Gilbert Arenas recently appeared on Above The Rim with DH 12, where the age-old topic of the GOAT debate once again came up. While arguing on the topic, Arenas claimed that Michael Jordan is only relevant now because of LeBron James.
“You take away all the ni**** that’s over 60 years old speaking on TV, they would never bring up Michael Jordan because he is not real today,” Arenas said. “He’s real like we know who he is, but the only people who bring him up is when LeBron James’ name gets (mentioned). That’s the only reason Michael Jordan’s relevant.”
“They’re combating the stats,” Arenas continued. “… Once LeBron James is solidified ‘You are the GOAT’, Jordan swindles. That’s why ni**** are like yo ‘Why nobody talk about Kobe (Bryant) being the greatest?’ Because he got surpassed already. There’s no point of talking about number three, it’s only one and two now.”
(starts at 2:13:09 mark):
I would say that Jordan was always going to be relevant today because of how incredible of a player he was, for the impact he had on the game, and for how well he was marketed. That said, I do believe LeBron has made him more relevant now than he’d have been if the Los Angeles Lakers star had never existed.
Jordan’s name is constantly brought up in podcasts like these, on various shows, and on social media because of the GOAT debate. Was the Chicago Bulls icon talked about a fair bit 10 years ago? Sure he was, but I’d argue he gets talked about even more now and that’s because of the constant comparisons with LeBron.
Gilbert Arenas On Why Rings Should Not Be A Factor In The GOAT Debate
Arenas had a lot to get off his chest during this episode. When the topic of rings came up during the GOAT debate, Arenas claimed Jordan was crowned the greatest before winning his first championship.
“They gave Jordan the GOAT in ’89-’90 with not one championship. You broke the code and said, ‘None of this s**t matters,’ so stop using it then because you didn’t use it when you removed Kareem, you didn’t use it when Bill Russell got moved, you didn’t use that s**t against Magic Johnson and Bird.”
“You remove these dudes from the GOAT debate because how Jordan looked. So you cannot use it against Kobe, LeBron, and all these guys. You can’t use six championships, you can’t use that because you read this n***a’s accolades and you gave it to somebody who didn’t have none of this yet.”
Some did anoint Jordan as the greatest before he won his first title in 1991, but that wasn’t a widely held belief at the time. It was only after that first three-peat from 1991 to 1993 that the notion of him being the GOAT started spreading. Then after the second three-peat, he became widely regarded as the very best.
I agree with the point that championships shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all in this debate, but it is not the only reason Jordan is regarded as the best ever. To go with those six titles, he won six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, a DPOY, and 10 scoring titles. If you don’t have as many NBA titles, the rest of your resume has to be better than his to be regarded as a greater player, and not many can argue that theirs is.
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