Everyone wants to look at LeBron James’s career through a microscope, comparing his accomplishments to that of Michael Jordan.
His Airness has more rings over the course of his career, and you could make the case that he never had to leave his team and form a “Super Team” to do it — although the 1996 Chicago Bulls were as super of a team as there ever was.
While it’s fair to compare what they’ve each achieved on the basketball court, contrasting the two players is an apples-and-oranges kind of conversation. You can better compare these five former NBA stars to James.
1. Adrian Dantley
The 6-foot-5 forward was a bit shorter than James, coming in at just 6-foot-5 and 208 pounds. He was under-appreciated for the kind of player he was, in large part because he played the majority of his career on non-title contenders. He did get his chance as a 31-year-old on the 1987–88 Detroit Pistons, but that team fell short in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. By that time, he was no longer one of the top players in the league anymore — and not even the best player on his own team.
2. Scottie Pippen
The skills are extremely similar, but Pippen was nowhere near as dominant in the game as LeBron is. They say that James wouldn’t have won anything without Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, or Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, but what about Pippen? The best he could muster without Jordan was a second-round exit against the New York Knicks. He was a great player, and the skills certainly align in many ways, but Pippen was no LeBron.
3. Julius Erving
Erving’s best season in his NBA career was in 1979–80, when he averaged 26.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game. He was known as much for his style on the court and personality as he was as a player, which is part of what makes the comparison between Erving and James feel so right. He went on to win his first and only NBA championship with the 76ers in 1982–83.
4. Magic Johnson
Johnson was a point guard, while James plays small forward (and some power forward). But that doesn’t really matter, in this comparison. Both players saw themselves as facilitators of the offense; they had the ability to score when needed, and they were great rebounders for how much they were involved in other aspects of the game. They may not have played the same position, but James and Magic are as close in style of play on the court as you can get.
5. Oscar Robertson
Robertson finally won an NBA championship after moving to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1970–71, teaming up with a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Robertson played 10 seasons in the NBA before finally moving to a better team with a better star alongside him to get an opportunity to win a championship. He was traded, of course, and didn’t do a TV special to announce his decision to make the move, so it’s not exactly the same. But as far as skills on the court go, Robertson is as close as you can get to LeBron James.
Source: Ryan Davis/ Cheatsheet.com