The debate over who is the GOAT of basketball will rage on for years to come, as Michael Jordan has finally had a credible challenger after decades as the unanimous pick. LeBron James might not have the championships, but his league-breaking longevity has allowed him to establish his own unmatchable lane of success which strengthens his argument as the GOAT.
However, it seems most people still lean toward Jordan. This includes LeBron’s former teammates, with Miami Heat comrade Mario Chalmers recently backing Jordan over LeBron on Dwight Howard’s podcast ‘Above The Rim With DH12.’
“When you talk to people—guys I played with, guys who played before me—they all say the same thing. With (Michael) Jordan? It was fear. They called him ‘Black Jesus.’ They called him ‘Black Cat.’ There was a different stigma that came with playing against MJ. That’s just not the same with Bron.”
“Now, don’t get it twisted—Bron’s the best overall player you could want as a superstar. Physically gifted, can do everything on the court. But my GOAT? The guy I’d want to live and die with in a big moment? That’s Jordan. That’s just me.”
The fear factor in something that’s not measurable, but there’s definite truth to it. I feel like mentioning this should be a demerit to the previous generation, as if they were elite competitors they wouldn’t face such a mental blockade.
No generation of players has ever admitted to fearing another player outside specific moments, so I don’t think it’s as much a Jordan thing as it was his opposition.
The NBA was going through post-expansion issues as multiple bottom-dwelling teams existed amidst a few elite contenders. Jordan was the best of them all without question and has earned the title of GOAT through his achievements, but the fear factor isn’t really a tangible thing to count.
Players Have Admitted To Fearing LeBron James
This narrative that LeBron isn’t feared has been brought up before, by Chalmers himself in fact, and it has been rebuked. It does seem like Chalmers often likes to break into the news cycle with his takes on the GOAT debate as a former LeBron teammate who picks Jordan and claims first-hand experience as the basis of his decision.
The greatest example comes from former Playoff opponent George Hill once saying that only God is scarier than Playoff LeBron.
“There’s only like one person who’s scarier, and that’s God.”
Paul George and DeMar DeRozan are two All-NBA caliber players who were repeatedly thwarted by LeBron in the East Playoffs and have painfully recounted how LeBron was feared due to his unstoppable nature in those Playoff settings they encountered him in.
Kendrick Perkins was another Eastern Conference rival of LeBron’s with the Boston Celtics and once admitted to praying for LeBron to get injured before a Playoff matchup. If that isn’t fearing a player, I don’t know what is.
Draymond Green has also mentioned he has had teammates terrified of LeBron, so claiming he isn’t feared is just asinine.
This shouldn’t be a metric of the GOAT debate anyway, but James nonetheless has to continue proving his status as a credible challenger to Jordan’s throne despite a 22-year career at an All-NBA level. His fear factor is just as high for any comparable modern great, especially among coaches, so we need to drop this notion.
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