LeBron James is one of the greatest players to have ever played the sport of basketball. He is widely considered the best small forward ever, and many analysts have commended his longstanding domination in the sport.
Next season, LeBron James will likely break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record. There is no doubt that doing so will likely improve his case for being the GOAT of basketball. Nick Wright has recently claimed that LeBron James can make the GOAT debate “an afterthought” if he manages to break the record while also winning another title with the Los Angeles Lakers. (25:10)
“I don’t think the Lakers will win the title, and, as presently constituted, they can’t win the title.
“But, if in LeBron’s 20th season, he not only passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in all-time scoring, which is going to happen midway through this year, but does it while playing at an All-NBA level, which he obviously did last year, and somehow the team were to win the title and it’s the title that breaks the tie with the [Boston] Celtics for most titles in franchise history?
“If that all were to happen, then the GOAT debate becomes an afterthought. Then it becomes, can you believe people were still arguing about it? They do not have enough to win the title this year unless they add a true difference-maker, which they’re not going to be able to do without getting rid of one or maybe both of those future picks.”
While most people consider Michael Jordan the GOAT of basketball, there are definitely other players that can be considered the GOATs of their eras, such as LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
If LeBron James does manage to win another title, that will definitely improve his standing among a lot of fans in the GOAT debate. Obviously, that seems unlikely as of right now, and Nick Wright admits that. But if that were to happen, there’s no doubt that many would begin to believe that LeBron James should be considered the GOAT.
