James Passes Jordan

Who stands as the NBA’s GOAT has been a heated debate since the league’s inception. Diehard and casual fans alike are conditioned to think Michael Jeffry Jordan is the greatest of all time, period; like it’s not a debatable stance (IMO Kareem’s the GOAT, but I’ll leave that by the wayside). Since Jordan’s retirement regurgitating his name as the GOAT is common practice, but a lot has changed in twenty years. A massive change by the name of LeBron James has built an impressive case for himself. The Chosen One’s log of achievements distinguish him from the other, post-Jordan, contemporaries – contenders (for the crown of the greatest) like Kobe Bryant.

I’ll try not to fully open the Jordan v. LeBron can of worms but we will be hitting y’all with an argument in LBJ’s favor… Playoff scoring. A year ago today LeBron James passed Michael Jordan to be the all-time point leader in Playoff history. To sweeten the deal, LeBron’s performance lead to his sixth NBA Finals appearance. He passed MJ with a 3-pointer in the third quarter and has only built upon his record since. Jordan held the record since 1998 with a total of 5,987 (LeBron currently sits at 6,694 point as of yesterday, May 24th). Fun fact – both players wore their 14th signature shoe at the time. Even funnier, LeBron doesn’t even consider himself a scorer! His record should stand for quite some time but maybe Bronny, his son, could eclipse James. Scoring typically carries heavy weight in GOAT conversations… LeBron has already passed MJ in Playoff scoring and it’s only a matter of time before it happens in regular season scoring too. In Jordan’s defense, it took him 179 Playoff games compared to James’s 212 games to set the record. Check out the highlights and some pictures of LeBron’s LBJ 14 PEs on this beautiful FlashBackFriday #FBF.

LeBron’s 14s are extremely simple and battle ready. Dressed in all grey with maroon accents the shoes speak for themselves. It was refreshing to see James return to his signature shoes in the Playoffs, seasons prior (and later in the Finals) he would frequently play in his Solider line.