LeBron James<\/a> is the NBA\u2019s all-time leading scorer entering his 23rd season. He has remained at the sport\u2019s summit for an unprecedented length of time. Meanwhile, Michael Jordan\u2019s<\/a> \u201990s run, winning six championships and six Finals MVPs, was one of the most dominant eras the league has seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n James and Jordan have contrasting approaches to the sport, making the comparison a fascinating insight into how people view basketball. Former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague<\/a> weighed in and explained what James\u2019 game has over Jordan\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n While James has scored more points than anyone in the league\u2019s history, he isn\u2019t a score-first player. He prides himself on his playmaking; his ability to run an offense from the point and make his teammates better.\u00a0<\/p>\n Teague, on the Club 520 Podcast, said that is something that separates James from Jordan. He said, \u201cHe enjoyed throwing fancy passes more than he did scoring. When he was in high school, when he threw a fancy pass, he would get hype. I think he got more of a kick out of that than scoring the basketball.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s what makes him so great is that he can elevate teams. You know how I feel about Kevin Durant, I think he\u2019s one of the best players ever, but I don\u2019t think he has the ability to take a questionable team and elevate them dudes to a certain level.\u201d<\/p>\n Teague said only the best players of all time have the ability to raise the level of their teammates. He continued, \u201cYou\u2019ve gotta be generational. That\u2019s what made Chris Paul special; that\u2019s what made LeBron very special. It\u2019s a rare few people that can just do that. <\/p>\n \u201cEven Mike couldn\u2019t do that. He really didn\u2019t make people better. He challenged some other people to get better. He challenged Scottie like, \u2018You gotta be stronger, you gotta be this.\u2019 He led by example.\u201d<\/p>\n Jordan was one of the great leaders<\/a> in NBA history. For six seasons, he put the Chicago Bulls<\/a> on his back and led them to the championship, pushing his teammates off the court. But on the court, it was score-first.\u00a0<\/p>\n He gave up the ball in crucial moments, including for Steve Kerr\u2019s iconic game-winner in the 1997 NBA Finals, but Jordan simply approached the game differently than James. <\/p>\n Jeff Teague agrees with Austin Rivers\u2019 Michael Jordan opinion <\/p>\n Austin Rivers said Jordan was a better scorer than James<\/a>, even though James is the NBA\u2019s all-time leading scorer<\/a>. He said, \u201cIf Michael played 20-something years, he would probably be number one in scoring.\u201d<\/p>\n The argument was put to Austin Rivers<\/a> that James was a more efficient scorer, but he said that efficiency is a construct of the modern NBA, and players in the 90s didn\u2019t worry as much about shooting percentages.\u00a0<\/p>\n Austin Rivers says the best scorers he\u2019s seen are KD, Harden, Kobe, MJ, and Iverson, and claims LeBron doesn\u2019t have half of Durant\u2019s bag<\/p>\n \u201cLeBron is number one [in scoring], but his game doesn\u2019t match a prototypical scorer. It\u2019s also not sexy. LeBron\u2019s game is built on force,\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/LJkhCNM0Xy<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2185905406-960x627.jpg\")
Photo by Bongarts\/Getty ImagesMichael Jordan couldn\u2019t elevate a team, says Jeff Teague <\/p>\n