LeBron James (pro) needs one more ring to have a better career than Michael Jordan (con).

I believe LeBron James will go down as the greatest basketball player of all time. He is much closer to Michael Jordan than people realize. All he needs is one more championship of the same quality as his others. Jordan and LeBron have actually had similar career paths. They were drafted into situations with subpar talent, in contrast to Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, etc. As such, they didn't really have a chance of winning a championship for the first several years of their respective careers. The first decent supporting cast for Jordan likely came in 1990. There was no Pippen the first three years, and Pippen was still developing in the next two years. Individually, Jordan likely became the best player in the league around 1988, his 4th year in the league. It took Jordan's team 2 years (1988 and 1989) to catch up. In 1990, they went to game 7 of the ECF and lost to the Pistons, who went on to dominate an underwhelming Blazers finalist in 5 games. So if the Bulls win that game 7, they likely go on to win the championship. If there is any black mark on Jordan's career, this is it. For LeBron, it's a little murkier. Like Jordan, he spent the first three seasons ascending to superstardom. In his 4th year, he officially claimed his rightful throne as the best in the NBA (sorry Kobe fans). He got to the Finals in 2007, but they had absolutely no chance vs the Spurs with 3 Hall of Famers and their defensive dynasty. The 2008 Celtics also had 3 Hall of Famers and went on to win the championship. Perhaps LeBron should have beaten the 2009 Magic, who had a really good team, but not one with incredible talent. Still, LeBron had one of his best series ever (39-8-8!), and they weren't beating that 2009 Lakers team anyway, who I believe was the best team of the decade save for maybe the 2001 Lakers. In 2010, he came across the same Boston team that had a peak Rondo to go with 3 Hall of Famers (although slightly worse this time). It's important to note that LeBron's best teammate during his first Cleveland run was none other than Mo Williams. Then came the 2011 NBA Finals. I must admit, this is probably the one series holding LeBron back the most. He was awful, and I place the blame on him 100%. The Heat had no business losing this series, and LeBron collapsed completely. So if we look at the first phase of their respective careers, we can notice a pattern: individual improvement (1985-1987 for Jordan, 2004-2006 for LeBron), then the "my team sucks" eras (1988-1989 for Jordan, 2007-2010 for LeBron). Then they had one personal failure before they broke through (1990 for Jordan, 2011 for LeBron). While LeBron's failure is much worse than Jordan's, I would argue LeBron had a more impressive career before this. He had an incredible run to the 2007 Finals, and was the best player in the NBA over a longer stretch. Then came the next phase: Being the best player in the Finals every single season. For Jordan, this is pretty clear: He won 6 NBA Finals in the 1990's, with a two year break that included a brief retirement in 1994 and a comeback in 1995. While I won't hold specifically the loss in 1995 against Jordan, I refuse to give him two "hypothetical" championships. For LeBron, he was clearly the best player from 2012-2016, 5 years in a row. His 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016 Finals need no further discussion. His 2014 Finals was not very inspiring, but that Heat team was woefully overmatched. Wade had become an average player due to knee injuries, and they were starting two terrible players in Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen. Battier was unplayable, Lewis and Allen could shoot, but they couldn't guard anyone due to age. Bosh was decent, but not a top 25 player, as he also had been worn down going to 4 straight Finals. LeBron was clearly the best player in the series. The 2017 Finals are really hard to evaluate: On one hand, it may have been LeBron's best series: I believe the 2017 Warriors would beat any team in history, and LeBron had a 30 point triple double average on efficient shooting. However, he struggled mightily on defense. Still, I don't think Durant necessarily outplayed him (he doesn't create nearly as much for his team), but I will grant him a draw. It would natural to assume that Jordan has a little bit of an edge at this point. We've had to give LeBron a few more "breaks" than Jordan. But my argument is that LeBron will pass Michael Jordan, and that he will only need one more ring to do it. Let's take LeBron's now 4 hypothetical championships and pit them against Jordan's 4 best championships. 1993 NBA Finals (vs. Suns) and 2016 NBA Finals (vs. Warriors) This one goes to LeBron. Jordan was incredible in these Finals, averaging over 40 points a game, but the quality of opponents aren't even close. Sure, the Suns were a really good team led by Charles Barkley, but their next best player was Dan Majerle. Sorry. LeBron was a heavy underdog going into the series, and for good reason: the Warriors won an NBA record 73 games, had 2 top 10 players, an incredible sharpshooter in Klay Thompson, and great bench players in Iguodala and Livingston. LeBron led both teams in each statistical category. 