In a recent ESPN article, writer John Hollinger explored LeBron James’ potential to surpass Michael Jordan in terms of the best PER (Player Efficiency Rating) season in modern NBA history.

As Hollinger mentioned, we cannot start comparing James to Jordan until James wins some titles.  However, while crunching some of the numbers, I noticed something else nobody is talking about.

Simply put, LeBron James is running out of time.  He is especially running out of time if he wants to win as many titles as Michael Jordan.

When I grew up and started to really appreciate this wonderful game of basketball, the NBA, NIKE, and the world were obsessed with one simple slogan:  “Be like Mike.”

But, seriously, though, can anyone “be like Mike?”

Less than a decade removed from Jordan’s final retirement, the league is still over-shadowed by his absence.  Even now, it is difficult to imagine the NBA without such a dominant star and player, as the one who won 6 NBA Championships, 5 MVP awards, and 2 Olympic Gold Medals.  Between his movies, his commercials, and his gravity-defying dunks, Jordan made the game seem so easy that I thought he’d play forever.

After watching his two years with the Washington Wizards, we are all probably glad he’s not.

MJ v. LBJ

Jordan’s career was nothing short of legendary, even though it was still about 5 titles short of matching the ringmaster Bill Russell with 11 (as a player).

We are all waiting for LeBron James to win a title.  Are we witnessing the beginning of a dynasty?  Or, are we witnessing that trying to win the title has been tougher than it should have been due to James’ supporting cast?

In his third season, Jordan led the league with 37.1 ppg, leaving the second highest scorer, Dominique Wilkins (29.9 ppg), in the dust.  Moreover, Jordan had 10 scoring titles to James’ 1.  Not only that, Jordan led the league in scoring 7 straight seasons.

In the 2009-2010 season, LeBron James said he could lead the league in scoring any time he wants, but by the end of the season he was ranked number two behind Kevin Durant.  In 2008, James led the league in scoring for his first time with 30 ppg, but so far that is his only scoring title.

Jordan lost to the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons in four consecutive playoff series, until finally, he led the Bulls to a 4-0 sweep in 1991.

It seemed like symmetry that James would have to face a tough Detroit Piston team in the playoffs for many seasons.  The only problem was that the Pistons only beat the Cavs only once in the playoffs before “Big Shot” Chauncey Billups was traded and the team fell apart.  What Jordan gained from this experience of losing so many times to one great team is something James will probably never experience.  Jordan learned toughness.  He learned grit.  And he learned that the underdog could win, which probably made him respect his opponents more once he became the “big dog.”  After losing to the Pistons, James came back in 2007 and almost single-handedly destroyed the Pistons, scoring 48 points in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and 29 of the Cavs last 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Highlights of James taking a page out of the Jordan handbook against the Detroit Pistons:

We were watching something amazing and we knew it at the time, but this series did not to transform James like some thought it would.  While some thought James had learned all he needed to know to become “the next Jordan,” it was obvious he had not when his Cavs were witnesses to a 4-0 flattening at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.

In Jordan’s first NBA Finals, his Chicago Bulls were matched up against the Los Angeles Lakers and 5-time NBA Champion and Hall of Fame point guard Magic Johnson.  After losing game one, the Bulls finished the series 4-1.  Jordan was the Final’s MVP.

In James’ first NBA Finals, James was matched up against 4-time champion and future Hall of Fame player and power forward/center Tim Duncan.  The Cavs were swept and French point guard Tony Parker won his first Final’s MVP.

For his career during the NBA Finals, Jordan averaged 33.6 ppg, 6 apg, and 6 rpg.

In his only Final’s appearance, so far, James is averaging 27.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 6 apg.  Now, that is one similarity we cannot ignore.  However, it is easily contextualized when we consider that Jordan also set an NBA Finals record for highest scoring average when he torched the Phoenix Suns for 41.0 ppg in 1993.  Jordan could score like Wilt and Kobe Bryant, but James is a more team-oriented player like Magic Johnson or Larry Bird.

Jordan scores 55 in game 5 of the 1993 Finals: 

In 1998, Jordan had the shot, the pose.  Who could forget such a moment in sports?  The sixth title.  The last title.  The last shot and plays were all Jordan’s.  Down three, Jordan scored a lay-up, stole the ball from Karl Malone, and then calmly waited until there was no time left before hitting the game-winner.

MJ highlights from the 1998 Finals, game 6: 

Here’s where we’d go into something similar for James, except all that comes to mind is last year’s playoff game-winner against the Orlando Magic.  However, the Magic would win the series, 4-2.

Jordan’s career was of such mythological proportions that every great player since him has had to withstand the comparison.

James and Jordan:  Career Honors in Review

Comparisons to Jordan and James

First, there was Kobe Bryant who was frequently compared to Jordan.  Maybe it was their position, their size, their scoring ability, their coach (Phil Jackson) that made the two players so enticing to compare.

There has been a pause in the conversation with the ascent of James, but if Bryant wins two more titles, we may have to revisit that issue.

Now, it is LeBron James who hears all the comparisons to greats like Oscar Robertson and, of course, Michael Jordan.

James is an amazing NBA player, but I sincerely doubt he will ever be as great as Jordan.  LeBron, though, has a slight chance, but he is running out of time.

How much time is left for LeBron?  Well, he was born in 1984 (Jordan’s first season), so that makes him 26 with about 9 high-level seasons left (if he plays effectively until 35, like MJ).

While it is entertaining to compare Jordan to James, and Jordan to Bryant, let’s face it:  no one is like MJ.  There will never be another.  He’s one of the great winners of all-time.

Basketball has Bill Russell with 11 titles, Jordan with 6, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and George Mikan with 5, Shaquille O’Neil, Tim Duncan, and Kobe Bryant with 4.  (And sure Robert Horry has 7, but he’s not in this conversation for some very obvious reasons).

LeBron has how many titles?  Oh, that’s right, he has 0.  In the finals, he is 0/1.  In terms of titles, there is obviously no comparison.

Looking into the annals of basketball history, to be honest, I do not think there are many (if any) valid comparisons to LeBron James.  If James improves his shooting percentages, those become even more interesting comparisons.

Perhaps, The Big “O” is closest, but they played different positions.  Robertson was a point guard, not a “small” forward, so naturally he accumulated more assists than James.  Furthermore, Robertson was the only player to ever average a triple-double for a season.  So, even this comparison falls short.

Jordan and James really cannot be compared until James wins multiple titles.

Perhaps, one way in which Jordan is similar to James’ is that his early career has been title-less. However, James, now in his 7th year, has to win this season if he wants to keep pace with Jordan, who won the first of his six titles in his 7th season.

• All statistics are from either NBA.com or ESPN.com.

R.S. De France is a College and University instructor of English Composition. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing. One of his life-long pursuits has been writing and covering anything related to sports, specifically the NBA. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.