**TL;DR** — **Michael Jordan stands apart from any contender to his crown** As is the case when assessing an athlete’s legacy, the first port of call is the statistics. Jordan won 6 NBA Championships and 6 NBA Finals MVPs, the last of which remains the record with LeBron James’s 4 the next closest. The 6 championships alone are impressive but Jordan won the title each time he reached the finals. These titles came as part of two separate ‘three-peats’, something which only the 2000-2002 Los Angeles Lakers have done since. Outside of the NBA Finals, Jordan won the MVP 5 times, tied for second behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, having also won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1988. He was an All-Star on 14 occasions, made the All-NBA First Team 10 times, the All-Defensive First Team 9 times (the all-time record) and led the league in scoring 10 times (the all-time record). An additional note to Jordan’s scoring is that he still holds the all-time record for points per game (ppg) average at 30.12. Other all-time records Jordan holds include the record scoring average in an NBA Finals series (41.0), ppg in playoffs (33.4). Some have a claim to be in the conversation for the greatest basketball player ever, such as LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan to name a few. James in particular is in the conversation but his record in the NBA Finals is a knock on his resumé. In short, a few can challenge Jordan in certain areas, but none have such a complete resumé as Jordan. [Michael Jordan Records] (https://www.michaeljordansworld.com/records.htm) [Michael Jordan Statistics] (https://www.nba.com/stats/player/893/career/)

**TL;DR** - **There is a case to be made for LeBron James.** When he entered the league in 2003, James was one of the most hyped rookies in league history. He has lived up to all the lofty expectations. Jordan [has won] (https://www.nba.com/player/2544/lebron_james) 4 NBA Championships and 4 Finals MVPs with 3 different teams (Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers). He has also won NBA MVPs, has been an NBA All-Star 17 times, has been an all-NBA selection 16 times and has been selected to the NBA all-defensive team on 6 occasions. Like Jordan, the numbers tell of the greatness of James's career. However, where James excels is his longevity. As of the end of the 20/21 NBA, James has played 18 season, competing in 10 NBA Finals, including 8 consecutively. These achievements, his longevity and also the consistency of James's career in terms of scoring, rebounds and assists means he is in the GOAT conversation. Some will knock his win/loss record in the NBA finals and compare that to Jordan's 100% success rate. James cannot escape this. That said, James's legacy, when his career is done, will be far more than just finals results. He has a chance to finish as the league's all-time leading scorer for example. To that end, many can (and justly do) argue for James to be considered the GOAT.