Nick Wright is one of those analysts that have bold takes almost every day. The Fox Sports talent has been known for being an avid LeBron James defender, making big cases for the King as the greatest player of all time while trying to bring down Michael Jordan.
At some point, he claimed that LeBron winning his 4th championship would tie MJ’s six, saying that the 2016 title was worth two. That’s how high Wright is on the current Los Angeles Lakers superstar, but it seems like he’s changed his opinion and selected another player as the ultimate GOAT.
During a recent appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Wright mentioned that the three biggest candidates for the GOAT title are Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and LeBron. This time, he pointed out that KAJ has the best resume of these three.
“Nobody has more championships than him of the GOAT candidates. He has scored the most points, goals, or runs, whatever the sport is, of all the candidates. In fact, of everyone in history, and has the most league MVPs of everyone in history. It would not be controversial to say he should be in the discussion.”
Wright also claimed that Jordan’s peak was superior to Kareem’s, but the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers legend had the best overall career. He even brought up Kareem’s titles before making it to the pros, which he considers good to beat MJ.
“Jordan’s pinnacle, his peak, one could argue, was higher than anybody else’s. However, the second place on that list might be Shaquille O’Neal, so why is Shaquille O’Neal not in the top five, top six, top seven? He didn’t do it long enough. Kareem has more seasons where he was a top five MVP vote-getter than Michael Jordan has seasons.”
“Michael Jordan was a very good college player, good enough that people said I’d rather have Sam Bowie. In high school, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went 79-2, and I’m told Michael Jordan got cut from his team. Now I’m sure it was a very good team he got cut from, but Kareem wasn’t getting cut. I just think Kareem has the better basketball life than Michael Jordan.”
This discussion will always be controversial, especially when people make bold claims. Using KAJ’s achievements in college and high school is a stretch when the GOAT debate refers to the greatest NBA player of all time, but of course, everybody is entitled to their opinion.
These three players left a huge mark on the game that won’t be erased. Kareem was one of the most dominant players ever, Jordan is one of the greatest scorers of all time, and LeBron has a solid case to be the best all-around player in league history.
