- Stephen A. Smith considers Michael Jordan to be the GOAT
- Smith was asked if his opinion would change if LeBron James wins the title this upcoming season
- Smith stated he still wouldn’t consider LeBron to be the greatest
Stephen A. Smith has made it fairly clear that he believes Michael Jordan is the GOAT, and that won’t change even if LeBron James wins a fifth title in the 2023-24 season. Smith was on the Club Shay Shay podcast recently when he and Shannon Sharpe started a GOAT debate.
“When you got four games against the Dallas Mavericks in which people looked at you and said choke, you cannot get past that,” Smith said. “That to me sealed the deal about the MJ-LeBron comparison.”
LeBron’s meltdown against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals was really unforgettable. That series was supposed to be his crowning moment, and instead, became a nightmare.
Sharpe then asked if Smith would change his mind if James wins a fifth title this upcoming season at age 39 and he said, “Don’t matter. So? That don’t erase Jordan.”
Smith received some pushback over that comment. After some back and forth, he brought up another incident that he holds against LeBron.
“The following year with the All-Star Game,” Smith said. “You got the ball in your hands. It’s an exhibition. It’s an exhibition. It doesn’t count. It’s all in fun. Kobe (Bryant) claps his hands, god rest his soul, and he’s like, ‘Yo, come on with it.’ You got (Dwyane Wade) on the court. You got (Carmelo Anthony) in the corner, and he threw the pass. All three of them, along with Kobe, descended on LeBron and said, ‘Yo, what’s up? What you doin’?’ Because they knew he was psyched out. He was messed up.”
(starts at 11:02 mark):
Smith was referring to the time when Bryant and Anthony called out LeBron for twice passing up a potential game-winner in the 2012 All-Star Game. He believes the likes of Kobe and Jordan would have never gotten psyched out like that.
Stephen A. Smith Had Previously Shared Another Argument In Favor of Michael Jordan
While Smith brought up a couple of points here on why he has Jordan over LeBron, he has shared a few more in the past.
Last month, Smith proved that Jordan is the GOAT over LeBron with one simple argument. He claimed that during LeBron’s era, there have been debates on whether James was the best player in the world.
Smith stated that in Jordan’s era, he was the undisputed best player in the world. Even though Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were winning titles, the 55-year-old said it was clear that the Chicago Bulls icon was the best.
Who Is The GOAT?
Let’s take a bit of a deeper look at how LeBron and Jordan measure up against each other at this point.
Michael Jordan’s career stats: 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game
LeBron James’ career stats: 27.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game
Michael Jordan’s accomplishments: 6x NBA champion, 6x Finals MVP, 5x MVP, 14x All-Star, 11x All-NBA selections, 9x All-Defensive selections, 1x Defensive Player of the Year, 10x NBA scoring champion, 3x NBA steals leader
LeBron James’ accomplishments: 4x NBA champion, 4x Finals MVP, 4x MVP, 19x All-Star, 19x All-NBA selections, 6x All-Defensive selections, 1x NBA scoring champion, 1x NBA assists leader, All-Time leading scorer
LeBron does have the edge in some areas, but Jordan just has a better resume at this point. We listed out what James has to do in order to surpass Jordan as the GOAT, and it includes winning two more NBA championships.
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