Michael Jordan is considered to be the most iconic person in sports history. Throughout his professional career Jordan built the blueprint to which all elite sports figures are critiqued. In 2002, a young man named Lebron James made headlines as he received the hype of being the next Michael Jordan. After Lebron's first seven seasons in the NBA, the similarities to Michael Jordan are striking, but a viable case could be made that the two basketball superstars are completely different as well.
One way in which the two are similar is exposed through statistical analysis. In Lebron James' first seven seasons in the NBA he has accumulated a 27.8 point per game average along with seven rebounds per game, and seven assists per game. When evaluating Michael Jordan's first seven seasons as a pro, we find that he averaged 31.1 points per game along with 6.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists. Overlooking minor discrepancies these numbers are strikingly similar, but we are forgetting the most important statistic in professional sports. The number of championships acquired. In Michael Jordan's first seven years he led his team to one championship in comparison to Lebron James' zero . Though the difference is small, it means everything in the world of professional sports.

Another blatant difference between the two icons is the level of media savvy that they each possess. Stemming from his college days, Michael Jordan always had the media eating out of his palm. While many celebrities point their fingers at the media for being their ultimate pitfall, Jordan used it to his advantage. Keeping a strong relationship with the media landed him numerous endorsements as he was looked at as a jovial person and an exceptional role model. On the other hand, Lebron James has been vilified through the media in recent times. He has received much scrutiny due to the fact that he left his hometown team for a bigger paycheck, and for a better chance at winning a championship. While some may agree that this is a logical thing for an athlete to do, Lebron's recent career choices and arrogant responses to media scrutiny has lead to him being portrayed as the "bad guy" while Michael Jordan always kept the "good guy" persona despite his own arrogance.

Arrogance is something that is imminent in professional sports. Self confidence is obviously a personality trait an athlete must have in order to reach iconic status, but certain athlete's go overboard with their antics. An example of confidence boiling over into arrogance lies within the careers of Lebron James and Michael Jordan. This is another way the two are viewed as similar. During this year's basketball off-season, there was much speculation on whether Lebron James would remain with the Cleveland Cavaliers, or leave the team during free agency. After pondering his options, Lebron set up a one hour ESPN special which unveiled his decision. Following a lengthy and overdramatic introduction to the program, Lebron announced to millions of viewers that he was shafting his hometown team. Many NBA legends were outraged by the way Lebron handled the situation and deemed it unnecessary. Lebron also refers to himself as "King James." Though Lebron is looked down on for his arrogance, Michael Jordan also has his plentiful share of arrogance as well. In 2009, Michael Jordan was elected into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame which is usually an incredibly humbling experience for athletes. This was not the case for Jordan. Instead of a conventional speech, Jordan emotionally blasted the enemies he had acquired over the years. At the podium, Jordan is quoted as saying, "Isiah Thomas.... You knew I was always better than you." Jordan went on to blast countless former players and coaches who had snubbed him as far back as high school.