LeBron James is doing miraculous things in his 17th season, nobody can argue that. Despite being 35-years-old, he has remained an elite NBA star and has still found ways to keep his team competitive in the stacked Western Conference.
Of course, with all that James has been doing, folks just can’t help but use it as fuel for his claim to the GOAT title.
On ESPN’s Get Up! morning show, league analyst Kendrick Perkins lauded James’ competitiveness at this stage of his career, claiming that “Michael Jordan wasn’t competing for a Championship at 35.”
https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1296816285066592268
A quick check in the history books will expose that statement as false. Not only did MJ win his sixth (and final) Championship at 35, but he was also the MVP, the Finals MVP that year.
https://twitter.com/MjsGoat/status/1296834926675984386
Jordan was 35 when he:
Won MVP
Won his 6th championship
Won Finals MVP
Won his 10th scoring title
First team All NBA
First team All Defense
You’re right he wasn’t competing for anything at 35
— . (@FieldsSzn69) August 21, 2020
MJ literally WON a championship at 35
HOW do they let this false information get aired https://t.co/RllEdVFzTW
— Fadeaway World (@FadeawayWorld) August 21, 2020
After the show, Perk called himself out on the mistake, citing his lack of coffee as an excuse.
Okay people I get it MJ won his last Championship at the age of 35…I didn’t have my coffee this morning and tripped out. I blame @Espngreeny and @GetUpESPN for waking me up so damn early to debate with @Realrclark25 about GOAT talk 🤣🤣🤣🤣 but Lebron is still the 🐐 carry on..
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) August 21, 2020
It seems that his love for LeBron trumped the fact-checker, but it doesn’t mean we can’t still appreciate what James is currently doing.
In response to his athletic decline, James has twisted his game to emphasize his strengths as a playmaker. After finishing with a career-high 10.2 assists this season, and leading the Lakers to the top seed in the West, it is clear that Bron deserves a lot of credit for finding new ways to be successful in the NBA.
But perhaps it’s time to slow down with the MJ comparisons, at least until after the first round has concluded. Because for all that James has accomplished this season, it would be a huge setback for him if he couldn’t advance to the NBA Finals this year.
