LeBron James had plans from the very beginning to surpass Michael Jordan as the greatest player ever. Speaking in a recent episode of ‘Gil’s Arena,’ former NBA player Rashad McCants revealed a story from one of his sources that involves LeBron James sharing his career goals with a table of his peers.
“This comes from a high-table source, who told me they had a conversation after the 2005 season,” McCants said. “Playin’ bourre with Bron — a bunch of motherf—ers on the table, and Bron just happened to say some sh*t randomly: ‘Man, I’m trying to make that other No. 23 disappear.’ The guy who told me looked up, looked at everybody else at the table, said, ‘Good luck, young fella.’”
If you ask him today, LeBron will tell you that he’s the greatest basketball player ever, been over Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, and Bill Russell. And even with as controversial as the topic has become, most people (and even LeBron himself) can agree the King has a stronger case than most.
Coming out of High School, LeBron James was a world-renowned prospect. After averaging 25.2 points per game for St. Vincent-St. Mary school, he emerged on the national radar as a potential future NBA MVP. While he always expressed respect and admiration for the legends who came before him, it turns out that LeBron wanted to be the GOAT from day one and the signs were there.
It was LeBron, after all, who chose to wear No. 23 in the NBA, which is the same number that Jordan wore throughout his NBA career. He also embraced his old nickname ‘the Chosen One’ which was clearly a reference to his potential GOAT status.
As a rookie, nobody knew how good James would become or how his career would compare to Jordan’s, but it seems that LeBron at least had an idea that he’d be in the GOAT conversation before his career was said and done. And while it was years before LeBron lived up to the hype, many would say that he has surpassed Jordan as the greatest player ever.
Today, at 39, there isn’t anyone besides Jordan who has a better case than James as the NBA’s GOAT. In 21 years of greatness, James has built an amazing resume with 4 championships, 4 MVPs, 20 All-Star appearances, and 20 All-NBA selections.
He’s the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with averages of 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game on 50.6% shooting. Comparatively, Michael Jordan retired as a 6x champion and 5x MVP with averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game on 49.7% shooting. The Bulls legend had no weaknesses on the court and dominated the 90s as the franchise face and leader of the Chicago Bulls.
For decades, Jordan went unchallenged as the NBA’s GOAT but the narrative has started to change ever since LeBron’s most recent championship win. After 20 years of excellence, LeBron has gotten closer than anyone else to surpassing Jordan’s legacy and he’s still writing his story today.
At 39 years old, LeBron James has delivered on his promise to challenge Jordan’s reign and he has surpassed every expectation. Now that the Lakers have drafted his son, LeBron is set to make even more history this next season and he will no doubt strengthen his GOAT case with every game he plays going forward.
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