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Do LeBron James' numbers give him edge over Michael Jordan?

Updated Mar. 21, 2022 9:46 p.m. ET

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Lebron James is now the second-greatest scorer in NBA history — at least that's what the numbers say.

"The King" surpassed Karl Malone on the NBA's all-time scoring list Saturday night, eclipsing "The Mailman's" mark of 36,928 with an easy lay-in late in the second quarter of the Lakers' 127-119 loss to the Washington Wizards.

James totaled 38 points in the defeat, and now owns sole control of the second spot all-time, with 36,947 points in all. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is first with 38,387. 

It's no secret that LBJ wants to double down as "The GOAT" when it's all said and done, and his statistics certainly give him a viable case among the game's greats. 

James has already eclipsed the consensus "GOAT" — Michael Jordan — in the scoring department. On Monday night, James added to his portfolio in another area in which he dominates Jordan — triple-doubles. 

In a return to his home state of Ohio, James led the Lakers to a 131-120 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, putting together an epic performance that included 38 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. It was his 105th career triple-double, which ranks fifth all-time. He also became the oldest player to have a triple-double that included 30-plus points.

Jordan had 28 triple-doubles in his career.

But is his statistical résumé noteworthy enough to top His Airness?

For Nick Wright, James has indeed done enough to claim the throne for himself.

"If after the 2016 Finals, if I would've asked you, ‘What does LeBron need to do?’ Unless the answer is, ‘Six rings,’ he's done it," Wright said Monday on "First Things First."

"If your argument is, ‘The Cavs should’ve beat the [Kevin Durant] Warriors', I disagree with you. Then after that, he went to L.A. for movies and all those other reasons, and won a title. … And then this year, he's averaging 30 a game, another thing no one thought was possible.

"How many times did Jordan lead the playoffs in assists? Never. LeBron did a half-dozen times. How many times did Jordan lead the playoffs in rebounds? Of course, never. LeBron did a couple of times."

However, Chris Broussard dissented, saying that numbers don't tell the whole story. His evaluation dealt more with peak performance and the eye test, arguing that statistically, few supplant Abdul-Jabbar.

"Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the all-time leading scorer and third in rebounds. Nobody ever says he's the GOAT. Larry Bird isn't in the top 30 of anything — scoring, rebounding and assists — but there's not a reputable top 10 list that doesn't include Bird in the top 10. John Stockton has nearly 6,000 more assists than Magic Johnson, yet Magic is universally regarded as the best passer of all-time."

At 30.1 PPG, Jordan has the higher career scoring average in league history, but James converts field goals at a higher percentage, boasting .505/.346/.734 shooting splits, compared to Jordan's .497/.327/.835. James also has as 54.5% effective FG%, in comparison to MJ's 50.9. 

In the postseason, Jordan widens the scoring margin, with 33.4 PPG on .487/.332/.828 shooting splits. James' lands at 28.7 PPG on .495/.337/.740 splits.

Jordan's certainly had more high-volume scoring nights. He had 173 games of 40 or more points, and 31 50-plus-point outings, with just 172 performances scoring fewer than 20 points in 1,072 total games.

For James, 69 is the total number of 40+ point games he's recorded, with 14 50-plus-point games and 279 games under 20 points in 1,363 appearances.

Do the numbers tell the whole story?

James has a few more numbers to put up, meaning the story is not quite finished.

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National Basketball Association

Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James

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NBA - Los Angeles Lakers vs. Washington Wizards - 03/20/2022

Cleveland Cavaliers

Chris Broussard

Kevin Wildes

Nick Wright

First Things First