Rockets Daryl Morey picks between Michael Jordan and LeBron James

Flawed comparison

One thing Durant is right about is that we’ll never know how Jordan would fare in today’s league, which is what makes that perspective the Houston Rockets’ GM shared even more intriguing. It’s also interesting how much differently Durant and Morey feel about this debate.

Another angle that doesn’t get discussed enough is how much better the quality of coaching was for Jordan than what LeBron has received. Sure, MJ went through four coaches through his first six seasons, but he won all his championships with Phil Jackson, whose brilliance traces back to the Houston Rockets.

The unfortunate thing about having the debate now is that there’s a new wave of basketball fans who never actually saw Jordan play, yet they’re the ones having this conversation. So they’re naturally inclined to automatically select LeBron due to the recency bias, which is also not a sound argument.

Another thing that gets lost in all of this is how much differently Jordan and LeBron’s skillsets are. LeBron has much better court vision, and has a game that resembles Magic Johnson much closer than it does Jordan. The more accurate player comparison of Jordan is Kobe Bryant, who had a burning competitive edge like Jordan, and who wanted to rip your heart out while defeating you. Kobe also didn’t care however many shots was necessary to win the game, much like Jordan.

But there’s one thing we can all agree on, which is that both LeBron and Jordan are all-time greats and were both dominant in their respective eras. Like Morey said, it’s unfair to make the comparison because, frankly it de-values one in favor of the other, and they’re both two of the best to ever play the sport.