The GOAT debate has become about two players, LeBron James and Michael Jordan. LeBron’s longevity has made his case stronger regularly and more and more fans are starting to acknowledge him as the greatest ever.
Iman Shumpert played with LeBron James as a part of the Cleveland Cavaliers and even won a championship with him. But it is only in a recent interview that Shumpert changed his pick for GOAT from Jordan to LeBron.
“I just put my guard down and said Bron you the best, you got it… Greatest ever, you got it,” Shumpert said. “He (Michael Jordan) is going to be my favorite competitor ever, there’s no competitor like him but we’re talking about a face for basketball. LeBron James, you have done a phenomenal job, for real.
“I’m talking about him as LeBron, I’m taking my ‘bro-ness’ out of it. From the outside looking in, it took JJ Redick’s quote for me to get it there… Where he was breaking down the numbers and all the historical myths about LeBron. ‘Let’s break these down, they say he’s not clutch, he’s got the most clutch points.’ Like he just broke it down. And I was like, ‘Have I been hating? Is Jordan that fire? Is it the palm…’ I’m like, what is it that is disturbing me to say that anybody is better than this man?
“I’m just looking at all the challenges as a man, as a representative of basketball… Once he was the leader in all points, I started looking at his career and what he’s done and how old he is.”
https://twitter.com/JamesEdrick3/status/1665381770009690115
This is an interesting pivot from Shumpert, who was with the majority of basketball fans earlier in declaring Michael Jordan the GOAT. A year ago, he seemed convinced that LeBron James was not on the same level as Michael Jordan.
“Jordan. Bron, I like you. You’re my dog. He’s in the conversation. He’s getting compared to Michael Jordan. What the f**k he gonna get mad for?”
That is a pretty drastic change in opinion for just one year, but it stands to reason, seeing as LeBron James did break the all-time scoring record this season. There will never be an objective answer in the GOAT debate, everyone has their ideas, but Shumpert seems to favor LeBron James now.
Who Is The Real GOAT: Michael Jordan Or LeBron James?
Ultimately, the comparisons all come down to statistics and individual accolades. And while LeBron James’ longevity does give him a leg up in some stats, Jordan’s prime means his numbers are impossible to discount as well. A comparison between the two shows what’s what, Jordan’s accomplishments are still a level ahead of James’.
Our writer, Eddie Bitar, wrote a piece on what LeBron James still has to do to surpass Michael Jordan as the GOAT, and there is a gulf between the two. Of course, this is not the only way to measure greatness, and LeBron James certainly has an incredibly solid case to be considered the greatest ever as well.
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