LeBron James just won his 4th NBA championship and a large number of fans believe this is enough to consider the King the greatest player of all time. The comparisons will always come down to James and Michael Jordan, who won six NBA championships in six trips to the Finals. LeBron boasts a 4-6 records at this stage, but people still try to make the case for LeBron as the greatest player ever.
NBA Insider for CBS Sports Tom Haberstroh joined Chicago Bulls insider K.C. Johnson on the ‘Bulls Talk’ podcast to talk about the never-ending GOAT debate. Haberstroh believes that even if LeBron wins six rings, he still couldn’t compete with Jordan given all the opportunities he needed to reach that number. In the best case, he would need 12 attempts to get six rings, while Jordan did it in half the attempts.
“I don’t think winning a championship did much. I don’t think that changes the conversation because 6-0 is unassailable. You can’t compete with 6-0. LeBron James, if he wins a 6th title. The story will be ‘well it took 12 tries to get there’. I don’t think LeBron winning a title is gonna change the conversation appreciably,” Haberstroh said, via Essentially Sports.
Haberstroh did note that LeBron’s longevity and versatility have made them one of the best players in NBA history, but when it comes to the best of the best, nobody can beat Jordan. If you have six losses in your resume, it’s hard to argue in your favor against one guy that won six titles in six attempts without ever going to a seventh game.
LeBron hasn’t shown signs of slowing down and the Lakers now have to get to work to provide him with the best pieces to defend their title. Number five and number six could land in the next couple of years.
Still, as things stand right now, nobody can take that GOAT title away from His Airness.
