ESPN's Marc Stein asks the question:
How 'bout, just for sport, LeBron James versus Lionel Messi?
Since King James is still facing a bit of a ring deficit when his achievements to date are set against Jordan, let's dig into something a little more current: Which of these two modern-day titans, LeBron or Lionel, is the reigning king of team sports?
[...] The question, incidentally, was just thrown at James by The Associated Press earlier this week after Messi's virtuoso destruction of AC Milan in a must-win match in the knockout round of the Champions League. Asked by The AP's Tim Reynolds if Messi, even after his record-breaking 91 goals in all competitions in 2012, is merely soccer's LeBron, James replied: "Is he? I'll let you decide."
Yes. Let's decide.
I vote LeBron by a whisker.
What say you?