In the movie “Bad Teacher,” a student asks Bob Segel if the only argument he had for Michael Jordan being better than Lebron James was his six titles, to which Segel responded, “It’s the only argument I need, Shawn!” This weekend Jordan entered the debate, and James responded as the two entered the debate.
Many have been debating the issue this week since Breitbart Sports laid out the side-by-side, but no one expected the two subjects of the debate to speak out on the issue.
Jordan, who turns 50 this weekend, entered the frey by putting an extra player in between the two by saying Kobe Bryant was better than James due to having five titles to James one. Whether Jordan entered the debate because he was feeling some heat from James accomplishing things that even he has not during the past several games, or if he was just trying to get into James’ head to get him out of the incredible zone.
Either way, he got a reaction. James responded by noting that if that is the only stat that matters, then Bill Russell is a greater player than Jordan (11 championships to 7) and Robert Horry is better than Kobe Bryant (7-5). In fact, Jordan is just tied for the 10th greatest player if this is the criteria. In fact, Jordan is only tied for the 10th greatest player in the history of the NBA based purely on titles won due to all the teammates Russell took with him and Horry.
Here is how players rank on titles won, with the tie-breaker being how many seasons it took them to win those titles (percent of seasons ending in title):
| Rank | Player | Total won | % of seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Russell | 11 | 85% |
| 2 | Sam Jones | 10 | 83% |
| 3 | Tom Heinsohn | 8 | 89% |
| 3 | K. C. Jones | 8 | 89% |
| 5 | Tom “Satch” Sanders | 8 | 62% |
| 6 | John Havlicek | 8 | 50% |
| 7 | Jim Loscutoff | 7 | 78% |
| 7 | Frank Ramsey | 7 | 78% |
| 9 | Robert Horry | 7 | 44% |
| 10 | Bob Cousy | 6 | 43% |
| 11 | Michael Jordan | 6 | 40% |
| 12 | Scottie Pippen | 6 | 35% |
| 13 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 6 | 30% |
| 14 | George Mikan | 5 | 71% |
| 14 | Jim Pollard | 5 | 71% |
| 16 | Larry Siegfried | 5 | 56% |
| 17 | Slater Martin | 5 | 45% |
| 18 | Michael Cooper | 5 | 42% |
| 19 | Earvin “Magic” Johnson | 5 | 38% |
| 20 | Nelson, DonDon Nelson | 5 | 36% |
| 20 | Dennis Rodman | 5 | 36% |
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