Which players peaked higher than Jordan?

[1993Playoffs]

If talking just peak LeBron, Maybe Shaq ,Kareem , Wilt. Jokic (on offense only), MJ has a good case for best peak though

[70sFan]

These guys have solid cases:

Mikan
Russell
Wilt
Kareem
Hakeem
Shaq
Duncan
James
Jokic

Don't think I'd take all of them though, probably not most of them.

[Bloodbather]

The only ones with an argument are LeBron ('13), Shaq ('00), and Wilt ('67) imo.

If we‘re talking about one season peak, it might just be Shaq. Most unstoppable offensive weapon ever. 2000 Shaq was a defensive monster, too, anchored the top defense in the league. FTs made him a liability down the stretch, he needed people to get the ball down to him, and wasn't a direct playmaker, although his gravity meant that he was a playmaker in an indirect sense. In terms of breaking the game with his strengths, there's nobody superior. But he did have some glaring flaws.

Wilt was just incredibly well-rounded at his peak. Great scorer, although not as dominant or resilient as the others, GOAT level rebounder, high post playmaking hub for the league's best offense and title winning team, GOAT-level defender. Awful free throw shooting and not being someone who could initiate offense on his own take him down a bit also.

If we just restrict it to single series, I don't think anyone has ever been as good as LeBron was in the 2016 Finals. Insane all-around performance. I don’t think any other player could raise a team's level in as many departments as he did then. His season peak was probably '13 because he shot the three so well. The argument about his level raising applies there also, but his scoring, while still great, wasn't as resilient as Shaq or Jordan. He got even better on offense in his second Cleveland stint, but his RS defense was worse there.

Jordan has a bit of Shaq and a bit of LeBron. His scoring was comparable to Shaq in terms of how game breaking it was. Unstoppable slasher and mid-range master. Very resilient as well and unlike Shaq you couldn't just send him to the FT. All you could do was dare him to shoot 3s and rough him up so that he gets tired. He had the all-around game as well, but it was inferior to LeBron's in all departments except help defense. Jordan gets underrated as a playmaker sometimes, the guy averaged 8.4 APG in the 1991 PS. He knew how to leverage his gravity. For reference, LeBron only surpassed that mark in four PSs. Jordan's style lent itself more to ball movement as well because he was better off ball compared to LeBron.

All that said, I really don't know. Splitting hairs here. These four are all in the same tier for me.

[Top10alltime]

Peaks higher than peak 1991 Jordan..

2009-10 Lebron
1976-77 Kareem
1999-00 Shaq
1963-64 Wilt
2002-03 Duncan
1992-93 Hakeem

Peaks with an argument over 1991 Jordan...

2015-16 Steph
2022-23 Jokic
2003-04 KG
1986-87 Magic
1963-64 Bill

After this clear seperation from the rest of the pack (my 13 and 14th best peaks, 63-64 Oscar and 22-23 Embiid)

Reasonably similar list to what I had earlier.

Thoughts on '76 Dr J and '25 SGA? (Mikan if you wanted to go into it too, but no need)

Mikan I don't count seasons before the shot clock so he's eliminated.

SGA has 0 argument over Jordan. Only thing he's better at is floor spacing and team defense.

And Dr. J is almost the same, just a worse player. Not confident enough to put him over even Larry Bird or Steve Nash. He's worse peak than CP3 and Harden.

In fact you should have considered 22-23 embiid and 63-64 oscar before any of these players.

[iggymcfrack]

LeBron in 2009 is the only season I’d take over ‘91 Jordan. Jokic at his best couldn’t match the 2 way impact.