Total sweeps, win and loss record, win percentage and more

The LeBron James vs Michael Jordan debate will likely never stop. These two players are considered the best of all time, which is why many basketball fans love to debate who’s better.

Nearly everyone knows that Jordan had a perfect 6-0 record in the NBA Finals. However, he had to go through many struggles to get there. LeBron, on the other hand, has won only four championships, but has advanced to the final stage 10 times.

Due to the reports of LeBron James’ retirement, let’s take a look at how well these two legends performed in the playoffs.

The LeBron James vs Michael Jordan debate mostly ignores Jordan’s playoff struggles

The LeBron James vs Michael Jordan debate often ignores Jordan’s early struggles in the playoffs. While the Chicago Bulls guard was 6-0 in the finals, he was eliminated several times in the first round.

During his glorious career, Jordan was 119-60 in playoff games, winning 30 out of 37 (81.1%) series. His winning percentage was 66.4%, meaning that he won two out of three games on average.

Jordan was swept twice in his career, both times by the Boston Celtics. The first time this happened was in the 1986 NBA playoffs, and the second time was just a year later.

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Jordan’s Chicago Bulls swept nine teams during his career. However, it’s important to note that the NBA used the best-of-five series format in the first round while Jordan was in the league. Due to this, a sweep required only three wins.

The Bulls legend won nine out of 30 series with a sweep, meaning that he swept his opponent in 30% of the series, which is remarkable.

LeBron James has been swept three times. The first time, James was with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost the 2007 NBA Finals in four games. The second time was in the 2018 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, while the third time was against the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals.

LeBron’s all-time playoff record is 182-100, good enough for a 64.5% win percentage. He won 41 out of 53 (77.3%) playoff series, but many fans use his 4-6 NBA Finals record against him, especially in the LeBron James vs Michael Jordan debate.

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When it comes to victorious sweeps, the four-time NBA champion has done this 11 times. LeBron’s sweep percentage is 26.8%, which is slowly lower than Jordan’s, but still impressive.