3
1997	33	15-4	5	5	22.2	2018	33	12-10	9		28.3
1998	34	15-6	6	6	22.2	2019	34
1999						2020	35	16-5	10	4	25.1

If you look at their careers, you'll see LeBron was a bigger winner earlier while Jordan was clearly the more dominant player. Then Jordan began winning titles and was the greater player in their late 20s.

After returning from retirement No. 1, though, LeBron has been the more dominant player while Jordan was the bigger winner. With Davis in his prime, LeBron could erase the winners gap.