1991 NBA Finals (vs. Lakers) and 2012 NBA Finals (vs. Thunder) This happens to be each's first championship, and I will call this one a draw. Jordan probably had slightly better individual numbers (31-11-6), and beat the tail end of the showtime Lakers. But LeBron was also fantastic, and was actually an underdog going into this series, due to the Thunder absolutely dismantling a great Spurs team. The Thunder had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and an actually good Serge Ibaka. Granted, LeBron still had a tail end of prime Wade in this series, but his effectiveness is pretty comparable with Pippen. Bosh started to decline this season and suffered a serious injury in the playoffs. The team qualities were very similar. So I believe the Heat beat a better team while Jordan and LeBron had equal supporting casts, but also I believe that Jordan's individual line was incredible. 1998 NBA Finals (vs. Jazz) and Hypothetical Finals X This one is also kind of comparable, because we are now dealing with the last championship of each's career. To me, this was Jordan's 3rd best title, because although his efficiency and production weren't as impressive, it came with a hurt Scottie Pippen. Everyone remembers the ending in the famous Game 6 in Utah, a fitting end to an incredible career. Now let's consider, for instance, if LeBron takes down West Dynasty X this year (GSW or Houston). This would likely be the most impressive championship of his career, perhaps surpassing the legendary 2016 series, considering his current team strength. But even if he switches teams this offseason (to anyone except Houston), any team he goes to will still be an underdog against this Warriors juggernaut. Any victory over them while still in his prime will be considered to be a more impressive title than this Jordan championship, just based on his current level of play and opponent quality. So I'm giving this one to LeBron, and I actually think it's clear. 1992 NBA Finals (vs. Blazers) and 2013 NBA Finals (vs. Spurs) Jordan was typically great, but the quality of opponent hurts him again. Clyde Drexler and Cliff Robinson? Meanwhile, this stat line might be the least impressive of LeBron's 4 championships, but they played a Spurs team with 3 Hall of Famers, a young Kawhi Leonard, and a legendary Spurs coach/system. It's also worth noting that LeBron was brilliant in Games 6 and 7, and that Wade suffered a knee injury in the playoffs that began the decline of his career (he only averaged 16 points a game in the playoffs). I believe this one goes clearly to LeBron. So I now believe that LeBron's 4 best championships will stack up very well against Jordan's. But that still leaves 2 for Jordan, the 1996 and 1997 NBA titles. I believe these championships are highly overrated, from the perspective of Jordan's individual greatness. The Bulls won 141 games in these two seasons, which is an NBA record for a two season stretch. So how is it possible that Jordan could take two years off, come back at 33, and be better than ever? Answer: it isn't. I believe the 1991-1993 (and 1998) Bulls were about the greatness of Michael Jordan. I believe the 1996-1997 Bulls were about the greatness of the Chicago Bulls. They were absolutely loaded. Pippen was at his absolute peak, and rivaled Jordan in terms of two-way effectiveness. Rodman was the Draymond Green of the 90's. They had Harper, Kukoc, two players who were well above average, and an incredibly accurate sharpshooter in Steve Kerr. The playoffs were never seriously competitive. The flu game was great, but Jordan was playing below an all time level to get the series there in the first place. To me, LeBron's 2015 Finals (and overall playoff run) is easily more impressive than either of these championships. He carried the Cavs with a terrible squad, beat a good Bulls team without Kevin Love and half of Kyrie Irving, and then swept a 60 win Hawks team with 4 all stars under the same circumstances. He then took a 67 win team to 6 competitive games. If you want to give an edge to Jordan in comparing another one of LeBron's finals series (2017?), that's fine. I think LeBron's 6 best Finals performances, including this hypothetical championship, will prove to clearly outrank Jordan's. His 4 best titles are either better or the same, his best loss is more impressive than either Jordan championship from 96 or 97. His career before they started winning titles is no worse. For this round, I focused on flipping the Finals narrative and compared/contrasted their respective career arcs, team strengths, and quality of opponents. In the next, I will respond to arguments and also introduce an analytics based approach that evaluates their actual skills. I believe LeBron will still come out ahead.