Michael Jordan has openly stated he doesn’t care about the GOAT debate, but that is not going to stop the likes of Paul Pierce from talking about it. On the latest episode of the No Fouls Given podcast, Pierce stated LeBron James won’t surpass Jordan even if he ties with him six championships by winning two more with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“If we consider LeBron behind Jordan, if LeBron wins two more rings with the Lakers, I think you still couldn’t put him ahead of Jordan,” Pierce said. “Because you got to look at the role he’s in now. Because if he’s the third-best player on the championship team and he has six rings,”
James had been the best player on his teams for about two decades, but that is no longer the case. First, Luka Doncic became the top dog on the Lakers when they acquired him from the Dallas Mavericks in February 2025. Then Austin Reaves‘ rise this season led to calls for James to take even more of a backseat. There seemed to be some resistance at first, but not anymore.
James is willing to sacrifice for the Lakers if that’s what’s best for the team. Being the third option means you won’t get too much credit if your team wins it all, though, especially in these GOAT conversations.
Jordan won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles in his storied career. He was the unquestioned best player in all six of those title runs with the Chicago Bulls.
James currently has four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, one scoring title, and one assists title. If the 41-year-old does get to six while playing third fiddle on the Lakers, it won’t be considered as impressive as Jordan’s six. Pierce did add, though, that James can make it a real conversation if he dominates on the big stage.
“Well, if he wins two championship with the Lakers and got Finals MVP in both of those, it makes the argument much more,” Pierce stated. “Because then he got six Finals MVPs.”
It’s hard to see a scenario in which James wins Finals MVP when he’s playing with Doncic. The Slovenian will have to underperform massively in the NBA Finals, and he has shown that he is at his best when the lights shine the brightest.
Doncic’s critics might claim he struggled in the 2024 NBA Finals, but he averaged 29.2 points on 47.2% shooting from the field against the Boston Celtics. Had his Mavericks teammates given him any kind of support, the Celtics wouldn’t have coasted to victory in five games. So, if the Lakers win it all, Doncic is taking home that Finals MVP award.
While James may not surpass Jordan, Pierce believes he has accomplished one other task.
“Let me tell you what Bron has done,” Pierce said. “He’s made being the GOAT unattainable now. He put a wall in front of Jordan. Because to be the GOAT, that means you have to be better than LeBron. Nobody’s going to be better… If [Victor Wembanyama] won six championships, you going to be like, well, he’s not better than Bron because Bron statistically is just so much better than everybody.
“So he’s a yard,” Pierce added. “He’s created this barrier around Jordan.”
That’s an interesting way to look at it. James would disagree with Pierce, as he considers himself to be the greatest player of all time. He hasn’t had an issue speaking about this the way Jordan has. The Bulls icon made it clear the GOAT term doesn’t exist for him.
