Since winning multiple rings, LeBron James has crept his way into comparisons with Michael Jordan, the guy considered the best player of all time. Jordan reached the NBA Finals six times and won every one. James, meanwhile, has made it to eight times, including seven consecutive appearances, winning three titles.
But for Reddit user claimsman11, the aforementioned numbers are not enough. He posted a complete comparison between LeBron and Jordan’s opponents in the NBA Finals.
Considering all of Jordan’s opponents in the Finals, the offensive rating of those combined teams averaged out to fourth in the NBA and an defensive rating that averaged out to 7.5th in the league. LeBron’s foes, meanwhile, have an offensive rating that averaged out to 4.1 and a defensive rating that averaged out to 4.4.
By individual accolades, Jordan has gone up against five All-NBA 1st team members, two All-NBA 2nd, two All-NBA 3rd, three All-NBA Defense 1st team, and three All-NBA Defense 2nd tea.
LeBron has gone up against five All-NBA 1st team members, seven All-NBA 2nd, three All-NBA 3rd, six All-NBA Defense 1st team, and three All-NBA Defense 2nd team.
Both of them have gone up against two MVPs.
Another user Naabahs, commented on the thread, this time comparing LeBron and Jordan’s opponents via SRS or Simple Rating System. The metric is rating that takes into account average point differential and strength of schedule.
The user concluded that the average SRS for Jordan Finals opponents is 6.84, while the average SRS for LeBron Finals opponents is 8.20.
Apparently, the number of titles one has is not enough in determining who’s the greatest in the game. It is also determined by era and the rating of the teams they have played against.