Barack Obama has given his two pennies on the never-ending GOAT debate. The former president is an avid basketball fan, especially with his links with the city of Chicago and the Chicago Bulls. His opinion on NBA-related topics always matters and he’s not done giving his takes about the hottest topics in the league right now.
More recently, he shared his opinion on the GOAT debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan, explaining that James can’t be called the GOAT since he’s still playing and his résumé isn’t finished. Bron can increase his legacy in the league and have a better case to be considered the greatest player of all time, surpassing MJ (47:05 mark).
“LeBron is making strides in the GOAT debate. [But he’s not quite there yet] Not quite because look, his career is not over yet. And we don’t know how many more rings he might win.”
Obama said that MJ is the greatest to ever do it for him, but that didn’t prevent him from giving some flowers to Bron, who is showing that he’s still an incredible player and his longevity is something unmatched in the league.
“Here’s what I will say about LeBron, who is indisputably, one of the top two already. His longevity…. The fact that I joked about him because I was with him on ‘The Shop’ right before the election.”
“You know, he doesn’t look like he’s lost a step. I know that he is benefiting from the kind of training and nutrition and treatments, and all that folks in Michael’s generation just did not benefit from.”
The 44th POTUS noted that James is a gifted player, he’s built different and added to all the treatments he has on his body, his genetics have allowed him to become the player he is right now.
“But part of it is just – he’s a freak. And right now it looks like he could keep on doing what he’s doing right now for another five years, right? If at 40, he’s still an All-Star and competing in this way, you know that you have to factor that in.”
Bron is not done and he just won his 4th NBA championship in the Orlando bubble in October. The King is ready to go for the back-to-back with the Lakers and get closer to that GOAT title that, according to Obama, still belongs to MJ.
Comparing their regular season and playoffs accolades, Jordan is the clear GOAT but Bron is still there, trying to catch up with His Airness. Jordan has expressed that Bron could surpass him in a couple of years from now, which is something similar to what Obama said during his interview.
However, not everybody is convinced that is the truth. Hakeem Olajuwon recently claimed that Jordan is a better player than LeBron. Jordan leads LeBron in titles, MVPs, and Defensive Player of The Year awards, so the gap is still there.
