Wilt Chamberlain gets my vote, even though he played before I really watched any basketball.

Scoring 100 points in an NBA game - that is what I call taking over a game. Averaging over 50 points a game for the entire season - are you kidding? Think about that. 50 points a game...average. When I watch old clips, I am always amazed at his body type compared to everyone else - you don't get that build by sitting around doing what everyone else does. Just like Jordan changed the game and to some effect, Lebron is changing the game, Chamberlain single handedly changed the game. He was a man ahead of his time. Would be interesting to see him play in today's era. Very different game. Hard to imagine what he would be like with today's resources at his fingertips and wonder if he could step up to the higher level of competition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain's_100-point_game.

"In the fourth quarter, the Knicks began fouling other players to keep the ball away from Chamberlain, and they also became deliberate on offense to reduce the number of possessions for Philadelphia. "

"Chamberlain later stated it was one of his favorite games, but not the favorite: that title belonged to the match in which he grabbed an NBA record 55 rebounds against perennial rival Bill Russell." 55 rebounds against Bill Russell - really? Wow.

That being said, I would vote for Jordan over James. Jordan was so fun to watch, that's for sure. Also - we are never going to ever get consensus on something as fleeting as, "the best ever". Starting a sentence with "the best in NBA history is/was" will lead to a bunch of opinions where anyone disagreeing thinks the opinion omitted some very relevant fact. For the record though, Lebron is pretty amazing.