With the Los Angeles Lakers making their only regular season trip to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls on Monday, it was inevitable that the debate between who is the better player, LeBron James or Michael Jordan, would rear its head. Prior to the Lakers’ game against the Bulls, head coach JJ Redick dropped his thoughts on the comparisons.
“I’ve always said the greatest players in any era would be great players in any era. It’s hard to compare eras and play styles, and to me it’s even harder to compare stats,” Redick said. “Jordan is one, LeBron is one, Jordan is two, LeBron is two, however you want to do it. To me, they’re the two greatest players of all time.”
“I think the biggest thing is just, you hear stories about how LeBron prepares, and I never was his teammate so I didn’t get to experience it first-hand. But now, being around him the last year and half, he’s a maniac. He’s maniacal about his approach and preparation, and every single day is centered around how do I prepare my body and my mind to play the next game,” Redick continued.
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Comparisons to Michael Jordan aside, LeBron James is currently in the midst of an unprecedented 23rd season in the NBA. He is the oldest player in the league at 41-years-old. He is the NBA’s all-time leader in career points, and still counting. Recently, James became the only player in history to reach a combined regular season and playoff points of 51,000.
This season, James has appeared in 27 games, at a little over 33 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 22.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 50.8 percent shooting from the field, 33.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 74.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
While James was not selected to be an All-Star starter, it’s highly likely that the coaches select him to his 22nd All-Star appearance.