Hey folks! As you know, real life is making it hard for me to update articles lately. Luckily, my friend Andres Alvarez (@nerdnumbers) has agreed to step up and help fill the void. Today, Dre takes on one of our favorite arguments: RINGZ.
The narrative we often hear when it comes to LeBron James is that he is in Jordan's shadow. "COUNT THE RINGZ!" has been a common argument against LeBron whenever the two are compared. And, of course, now that Bron has a ring, the question is whether he can ever get enough to be considered elite like Michael and Kobe? I do consider rings to be a foolish metric of greatness. A lot of this can boil down to luck. Hakeem can thank his stars that Jordan "retired" and Clyde Drexler decided to hop ship. Now, that said, a very common fact eludes many: If we're examining where LeBron is in his career relative to where Jordan was in his at the same age, it's Jordan that needs to keep pace, not the other way around!
The Regular Season
In 1984, Michael Jordan entered the NBA as a 21 year and 257 day old player. He had spent three years at the Unversity of North Carolina where he eventually won an NCAA title. In 2006, LeBron James entrered the NBA as a 21 year and 311 day old player. He had spent three years playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. For this he earned millions in salary and sponsorships. The pinaccle of his career thus far was winning 50 games and taking the Detroit Pistons to seven games in the second round of the NBA playoffs. Of course, these scenarios are apples to oranges. NCAA vs. NBA fans can start fighting now. Let's get on to comparing Jordan and James' careers in the NBA.
*Two notes on the above chart. LeBron's 6th year was the lockout shortened season. For a full 82 game season, LeBron would have earned 21.5 wins, roughly the same as Jordan's 21.9. Also, in 2013 I have moved LeBron to an SF. We are comparing Jordan's early career as a SG vs. LeBron's early career as a SF
This season marks an important point in LeBron's career. At the same age, this is the season that Jordan won his first title. The question we can ask is how well Jordan and Bron played over the same stretch. The a funny tale. In Jordan's first 7 seasons he earned 127.0 wins. Guess what? LeBron James earned 135.5 wins in the same span! If we go per-minute this puts Jordan at 0.310 WP48 (three times above average) vs. James at 0.317 WP48. We can see that per-minute the performance was roughly the same. A combination of Jordan missing most of his second season and the lockout shortened 2012 results in LeBron being slightly ahead. It is true that Jordan's 1989 is arguably the best season of the bunch. Of course, others will say LeBrons 2013 ranks higher. (If there isn't a post from Arturo on this subject out there, make sure to heckle him!)
Regardless, if both players started at the same time and played as they have (I know, it's hypothetical!) Jordan would actually be behind Bron. In terms of accolades LeBron James has already won three MVPs and is a lock for his fourth. At this point Jordan had *only* won two MVPs (although, he had also won a defensive player of the year in 1989) In short, LeBron is ahead of Jordan in terms of mainstream accomplishments as well.
The Playoffs
Alright, well we all know that the playoffs are what decides a player's worth. And with six finals MVP, Jordan is second only to Bill Russell in terms of measuring greatness. At least, that's the mainstream thinking. And here we'll find that Jordan is once again short of LeBron.
In Jordan's first seven post seasons he earned 18.1 wins. In the same span (and understand, we still haven't included this season's numbers) LeBron sits at 22.1! What's more, LeBron's 2008-2009 season was the best individual performance. On a per-minute basis things do slide a bit toward Jordan. Jordan's has a 0.295 WP48 for the post-season. LeBron on the other hand has a 0.241 WP48.
It took Jordan a longer time to get a supporting cast to go far in the playoffs. James on the other hand has already made it to three finals, won a title and a finals MVP. That's excluding this season. Jordan's post season career is well behind LeBron's at this point. By the "count the rings" logic, Jordan is a weaker player than Bron.
Summing up a legacy
We remember Jordan as great because he was. His six rings did involve a lot of Jordan playing at a top level. It's worth noting that 1991 was when Jordan peaked in terms of post season play and he peaked in 1989 in terms of regular season play. The reason Jordan went on to win six rings had an awful lot to do with Dennis Rodman hopping ship, and Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen staying put. Yes, Jordan was an all-time great. But to compare an in progress LeBron to Jordan's entire career, and to use team accomplishments to do it, is just silly. And if we're going to compare Jordan to LeBron, what we have to accept is that Jordan is the one that needs to catch up, not the other way around.
-Dre