LeBron vs. Jordan: How Many Times Have NBA GOATs Been Swept in Playoffs

• LeBron James is out of the NBA playoffs after the Denver Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals
• This is now the third time James has been swept in the NBA playoffs
• Sports Brief compares the two stars' playoff history and how many times they've been swept

The Los Angeles Lakers' journey to the NBA Finals is over. The 17-time NBA champions were swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.

The result meant it was the first time LeBron James has been swept in the playoffs since the 2018 NBA Finals. Michael Jordan, one of the greatest athletes of all time, has been swept too. But how do they compare?

Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA, and before he and the Chicago Bulls steamrolled every team in the NBA in the 1990s, the six-time NBA champion came up against some tough teams in the mid- to late-1980s.

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Meanwhile, James is playing in his 20th year. In his long career, he's come up against dynasties that have dominated the NBA.

What is the playoff record of the two iconic players? Jordan has been retired for nearly 20 years, but he's always been mentioned in the GOAT debate alongside James.

Times swept in NBA playoffs

Instances James swept in playoffs

The 2023 Western Conference finals mark the third time James has been swept in the NBA playoffs, per Sporting News.

2007 NBA Finals - Cavaliers, Spurs

The first time was in the 2007 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs dynasty, led by Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. James was at that time a Cleveland Cavaliers player and was only 22 years old.

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In those four games, the 38-year-old averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. James would wait until 2012 to win his first NBA title with the Miami Heat.

2018 NBA Finals - Cavaliers, Warriors

James met another dynasty at the peak of their powers in 2018. The Golden State Warriors won the title in 2017 with a 16-1 record.

He faced a team with Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson. He dropped 51 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in Game 1, but they lost in overtime. The Warriors won the next three to seal their second straight championship, per SI.

He averaged 34.0 points, 10.0 assists, and 8.5 rebounds in that series.

2023 Western Conference Finals - Nuggets, Lakers

Despite starting the season 2-10, the Lakers eliminated the No. 2 seed (Memphis Grizzlies) and the defending champions (Warriors) en-route to the conference finals. Moreover, they had to go through the play-in tournament to get to the playoffs.

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Against the Nuggets, they were outmatched for large parts of the series. James was decent throughout the series, but his age was evident in most of those games. He scored 26, 22, 23, and 30 points in the four games.

History of Jordan getting swept

Jordan has been swept twice in his career. In both of those times, the series was a best of five. The Boston Celtics swept the Bulls' icon in 1986 and 1987.

1986 First Round - Bulls, Celtics

The 1985/86 season was Jordan's second season in the NBA. He played only 18 games in the regular season due to injury.

The Bulls finished 8th and were facing the Celtics dynasty led by Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale. In Game 1, he scored 49 points, then had an NBA record of 63 points in Game 2, per AP. The Bulls lost both games and ended up losing the series in three games.

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He averaged 43.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in the three games.

1987 First Round - Bulls, Celtics

The Bulls met the Celtics again in the following season, and the result was similar: a sweep.

He entered the NBA playoffs with a league-leading 37.1 points per game in 82 games, per NBC Sports. In the postseason, he averaged an astonishing 35.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in three games, which wasn't enough.

Despite his early failures in the postseason in his career, unprecedented success would follow in the 1990s.

Jordan and James have won 10 NBA championships between them. Many basketball fans consider the two the greatest players in the history of the sport.

James declares himself GOAT

Sports Brief also reported on James declaring himself the best player before he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's long-standing scoring record in February 2023.

He has been the best NBA player of the last decade, and some believe he therefore has a right to say he is the greatest to touch the ball.

“What I bring to the table as a basketball player … I feel like I’m the best basketball player that ever played the game.”