Former Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen joined the hosts of ESPN’s First Take on Thursday morning to discuss the recent comparisons between LeBron James and Michael Jordan. As most hoops fans know, Pippen and Jordan won six championships together. To be frank, Scottie knows M.J. quite well, and the two legends are still friends to this day. However, during the show, Pippen, now 52 years of age, suggested that James’ stats are already at or above the level of Jordan’s, aside from MVP’s.
“The numbers don’t lie,” Pippen said during his appearance on Thursday morning’s episode of First Take. “He’s right there. He probably will never catch him in terms of MVP, but in terms of statistics, LeBron is right there (with Michael). And when you look across the board — not just scoring — check his assists, check his rebounds. he’s probably ahead of Jordan.”
James, now 32 years of age and in his 15th year of NBA service, is on pace to record the best statistical figures of any one season in his career. In his 28 games played for the Cavs this season, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 Draft has recorded averages of 28.2 points (career-high) on 58.3 percent shooting from the field (42.2 percent from beyond the arc), 9.0 assists, and 8.2 rebounds.
As of today, Jordan (32,292) is 4th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. James (29,576) is currently ranked 7th among the league’s top scorers in history. However, James has already passed several legends, including Jordan, in assists and rebounds. James (7,713) — a forward by trade — is 12th all-time in assists and 70th in rebounds (7,936). For the record, Jordan, the best two-guard to ever step on hardwood floor, ranks 43rd in assists (5,633) and 125th in rebounds (6,672).
Without question, the Jordan-LeBron debate will live on for years to come, and none of this is to say that one player is better than the other. In fact, LeBron has always said that M.J. is his favorite player. The simple fact of the matter is: they played two different positions, which makes for a tricky comparison, aside from sheer stats.
