The GOAT (greatest of all time) is considered the highest honor an athlete can receive, being considered by most to be the greatest of all time is something every child dreams to achieve, but only one can earn such an honor. In many sports, the GOAT is a unanimous decision. Guys like Tom Brady and Michael Phelps were so dominate for so long that any argument against their GOAT status would be blasphemous. But, in the sport of basketball, a war between two fan bases has raged on, splitting the NBA fan base into two factions. I would like to try to settle this debate by looking at the achievements of both athletes and determining who has the greater legacy in the sport of Basketball. Michael Jordan or Lebron James?
Starting off with Jordan, the strongest case in his GOAT argument would be the dominance that he maintained throughout the 90’s. From 1991 to 1998 Jordan amassed a whopping 6 championships where he won MVP in all 6 series. Combo that with 5 MVP awards along with a DPOY and a 3X steals leader, two things Lebron has never accomplished in his career, While Lebron has amassed quite a lot of accolades for his time, nothing compares to what Jordan was able to accomplish in such a short time frame. Another primary piece of the Jordan argument is the legacy he left on the league. For context, during the 90’s the NBA was going through a crisis, with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird reaching the ends of their careers also, with the continuous rise of the NFL and MLB in the market, the NBA was in a search for a new star to lead the league, luckily Michael Jordan was there. Jordan was able to keep the NBA exciting as well as serve as the face of the league, without him I doubt that the NBA would be able to compete with NFL and MLB. Overall, Jordan’s legacy lies more off his personal dominance as well as the cultural impact his play caused on the league.
The argument for Lebron mainly lies off his longevity, Lebron is currently 40 years old and still produces like a 25-year-old, when Jordan was 40, he had been retired for 2 years. Due to this sustained long-term success, Lebron is in the top 10 in all-time scoring (1), all-time games played (3), all-time assists (4), all-time steals (6) and all-time defensive rebounds (7). Another stronghold of the Lebron argument is the competition, when looking at the opponents that Jordan and Lebron had to play in big games, it’s hard to argue that Jordan wasn’t on the better team every time. On the other hand, it’s hard to find examples where Lebron was on a significantly better team than his opponents in big games. It seems that Lebron always steps up when the moment calls for it no matter what talent is around him, while Michael Jordan never won a playoff series without hall of famer Scottie Pippin.
Overall, LeBron’s longevity, clutch factor and ability to carry the team gives him the edge over Jordan in the eyes of many.
When looking at the accomplishments of both athletes, I personally believe that Lebron’s undying consistency as well as his ability to carry in the big moments makes him the GOAT. While Jordan was far more dominant during his time, I come to question the quality of the competition that Jordan was playing against, while Lebron has played some of the best (in their prime) and came out victorious. While Jordan still has a defendable case, Lebron just has too much over Jordan. Winner LEBRON JAMES.
