Would LeBron Be A 6x Champ With Bulls?

I'm sure we are all sick of the GOAT debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan, but instead of the same old "Jordan is 6-6 in the finals" argument let's actually take the time out to analyze each one of those six championships.

To me, I don't judge a player based on their NBA Finals record, but instead I would like to look at the bigger picture. Starting with Jordan's first NBA Championship, this could quite possibly be Jordan's most impressive victory of them all. Matched up against against Magic Johnson, Vlade Divac, and James Worthy. The talent on the court was undeniable, but at the same time only Magic Johnson was truly in his prime at the time. Vlade was still new to the NBA, and Worthy was in the last years of his career.

Those are three good players, there's no denying that, but are those three a bigger challenge than the likes of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker? Not to mention that all three of them are hall of famers and were in the prime of their career's while being coached by one of the all-time great's in Greg Popovic. There was also a player named Kawhi Leonard on that team, so it's pretty safe to say they were completely stacked.

The best part about that is that may not even be the toughest competition James has ever faced in an NBA finals. We'll never forget potentially four hall of famers in Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green?! That team redefined what a super-team was. James made history in a losing effort as he averaged 33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists in the series, becoming the first player to record a triple-double average in the NBA Finals. Can we honestly blame him for losing to these teams? To me the answer is a clear cut no.

Moving on, in 1992 Jordan matched up vs the Portland Trailblazers it was basically Jordan vs Drexler. This truly did cement the reputations of both Michael Jordan and Clyde Drexler, placing the latter firmly in the former's shadow. Besides Drexler, Portland came equipped with all-defensive player in David Robinson. So was Portland a good team? Yes, I believe so, but was it a fully loaded roster, no. Every single time LeBron James has been to the NBA Finals the other team always had someone on their roster who was on the all-defensive team that year.

In '93 Jordan matched up against Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns. Barkley played fantastic basketball, but Jordan was just the superior player. In this series Phoenix also had Dan Majerle, but no other true all-star. The talent on the floor was clearly in favor of the Bulls as they had first team all-defensive players in Dennis Rodman, and Scottie Pippen who was also named to the all-star team. Jordan never led his team in rebounds in a single game in that series, and was out-assisted by his teammates in all but 2 of those games. Is this nit-picking or is it just a fact that Jordan was always equipped with highly talented teammates?

Before we move onto Jordan's fourth championship it would be impossible not to note the fact that while Jordan had his hiatus from basketball from 1994-95 the Bulls were still very much a threat in the Eastern Conference without him. In fact in 1994 the Bulls finished the season with a 55-27 record without Jordan, only one less win than the year prior with him. To put that into perspective when LeBron James left Cleveland in 2018 for Los Angeles the Cavaliers went from making the finals four straight years to becoming an instant lottery team finishing the following season 19-63 without him.

In '96 Jordan faced a team that came equipped with Shawn Kemp, who at the time was first team all NBA that year, and also future hall of famer, Gary Payton. Payton was also on the all-defensive squad that year and was without a doubt a high talent. Once again Jordan went into this series locked and loaded with his favorite one-two punch in Rodman/Pippen, and once again they came to play. Rodman led the team in rebounds every single game that series and Pippen lead the way with a team high in assists 4 out of the 6 games (Ron Harper, and Michael Jordan were the other two remaining games). My point is here, this championship was solely a team effort.

97-98 were very similar to 1996 as Jordan was matched up against two future hall-of-famers in John Stockton and Karl Malone. Both players were also first-team-all-NBA and all-defensive players as well. Jordan still had his squad with him as Pippen was still an all-time offensive/defensive player and Rodman still held down the boards leading the way in almost every single game of the NBA Finals. Out of the twelve NBA Finals games played between the Jazz/Bulls, Jordan only lead the way in all three categories one game. The reason I keep harping on this fact is because LeBron James has never had a supporting cast around him and in every single NBA Finals he's been in he's never had a teammate average more points, assists, or rebounds per game than him. He has been a one man wrecking crew who has made all of his teammates better players while still elevating his own game. Some perspective on LeBron James' last four NBA Finals losses:

In 2014 James' last year in Miami LeBron's +/- while off and on the court spoke for itself. While LeBron was on the court the Heat shot 53% from the field with a +11 point differential. While LeBron rested (which wasn't long), the Heat shot 42% from the field with a -24 point differential.

In 2015 LeBron James became the first player to ever lead all players on both teams outright in points per game, assists per game, and rebounds per game and he still lost!

2017 was the year LeBron became the first player to ever average a triple double and the point differential average per game was -31 with LeBron off the court. He had absolutely no reliable support. 2018 was very similar to the year prior as James' averaged almost 47 minutes per game while shooting over 50% from the field and well over 30 points per game. Not to mention that he was half an assist per game shy from once again averaging a triple double, yet once again fell short.

I truly believe if LeBron was tasked with the same challenge's Jordan faced in his career LeBron would also be a 6x champion with 6 NBA Finals MVP's. Below is a picture that puts some perspective on the amount of talent on the court for each player in their NBA Finals appearances.