The G.O.A.T Debate

Who is the greatest basketball player of all time? It is a question that has been up in the air for the better part of the last four years now. I say four years because the entire conversation nowadays is based on the matchup between LeBron James and Michael Jordan, and up until 2016 the main question on James' end was about if he could reach a status as high as Jordan’s, not so much if he could attain one that is greater. However, after leading the greatest comeback in NBA finals history against what could have been the greatest single-season team in league history, while simultaneously ending a 52 year long, city-wide championship drought in Cleveland in the process, people started to view LeBron in a different light, making the case the he is, in fact, the greatest to ever play the game. He’ll even tell you that himself. But is he? Having watched people from far and wide argue about who’s the greater player, spanning from social media to national television, I’d say the favor weighs at about 55% for Jordan, 40% for LeBron, and 5% for anyone else. I can’t really say that I know of a way to settle the debate because there are so many factors to consider: the era of basketball in which each player performed, the evolution of media, the teams each player played for, their teammates, coaches, and management, the level of competition presented before them, and so on.

Despite all the stories I’ve seen and heard pertaining to the greatness that was Michael Jordan’s career, I feel like it would almost be unfair for me to claim that he or anyone else is the greatest to play the game. I wasn’t there to watch the progression of every credible candidate’s career, and the stats only tell you so much of the actual story. That said, this piece isn’t so much an argument on who actually is the greatest player in NBA history, but more so it is an attempted explanation based on why people seem to never be able to come to a resolution on this topic, focusing on the two players at the forefront of the debate today: Michael Jordan, and LeBron James.

The way I see it, LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan was, but Michael Jordan remains the greater player between the two. I base that opinion on how the argument usually flows on all fronts between people in the media who have seen both players play. Now, it sounds like I’m contradicting myself in order to try to play into the favor of both sides, but I assure you I’m not. Here’s how I map it out: in this specific conversation, there exists a thin and blurred line that separates being better and being greater. Those who make an argument favoring one guy over the other often doesn’t discern that difference, which in turn gives way to the everlasting friction that sets the ground upon which the debate continues without end. Being the better player doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re the greater player. Equally, being the greater player doesn’t always mean that you are the better player either.

I’ll give you an example. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls are still considered the greatest single season team in NBA history right? 72-10 regular season record, at the time the best in league history, a 15-3 record throughout the playoffs, and an NBA championship to boot. These accolades achieved in that season made them the greatest, and obviously, the best team around at the time. However, as the league progressed and ongoingly evolved, the slew of talent that would enter the league each year increased exponentially due to the expansion of the league’s reach up to now, in the modern era of NBA basketball, where stars and hall of fame caliber players from across the world with a variety of skills and techniques that reshape gameplay are studded about. As a result of this evolution, the great teams that emerge in the league today are able to play with a style that simply outclasses the great teams that came before them. With that said, I can comfortably suggest that teams like the 2016 Golden State Warriors, who currently hold the record for most regular season victories at 73, are in fact “better” than those aforementioned Bulls. Moreover, other historically great teams we’ve bore witness to in the last few years like the 2018 Houston Rockets, 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, and the 2013 Miami Heat (among others) all courted teams that I believe would outdo that Chicago team. Despite this belief, I do not believe any of the teams I have just brought up to be “greater” than those 96’ Bulls, as they remain the winningest regular season team to go on to win the NBA title. That achievement, no matter how long ago it was or how the league and the game itself has evolved since, continues to validate them as the “greatest” team in NBA history.

I’ve often heard people in the media refer to Shaquille O’Neal as the most dominant player in league history. Dominant can be considered synonymous to better, and better to greater all the same. However, we do not call Shaq the greatest of all time. The manner in which he played the game and achieved throughout his career warranted that distinction of being the most dominant, but there are other components to consider when you think of potentially better or greater players. Offensively, MJ and LBJ were and are skilled in several areas of the game and have dealt damage to their opposition in multiple ways. Shaq played one way and still couldn’t be tamed or stopped. That more so than anything else outlined his dominance. Michael Jordan through his efforts, and with some help along the way, took one of the most distraught organizations in the league and led the way as it morphed into the “greatest” dynasty in the history of the sport, and with several additional accomplishments achieved throughout, made himself out into one of the utmost icons in sports and the league into one of the most popular worldwide in the process. LeBron, in comparison to Jordan (in my opinion), is just better at the sport. He’s bigger, he’s stronger, he’s faster, he’s a better passer, a slightly more efficient scorer, he’s done it longer, mostly without sustaining a significant injury, and has a higher basketball IQ. Jordan was the cog in the machine that made things flow for his team; LeBron essentially is the machine himself wherever he goes. It is because of this that I see LeBron as the better player.

Under that train of thought, It starts to make more sense when I say that LeBron is better, but Jordan is greater right? Now in LeBron’s defense, the road that was paved for him throughout his career wasn’t as smooth as Jordan’s. Never having a second all-NBA caliber player in his first stint in Cleveland, injuries to Dwyane Wade in his latter years in Miami and Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in his first year during his second stint in Cleveland, on top of the Warriors forming what I believe to be the best team ever assembled, have all given LeBron somewhat of an out for not winning more championships than he already has thus far, as these are roadblocks that MJ didn’t really have to work his way through, and it would be unfair to disqualify LeBron from the conversation due to factors that were out of his control. Knowing this, we were then forced to measure the legend of LeBron James through the other accomplishments in his career on top of the championships, league MVP’s, and other awards he’s garnered in his tenure. The question from that standpoint then becomes: at what point do those ever-growing, though considerably more minor accolades make up for the lack of championship victories, and add up to him ultimately surpassing the legend of Michael Jordan in the process? What is another league MVP award? Another world championship?

To tell you the truth, I don’t know. Even if I had an idea on how that would work itself out, it really isn’t for me to decide. It has to be a consensus decision. But seeing as how there are an array of different factors to consider for each credible contender to that legendary, individual status, there is no set criterion to use that’ll help us come to an agreement on the matter. And so long as the line between being known as the best and being known the greatest remains blurred and often undetected, there may never be a conclusion in sight. Fortunately, LeBron isn’t done playing just yet, so we’ll just have to see what becomes of the remains of his career. Regardless of how that goes, the fact that he has a significant stake in the game means that he’s already won. He may not go down as the greatest, but he is already considered one of the greatest, and there’s no real loss there. There are worse spots to finish your career in than 2nd.