23: The GOAT Case For LeBron James

The most contentious debate in sports has been captured by the likes of two men. For years the world was of a consensus opinion that Michael Jordan was a soul unequaled on the basketball court. So strongly was this idea presumed that the base of his statue in Chicago even bears the words "The best there ever was. The best there ever will be." But somewhere around the year 2016, things began to change. A kid from Akron who had burst onto the scene a decade before had won his third championship in spectacular fashion. After coming back down 3 games to 1 in that year's NBA Finals against the best regular season team in history, LeBron James had people asking if this was the single greatest achievement ever seen in the sport. And if it was, could that make LeBron the single greatest player? Living rooms and barbershops alike have been alight ever since with the heat of one debate: LeBron or Jordan? And for just as long, the saddle of fallacious arguments and unfair assumptions has burdened so many of the voices claiming authority on the matter. But as of now, with the close of the 2025 NBA season behind us, the debate has entered a splendid new realm of parity. Michael Jordan played in the NBA until he was forty years old. LeBron James has now also finished his age-forty season. Finally we have a measuring stick that is both natural and fair with which to judge the accomplishments of these two men. The story of this book is a cohesive examination of every aspect of their games, every angle on their arguments, and every bit of data that supports or hinders them. The answer is a resounding one: the greatest basketball player of all time is none other than LeBron Raymone James.