Michael Jordan was a popular choice amongst some of the best tennis players in the world when asked who the greatest of all time outside of their own sports was.
American players Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton were Team Michael Jordan alongside China Masters winner Hubert Hurkacz and Stefanos Tsistipas.
Jannik Sinner chose Kobe Bryant, while Sebastian Korda chose Tiger Woods. Both Daniil Medvedev and Diego Shwartzmann named a fusion of two soccer plays, with Medvedev choosing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Shwartzmann picking Messi with Diego Maradona.
It’s fitting that Hurkacz named Michael Jordan, as he channeled that spirit to win the 2023 Shanghai Masters, entering the competition as the 16th seed and going all the way to win the tournament. He beat one of the people who appeared in this video as well, prevailing over Korda in the semi-finals before winning it all.
Michael Jordan was no stranger to winning it all, even winning this unofficial poll amongst the brightest stars in tennis. Even though Kobe was mentioned, LeBron James‘ name was noticeably absent in this conversation, showing he still had a long road before he could rest on the throne as the NBA GOAT.
Charles Barkley Feels Strongly About Michael Jordan Being Better Than LeBron James
As these players showed, the average fan still looks at Jordan as the gold standard of the sport. Winning in everything and Jordan won everything. So has LeBron, but Jordan’s individual heroics for his comparatively shorter prime will make him seem more mythical than LeBron. But people who’ve seen both play, like Charles Barkley, don’t understand how LeBron is better than Jordan.
“I love LeBron. I love LeBron. But most of these people who are defending him as the greatest ever probably have never actually seen Michael Jordan actually play. The closest they’ve come is that documentary that came out, ‘The Last Dance.’ But they ain’t actually never seen Michael Jordan play.”
We are 25 years removed from Michael Jordan’s last championship win with the Chicago Bulls in 1998. That means that there are full-grown adults who weren’t around to see Jordan in his prime but grew up watching LeBron in his prime instead.
LeBron James Supported By His Own Agent
James has an argument to be made for the GOAT debate, but that argument isn’t voiced by many so far. One of the biggest proponents of that argument has been Rich Paul, one of LeBron’s closest friends and longtime agents.
“Mike transcended the game. When Kobe came, Kobe was a silhouette of Mike. That’s everything, which is great. But LeBron is the first player to have to deal with a 24/7, 365 news cycle of sports and opinions from those who are not even capable or carry the expertise to give a valid opinion… I just think LeBron’s antlers are in platinum, and Michael Jordan’s may be in gold. Why? Because he had to be compared to Mike. Who did Mike have to be compared to?”
This is a very unsubstantiated argument, as Jordan had his own share of media critics piling up. The 24×7 news cycle has amplified the noise against LeBron, but it’s dishonest to say that Jordan didn’t have more critics other than Peter Vecsey. Jordan was also held down in the greatest debates with the likes of Jerry West and Oscar Robertson until he made his case indisputable.
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