It’s not a secret that Michael Jordan is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time. His Airness earned that title after taking the NBA to new levels during the 90s, winning championships with the Chicago Bulls, three-peating not once but twice from 1991 through 1998.
Almost every player that came after him believes Jordan is the GOAT, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade. However, after all these years, Kobe and Bron have become part of the GOAT conversation and some fans place them at least on the top 3 of all time.
For Wade, however, it’s more of a generational thing instead of an ultimate goal that can’t be defeated. This has been a recurrent conversation around the league, as some people believe it’s hard to compare players from different eras, so it’s unfair to call a specific player the greatest of all time.
Talking with Ben Golliver of The Washington Post, the Miami Heat legend touched on this, clarifying he doesn’t belong to that conversation, showing his admiration for Jordan and LeBron.
“Michael Jordan separated himself. LeBron James separated himself. I’m not in the [greatest of all time] conversation with those guys. I grew up in Chicago. Michael Jordan was the lifeline for me and my brothers when we didn’t even have food to eat.”
“Michael Jordan is the first iconic figure in this game, the one who took this game to heights it had never been to,” he further explained. “I feel like we all have generational GOATs. In my generation, that is my GOAT. It’s going to be Kobe [Bryant] and LeBron as the new generation’s GOATs, and that’s okay. It’s okay not to have one GOAT. Everyone doesn’t have to be on the same page.”
While LeBron and Jordan’s fans always debate who the GOAT is between the two megastars, Wade found a middle ground to settle this debate. Still, these arguments won’t stop, as NBA fans always stir the pot to get a reaction from those that don’t think the same they do.
For Wade, he believes MJ was ‘chosen to be the GOAT,’ and being from Chicago, he has a special place in his heart for the 6x NBA champion.
That doesn’t take anything away from LeBron, whom he won two championships together, but Wade has no doubts on who his GOAT is, and that’s His Airness.
