The topic of whether Michael Jordan is truly the greatest player of all time or not is one that has gotten a lot of attention in recent years. Obviously, the emergence of LeBron James over the past two decades has made many reconsider what they may have otherwise thought was a topic that had been settled.
Dwayne Wade has offered his thoughts on who the NBA’s GOAT is, as have Shawn Kemp, former President Donald Trump, Michael Cooper, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Hakeem Olajuwon.
But what do the two men at the center of this debate, Jordan and James, believe about it?
Well, James has offered his thoughts. His top three players of all time speaks for itself.
Jordan has been a bit more reserved on the topic in recent years.
It wasn’t always like that, though.
In a 2003 interview with John Thompson before NBA All Star Saturday night, Jordan confronted the ‘GOAT’ label head on.
“False,” he said.
“Because I didn’t play against all the great players prior to me, and those were the players that influenced my game. It’s a great honor, don’t get me wrong, but I’d love to play against Jerry West to determine if I was a better guard than him, or Oscar Robertson, but we will never know.”
As evidenced by Scottie Pippen offering a fairly controversial take on the Jordan vs. James debate a few weeks back, this topic isn’t going anywhere. That said – Jordan’s illuminating perspective on how he views the GOAT discussion is worth remembering. It really is impossible to compare athletes and talent across eras, and the energy that people waste attempting to do so would be better served simply appreciating the skills in front of them on a nightly basis.
Confirms what everyone already knew. https://t.co/7gCpCMD7I1
— Game 7 (@game7__) July 6, 2021
Related: Addison Rae Sparks Outrage With UFC Tweet (Photo)
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.