For years, fans, the media, and even some players have engaged in the never-ending GOAT debate. From Bill Russell to Wilt Chamberlain, all the way to LeBron James nowadays; there’s always someone talking about who the greatest player ever is.
For most people, that’s Michael Jordan, the guy who made the game global and that dominated in the NBA Finals like not many other people did. Jordan broke countless records and his sole presence was so mystical and intimidating that, up to this day, he’s still above the rest of the pack.
Ironically, Jordan didn’t even agree with that statement of him being the GOAT. As a matter of fact, he said back in 2009 that he didn’t want that distinction in the first place because you could never know if he was in fact the greatest to ever do it.
“I don’t want it on a sense because I think it disrespects Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West. You know, all the guys that prior to me, I never had a chance to play against. What everybody’s saying I am I never had the chance to compete with other legends that were prior to me. When I hear it, I cringe a little bit because it’s a little bit embarrassing because no one knows… I would love to have played against them but I never did. For you to say, I am better than him, I mean it’s your opinion,” Jordan said.
Jordan clearly has a point. It’s not fair to compare players from different eras because they didn’t get to play against each other. Hell, they didn’t even get to play under the same set of rules or under the same playing styles.
At the end of the day, I think that we can all agree that, regardless of how much we want it to be a single GOAT, there should be a GOAT per every era.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcLqDn6mew8
