In a recent appearance on the ‘Club 520 Podcast,’ 4x champion Draymond Green opened up on his thoughts on the GOAT debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan. In his mind, there are fundamental differences between the players that give LeBron a slight edge.
“What separates them on the court to me is LeBron’s intention to make his teammates better,” said Green. “The guys that LeBron has made better — like, did you see them play without him? Michael made guys better just because of how good he was. It wasn’t like ‘I think this way so I’mma do this to get this guy this.’ He’s just so good then that guy can feed off how good you are.”
“I also think a two-year break in the middle of your run is like, heaven on earth. To have two years off from this thing that we do in the middle of a run and then come back and keep going… you can’t act like he won six in a row.”
As a 6x champion, 5x MVP, 14x All-Star, and 10x scoring leader, Michael Jordan’s resume is second to none. He took the Bulls to legendary status in the 90s and is widely regarded as the GOAT in many fans’ eyes with career averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game on 49.7% shooting.
But even with all his talent and achievements, Michael wasn’t really known for elevating his teammates. As Draymond explained, his mere presence helped to open up the floor for his team but he rarely went out of his way to set up his guys or make his teammates better.
In fact, according to some (like Scottie Pippen), Jordan’s confidence, dominance, and superstar spotlight came to the detriment of his teammates and occasionally even held them back from performing at their best
LeBron James is different in a lot of ways, one of the most notable being his ability to enhance the players around him. For James, his game isn’t about his athleticism or his perimeter shooting which has gotten better over time.
It’s about reading the floor and making the best possible play for that moment. LeBron is 10 steps ahead of the action and he knows how, when, and where to feed his teammates for easy looks to the rim. Of course, he also knows when to step up and take the shot for himself in order to avoid leaning too heavily on the others.
James has achieved a perfect balance in this respect and it’s something that his teammates (both current and former) can attest to.
Of course, it’s also worth mentioning that LeBron has played for 21 seasons completely uninterrupted. Unlike Jordan, who took a year off in his prime and retired multiple times, LeBron has maintained a consistent level of dominance for two decades now and is showing no signs of slowing down.
So when you talk about the greatest basketball player ever, LeBron James has to be a part of the conversation not only for his vast achievements in the sport but for his ability to enhance not only his game but all those around him who he shares the floor with.
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