31 of 31

TONY DEJAK/Associated Press

Career Per-Game Stats: 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.8 blocks

Career Advanced Metrics: 27.6 PER, 58.4 TS%, 205.4 WS, 7179.59 TPA

Career Accolades: 13-time All-Star, Three-time NBA Champion, 10-time All-NBA First Team, Two-time All-NBA Second Team, Five-time All-Defensive First Team, All-Defensive Second Team, All-Rookie First Team, Four-time MVP, Rookie of the Year

Michael Jordan was the No. 3 pick of the 1984 NBA draft, making him ineligible for inclusion both because he wasn't the top overall selection and because he was taken outside the lottery era, which began in 1985.

That's all the justification necessary to give LeBron James the top spot.

At this point, he's almost unquestionably one of the two best players in NBA history, and the other reasonable candidates for a top-two spot (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird) are also ineligible for this countdown, as they were drafted before the lottery era. James still has plenty of high-quality years left ahead of him, but he's already accomplished everything.

He'll tell you himself.

"Seriously, what else would I have [to do]?" James said after Game 3 against the Toronto Raptors, per Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon. "I've won championships, I won my first one and I've won for my teammates, I came home and won. There isn't anything I have left to prove."

The four-time MVP is right. He's functioned as the league's best player for much of his career, though one-off seasons from various superstars have consistently tested his grip on the crown.

He's won championships, dominated as an individual and even played different styles to best fit his teammates. Whether an unstoppable scorer during his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, an efficient shooter who shared the ball with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade for the Miami Heat or a pass-first point forward during his return to the Cavs, he's kept thriving.

At this point, it's a perfectly valid opinion to think that while Jordan had the NBA's greatest career, the league has never seen a talent on the same level as James. It's also increasingly valid to think that the first part of that previous opinion may no longer be true.



Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @fromal09.

Unless otherwise indicated, all stats from Basketball Reference, NBA.com, ESPN.com or NBA Math and accurate heading into games Monday, May 15.