Every NBA season, discussions about the greatest basketball player inevitably revolve around Michael Jordan and LeBron James. The passion and banter in living rooms and sports bars are palpable, with fans staunchly defending their favorite. To settle the debate, many turn to the stats.

Jordan, a ten-time scoring champion, is celebrated as one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history. His 1988 Defensive Player of the Year award and ten All-Defensive First Team selections highlight his defensive prowess. In contrast, LeBron James, while the all-time leading scorer among forwards, has a different playing style and fewer All-Defensive First Team honors.

LeBron’s longevity in the game—over 20 years as a top performer—is truly exceptional. He leads in ‘value over replacement,’ a metric quantifying a player’s overall impact on a team. This statistic reflects his scoring, playmaking, rebounding, and defensive versatility. But some attribute the point difference between him and Jordan to this extended career.

The debate continues, with fans often swayed by personal preferences and the aspects of the game they value most. In the end, both players are basketball legends who’ve left an indelible mark on the sport, and the discussion of their greatness is likely to endure for years to come.