Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green recently offered a unique perspective on the LeBron James versus Michael Jordan debate.
LeBron and Jordan are both GOATs.@Money23Green on why the debate is bullsh*t pic.twitter.com/OWCGhZZT7G
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) March 25, 2022
“Everyone talks about when LeBron passes Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] does that make him the G.O.A.T.?” Green said, referring to James edging closer to passing Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. “I don’t think him becoming the No. 1 scorer makes him any more of the G.O.A.T. than he already is.
“What I don’t like to get into is, ‘Oh, is LeBron the G.O.A.T. over Michael Jordan?’ No, LeBron is a G.O.A.T., and Michael Jordan’s a G.O.A.T., and they’re both incredible, and they never played against each other.
“So how can we ever settle that? It’s all subjective, and I hate that in sports no one’s running around talking about, ‘Well Google’s a better company than Apple,’ or ‘Apple’s a better company than Amazon.’ No, we all just appreciate those companies for what they bring to this world.
“But yet we get in sports and we get in basketball, and it gotta be LeBron James against Michael Jordan as the G.O.A.T. and who’s the best. They’re both incredible. They’re both great. They’re both G.O.A.T.s.
“So when talking about the G.O.A.T. and which one, man that’s bulls—. I respect both of those guys. I appreciate both of those guys, and at some point, I hope this world of basketball catch up and appreciate that as well.”
James and Jordan have been compared for years, as they are two of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball. Their individual accolades speak for themselves.
Jordan is a 14-time All-Star and five-time MVP. He is also a Hall of Famer, having won 10 scoring titles and six NBA titles during his time in the league. Furthermore, he was named NBA Finals MVP on six separate occasions.
For his career, Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field.
As for James, he is a four-time NBA champion and four-time league MVP. He has made 18 All-Star teams and been named NBA Finals MVP a total of four times.
Fans are undoubtedly always going to debate who is better between Jordan and James, but Green makes a great point about appreciating their individual greatnesses. It’s impossible to write the history of the NBA without James and Jordan being at the forefront of the conversation, and James is still adding to his story today.
The Los Angeles Lakers star is looking to capture another NBA title, but he will have an uphill battle this season, as the Lakers are likely going to end up in the league’s play-in tournament.
Still, it is impossible to count James out until his team is eliminated. Only time will tell if James ends up getting the fifth title of his career this season.
