LeBron James is a big fan of Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Mike Evans, and the admiration is very much mutual. Evans was recently asked for his take on the GOAT debate between James and Michael Jordan on the 1 on 1’s Podcast, and he went with the former.
“This is my honest, honest opinion studying them dudes my whole life,” Evans said. “I love Michael Jordan, love LeBron, but if I had to choose one guy, I’ll go 1A Bron and then 1B Mike… As pro athletes, we try to play as long as we can. No matter what they say, no matter how dominant you were, you wanna play.
“I wish I could play 23 years,” Evans said. “… Most of the time, he’s the best player on the court. If he’s feeling good, he’s the best player. So you got Jordan above him, I understand, but I’m gonna go Bron. Just bigger, more versatile.”
Evans was certainly on point about James being bigger and more versatile. He is listed at 6’9″ and 250 pounds, while Jordan was listed at 6’6″ and 216 pounds during his career.
James is also a better all-around player than Jordan was. He is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer (42,184) and ranks fourth in assists (11,584). No one else even ranks in the top 10 in both categories.
James’ longevity is unmatched, too, and Evans values that highly. The 2025 season will be the 32-year-old’s 12th in the NFL, and he has a long way to go before he even comes close to the Los Angeles Lakers superstar’s tally in the NBA.
The upcoming 2025-26 campaign will be James’ 23rd in the NBA, and he will be setting a new record for most seasons played in the league. The 40-year-old is currently tied with Vince Carter at 22 but is far more productive than the Hall of Famer was at that stage of his career.
Carter put up just 5.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in his 22nd season. As for James? Well, he averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2024-25.
As Evans pointed out, there were nights last season when James looked like the best player on the court, even when he went up against some of the big names. It’s incredible how he manages to keep going.
All that said, Evans did make it clear this was very close by saying these two are 1A and 1B for him. He wasn’t trying to disrespect Jordan, who has won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles.
In comparison, James has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, a scoring title, and an assists title. Jordan has the clear edge when it comes to the major accolades, but Evans thinks longevity puts James at the top, which is what Marcus Morris believes, too.
We now turn our attention to Evans, and while he isn’t going to thrust himself into the GOAT conversation in the NFL, he has had a pretty special career, too. James congratulated him when he recorded his 10th consecutive 1,000-yard season back in 2023.
The ever-consistent Evans, who won Super Bowl LV, pulled off that feat again last season to match Jerry Rice’s record for the most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. James sang his praises not long after, and it will be interesting to see if he breaks the record this upcoming season.
