is because he played in the late 80's and 90's. Free Agency wasn't a thing in the NBA until '88 and it wasn't dramatically impacting the NBA until about 2000. Jordan had an organization around him that knew what they were doing. They made excellent draft choices and trades to get pieces they needed to win. They also hired a Hall of Fame coach in Tex Winter and Hall of Fame coach in Phil Jackson to run things.

LeBron had no such help in Cleveland. The only time he's had quality coaching and teammates akin to what MJ had was his 4 years in Miami with Spoelstra, Wade, Bosh and Ray Allen for a time. Those are probably the only HoF teammates he has had until possibly AD this year, but AD has a long way to go. Irving will most likely not end up there, Kevin Love will not either. They have played in two different eras, but to say LeBron doesn't compare is absurd.

Look, I think MJ is the greatest scorer in the history of the NBA. He could just flat-out get buckets. He was a great defender at times, and probably the best athlete in the NBA a couple of his early years. However, I don't believe he is the greatest overall player the NBA has ever seen, partly because he never HAD to do it all. He always had a HoF teammate playing with him, excepting his first 2 1/4 years when he couldn't make it out of the first round of the playoffs.