The Tape
Was Julius Erving better than LeBron James?
Julius Erving, 1971-1987, against LeBron James, 2003-present. The numbers levelled to one league, then the call.
Method, stated plainly: scoring is adjusted to a league averaging 114 points per team per game. Rebounds and assists are printed as they were recorded, with the league scoring rate beside them, because a rebound in 1962 came out of a different number of missed shots and we will not pretend one multiplier fixes that. Career lines for active players run through 2024-25.
What the numbers say
Adjusted to a league averaging 114 points a game, LeBron James is the bigger scorer: 31.1 a game in 2012-13 against 28.1 for Julius Erving in 1979-80. That is a real gap of 3 points, not an era illusion — LeBron James's league averaged 98.1 and Julius Erving's averaged 109.3.
LeBron James is the passer: 7.3 assists a game to 4.6, and that is the difference between running an offense and finishing one.
Julius Erving: The player who made the game vertical, with 5 of his best seasons spent in a league the record books treat separately. LeBron James: The all-time leading scorer, in 10 Finals, still starting in his 22nd season.
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