We all know how intense the GOAT debate can be, especially when fans discuss who the greatest player of all time is on social media. While Michael Jordan and LeBron James are the two biggest names on this debate, fans, analysts and former players often have a different candidate to that unofficial title.
Still, His Airness and The King are considered the biggest names in this discussion. They draw the most attention from the NBA community. Recently, Dwyane Wade made a big claim about the future of this discussion, predicting that in several years from now, Jordan’s name will be forgotten, just like it happened with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the past.
“Yes it does. I mean like, of course. These GOATs, these names that we throw out, it’s not gonna just be a lot of those players. But the game continues to keep moving forward. And so we are gonna continue to see things that we have never seen before. And the eyes are gonna get younger and younger.”
“We are not going to have a conversation about the GOATs. Now it’s going to be the younger, younger, younger generation. And they’re gonna forget about Jordan like we forget about Kareem.”
Shannon Sharpe, one of LeBron James’ biggest defenders, agreed with the Miami Heat legend, explaining that Jordan’s name could still be relevant thanks to the Jordan Brand. Yet, the player will be slowly forgotten by the public. Why? Because they never got to see the him playing.
In a recent edition of FS1’s Undisputed, the NFL Hall of Famer stated that names like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry will relegate Jordan to a second position, drawing all the attention from the younger generations.
“There’s a little truth to it, but I think Jordan is gonna have a lot more staying power,” Sharpe said. “What MJ has in his favor is the Jordan brand. But over time it gets more difficult because you never saw him play. 20 years from now, people will talk about LeBron, KD and Steph.”
https://twitter.com/undisputed/status/1482031001983401984
Jordan delighted everybody during his active days, turning the Chicago Bulls into a competitive and winning franchise, collecting six NBA championships in eight years.
Things have changed since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s days. MJ made a big impression on those who watched him play and that hasn’t changed after almost 20 years since his third and final retirement. The Jordan Brand will play in his favor and the fact that people can find highlights everywhere can help him stay as the GOAT for a longer time.
Still, we’ll have to wait 20 or 30 years to see if Wade’s prediction turns out to be true.
