Blake Griffin opened up on the GOAT debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Griffin has planted his flag in Team Jordan but completely understands why LeBron is in the conversation, defending the four-time champion for people who hate him because of personal biases.
“The most important thing is winning. I think Michael Jordan going to the Finals six times and winning six times, Finals MVP. If you really go back and like look at his stats, look at his accomplishments, and how he did it, I don’t know that we will allow anybody to beat Michael Jordan anymore because we just like nitpick and nitpick.”
Griffin then elaborated on the point about nitpicking with a LeBron James example from when he went to Miami in 2010, not understanding why people dismissed his basketball ability because they disliked him as a person.
“I felt this way about LeBron early on, especially when he went to Miami, people were so against him that I am like, ‘Sure, you may not like him as a person but you can’t deny how good he is and what he’s doing. You try to not let your personal bias towards people, that’s what I hate, people who rag on somebody for not being a good basketball player just because they don’t like who he is as a person.”
Griffin made it clear he supports Jordan in the GOAT debate but completely understands why people argue for LeBron.
“I’m for Jordan as the GOAT. But if you want to argue LeBron, listen, I get it. That’s your era.”
The GOAT debate will rage on for years even after LeBron retires. Even if James was to win two titles in the coming seasons, people will argue on Jordan’s behalf citing his undefeated Finals record and sheer dominance over a shorter period in the NBA.
If James’ career ended without another major accolade, LeBron fans will argue on his behalf by citing his longevity and unparalleled versatility. That’s just the nature of the GOAT debate.
Jason Williams Recently Picked LeBron James Over Michael Jordan
From the inputs current and former NBA players have had on the LeBron vs. Jordan debate, more people end up siding with Jordan. Recently, we have had the likes of Metta World Peace, Ray Allen, Doc Rivers, and Allen Iverson, among others, hail Jordan as the GOAT.
Iconic 2000s point guard Jason Williams, better known as ‘White Chocolate’ sided with LeBron in the debate and pointed out how the rule-set of the ’90s enabled Jordan’s domination.
“I’m going with LeBron. I just think when this question comes up the question that needs to be brought up in this question is the illegal defense situation. “
Williams then explains how strict defensive rules often forced matchups to be one-on-one as there was limited variety in defensive schemes, allowing Jordan to dominate due to the lack of proper help defense. He defends LeBron by praising his ability to make the right play instead of forcing shots, especially under modern defensive rules.
“So he gets a lot of slack about not taking the last shot because he makes the right basketball play. If two guys is on him, he got to make, make, pass the ball. Where MJ only had the one guy. Now, don’t get me wrong, if MJ had three guys on him, he’s probably still gonna make that shot. But give me LeBron James, bro.”
The NBA is constantly evolving. All players can do is dominate in their eras, and the players that did do that would likely adjust to other eras as well. LeBron would be LeBron in the ’80s and ’90s and Jordan would be Jordan in the 2000s.
Regardless of who you have, it’s clear that these are two of the most versatile and malleable players the game has ever produced. They’d be winners regardless and picking one over the other will often come down to what you appreciate.
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