This is an opinion piece by Ethan Gonzales, assistant sports editor at the Northern Star, and does not reflect the Northern Star’s or the sports staff’s opinion as a whole.

With LeBron James’ prime slowly coming to a close, basketball fans around the world have debated whether or not he is the greatest basketball player of all time. Unfortunately, he isn’t.

Michael Jordan, a five-time MVP, six-time NBA Finals MVP, 14-time All-Star and six-time NBA champion is the undisputed greatest basketball player of all time. Jordan was a 10-time scoring champion and a one-time Defensive Player of the Year, the latter being an award that James has never won. Jordan also finished third in all-time scoring at the end of his career, according to Basketball Reference.

It’s worth noting that Jordan accomplished all of these accolades in 15 seasons, three seasons less than James. Who knows, Jordan could have finished first all-time in scoring had he played longer.

Jordan’s six championships in six appearances is one of his most outstanding accomplishments of his career. Without recruiting All-Stars from different teams, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to championship victories over future NBA Hall of Fame inductees, including Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Karl Malone, according to Bleacher Report. 

James appeared in the NBA Finals ten times but only managed to win four times, according to the NBA. James won two championships with the Miami Heat, a team he joined in 2010 with two established All-Stars in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, according to The Sporting News. He eventually left the Heat to play with another superstar in Los Angeles, Anthony Davis.

Jordan was able to defeat NBA legends in both the regular season and playoffs with what was given to him. He never joined a more talented team to make his road to a championship easier, proving that he was the ultimate competitor. The same can’t be said about James, unfortunately.