Who is better, LeBron or Yao?
LeBron James leads with a GOAT score of 95.6 against 73.9 for Yao Ming — a gap of 21.7 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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LeBron vs Yao
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks LeBron James above Yao Ming: 95.6 vs 73.9. LeBron James leads on Longevity, Dominance, Honours.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
LeBronWinner
95.6LeBron wins: Dominance, Peak, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
Yao
73.9Yao wins: no category outright
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇺🇸 LeBron James
95.6
LeBron leads in 5 of 5 weighted categories.
1. LeBron James
2. Yao Ming
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Through age 21 · Form index per season
1. 🇺🇸 LeBron James48 points per game
2 seasons by age 21 · 24 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Yao — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
| Metric | LeBronActive · Philadelphia 76ers | YaoRetired |
|---|---|---|
| NBA titles | 4 | — |
| Finals MVP | 4 | — |
| Regular season MVP | 4 | — |
| Career points | 41,000 | — |
| Points per game | 27.1 | 19 |
| All-Star selections | 21 | 8 |
| Rebounds per game | — | 9.2 |
| All-NBA selections | — | 5 |
| Olympic appearances | — | 3 |
| Dominance w25% | 94 | 72 |
| Peak w20% | 95 | 84 |
| Longevity w20% | 100 | 60 |
| Honours w20% | 92 | 74 |
| Statistics w15% | 98 | 82 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
LeBron95.6
Yao73.9
FAQ
Where does Yao beat LeBron?
Yao does not lead any of the five categories; LeBron is ahead or level on all of them.
How is the LeBron vs Yao score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. LeBron: 95.6, Yao: 73.9.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for LeBron vs Yao. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.