LeBron James has built up quite an impressive resume over the years in what has been an absolutely incredible career.
He is very much a part of the GOAT debate but unlike those before him, LeBron has openly stated that he considers himself to be the greatest ever, and Scottie Pippen didn’t like that.
“If you are the greatest player,” Pippen said on The Jump in 2019. “If people are saying you are the greatest player or if people are saying Michael Jordan is the greatest player, why do you need to say it? Michael Jordan has never ever said he’s the greatest player to ever play the game. Why? He has respected all the other players before him, so for LeBron to say that, he’s sort of pulling himself out of it, because you can’t say you are the greatest player, you have to allow your peers in the world to say that.”
(starts at 2:35 mark):
That is perhaps a fair point, that you aren’t the one who gets to declare that you’re the best. It’s your peers who should anoint you as that, but LeBron clearly doesn’t believe that to be the case. Pippen here was reacting to James saying in 2018 that winning the title in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers made him the GOAT.
“That moment right there made me the greatest player of all time, that’s what I felt.” James said about his 2016 triumph. “I was super, super ecstatic to win one for Cleveland because of the 52-year drought. The first wave of emotion, everyone saw me crying. That was all for 52 years of everything in sports going on in Cleveland. And then after I stopped, I was like, ‘That one right there made you the greatest player of all time.'”
What @kingjames considers being the GOAT 🐐
New episode of More Than An Athlete out on @espn+. pic.twitter.com/7XSQ2GpOVo
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) December 30, 2018
He reiterated that a few years later during an interview with Kenny Smith.
“If we are just talking from a basketball standpoint,” LeBron said. “At that moment, I was like, ‘I’m the greatest basketball player people have ever seen.’ In all facets like I can play one through five, I can guard one through five. Did something that’s never been done in the history of the sport. I mean, teams that go down 3-1 were 0-32 in Finals history… I just felt like ain’t nobody better than me at this.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAQ99eUAl3g
Surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and becoming the all-time leading scorer earlier this year has only emboldened LeBron’s belief that he is indeed the greatest. He said, after that phenomenal accomplishment, that he’d pick himself over everybody else.
“If I was the GM or whatever the case may be of a franchise that was starting up and I had the No. 1 pick, I’d take me,” LeBron said. “But that’s just me because I believe in myself. I know what I bring to the table. That don’t take away from nobody else. I mean so many great players have played this game and had long legacies in this game. This NBA is a beautiful thing and it’s been some beautiful players to play it but I can’t take nobody over me.”
(starts at 5:55 mark):
LeBron made sure to pay some respect to those who came before him, but it’s crystal clear to him in his mind, that he is the greatest ever. Nothing anyone else says is going to change that and no matter what individuals like Pippen may think of him for saying it, he’s going to keep at it.
Michael Jordan Didn’t Want To Be Called The GOAT
LeBron has really taken a very different approach than Michael Jordan in this matter. As Pippen said, Jordan never called himself the GOAT. He didn’t even want to be called the GOAT, as he felt it was disrespectful to the legends who came before him.
“I don’t want it in a sense because I think it disrespects Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West,” Jordan said. “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 against 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 that I am better than him, I mean it’s your opinion… If you ask me, I would never say that I’m the greatest player and that’s because I never played against all the people that represented the league prior to Michael Jordan.”
As Pippen states, MJ never felt the need to call himself that and tried to distance himself from the topic itself, but his peers have still, over the years, anointed him as the greatest ever. Which side is right here? Well, everyone would have their own opinion on the correct way to go about it.
Who Is The Real GOAT? Michael Jordan Or LeBron James?
So, just who is the greatest? Well, that debate will rage on till the end of time, but a deep dive into the topic does show that Jordan is the one who deserves that title. Firstly, he has won more awards and accolades than LeBron over the course of their respective careers, and it isn’t particularly close. A full comparison between the two also shows that Jordan won in 7 categories against James and a look at their performances in the NBA Finals sees Jordan come out on top there as well.
That’s not to say that the GOAT race is over though as LeBron still can surpass MJ and here’s what he would have to do to accomplish that. While any other player in their 20th season would be thinking about walking away from the game, LeBron is still going strong. He has a few more years left in him at the top and could achieve so much more in that time.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
