National Basketball Association

Poll finds voters think Jordan, 52, could beat LeBron 1-on-1 ... now

Published May. 15, 2015 1:14 a.m. ET

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Could Michael Jordan have taken LeBron James in his prime? It’s a question many of us would love to have answered, but we’ll never be able to find out.

For some fans, they don’t even need MJ to be in his prime; they think he could take LeBron RIGHT NOW.

A sports poll conducted by Public Policy Polling found out that 34 percent of those answering their survey (1,471 registered voters participated) felt Michael Jordan could beat LeBron James in a game of 1-on-1 right now.

In the poll, voters were asked whether they felt MJ or LeBron was the best player of all time. Not surprisingly, 77 percent said MJ, 14 percent said LeBron, and the remaining nine percent said they weren’t sure. The follow-up question asked whether they felt MJ could beat LeBron in a game in 2015.

A shocking 34 percent said MJ would win; 54 percent said LeBron; and 12 percent said they weren’t sure.

On ESPN, 36 percent said they thought MJ would win.

LeBron is still near his prime in terms of physical condition, while MJ is 52 years old and out of shape (not to mention a terrible dresser). Maybe those fans saw this video of Jordan schooling his Bobcats and got carried away.

Below are some other NBA notes from the poll:

NBA fans are pretty closely divided on who they want to win the league title this year- 19% say they’re pulling for the Warriors to 17% for the Bulls, 15% for the Cavaliers, 12% for the Clippers, 11% for the Hawks, 5% each for the Rockets and Grizzlies, and 4% for the Wizards. That distribution of support is reminiscent of a poll on the Republican Presidential field. People are similarly divided when it comes to who their favorite player in the league is- 19% pick Stephen Curry to 18% for LeBron James, 14% for Kobe Bryant, 13% for Kevin Durant, 10% for Tim Duncan, 5% for Derrick Rose, and 4% each for Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Paul. There’s a political divide with Democrats pulling for the Warriors and saying Curry is their favorite player and Republicans pulling for the Cavaliers and saying James is their favorite player.

You can see a PDF of the whole poll here.

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