Note: I am only asking to compare their age-24 seasons, not their entire careers, peaks, primes, rings, or otherwise. Strictly between Jordan's 1987-88 season and LeBron's 2008-09 season and ONLY that. Personally while there's no wrong answer to this question it's difficult for me to come up with a decisive answer, though Jordan has some advantages in important individual categories. Both very impressive and eerily similar in team and defensive impact.
Fukk it, for when someone inevitably brings up Kobe's age-24 season ('02-'03), may as well be tossed in there even though that's not the purpose of this thread.
Which year between the two (or three whatever) do you think is more impressive? Take whatever you want into account to help you decide.
EDIT: Since it does actually take a while to compare single-season stats, here you go:
LeBron James 2008-09 (Cleveland 66-16):
James basic: 28.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 49-34-78 shooting with 3.0 TOPG
James advanced: 31.7 PER, 20.3 WS, 122 ORTG, 99 DRTG, 13.0 BPM
1st in MVP voting
2nd in DPOY voting
All-Star
1st Team All-NBA
1st Team All-Defense
2nd in total points (2nd in PPG)
Top-10 in steals-assists
1st in PER (top-5 all-time)
20.3 WS (1st overall, 17th all-time, 5th among non-centers)
1st in BPM (1st in OBPM, 5th in DPBM, 9.4 OBPM ranks 7th all-time)
Michael Jordan 1987-88 (Chicago 50-32):
Jordan basic: 35.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.9 APG, 3.2 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 53-13-84 shooting with 3.1 TOPG
Jordan advanced: 31.7 PER, 21.2 WS, 123 ORTG, 101 DRTG, 12.2 BPM
1st in MVP voting
1st in DPOY voting
All-Star
Scoring champion
1st in steals
1st Team All-NBA
1st Team All-Defense
21.2 WS (1st overall that season, 1st among non-centers)
1st in BPM (9.8 OBPM ranks first all-time)
