Masuk Free Press

In the world of basketball, everyone debates who we can truly call the greatest of all time. The main two candidates are basketball legends LeBron James and Michael Jordan. People often throw in personal GOATS for inspirational reasons, such as Larry Bird or the late Kobe Bryant. Some basketball players may choose someone after whom they model their game and see as a role model on the court. Others display recency bias and pick players of this generation, such as Nikola Jokic, Luka Donic, or Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

Your personal GOAT comes down to subjective preference, but when it comes down to who the real GOAT is, you have two options: Micheal Jordan or Lebron James. I see this debate as one that can be boiled down to three simple categories: longevity, achievements/accolades (MVPS, Championships, All-Star games), and historical significance (game winners, comebacks, leading the charge). 

Longevity describes the ability of an athlete to perform at a high level for a long period. Jordan played for 15 seasons, and Lebron is on season 22 and counting. So it’s done, right? Lebron wins the longevity category. Objectively, yes. But sub factors such as consistency and availability are important and can vary the discussion. Lebron has maintained a consistent average of 27.1 points per game throughout his career, which is mind-boggling to consider especially since the average points per game per player is about 10. He is also the all-time scoring leader, but when you play from when you were 18 to when your son is on your team, it’s hard not to be up on the leaderboards. 

“LeBron is the goat of basketball because he has been playing for 22 years,” said sophomore Arismendy Hidalgo. “[He] has done way more than anyone has ever played with, and has permanently changed the league.” 

Michaell Jordan sustained a 30.1 career point per game average, but he also played in about 400 fewer games than Lebron. Still, averaging 30.1 on any given night is undeniably impressive. In addition, it’s popular to extrapolate Jordan’s career and assume that if he didn’t play baseball for a couple of years while he was still in his prime, he would be even higher on the leaderboards. But at the end of the day, that’s not what happened.  An assumed career is not a viable argument. So given the fact that Lebron has played more games and been consistent his whole career, it can be recognized that Lebron surpasses Jordan in terms of longevity. 

There is still a conversation to be had, though, as Jordan dominates the accolades. Jordan is a perfect 6-0 in the NBA Finals, including two three-peats (three championships in a row), in comparison to Lebron, who is 4-6 (4 championships, 6 defeats in the Finals). 

Sophomore Alex Tiago said, “Michael Jordan [is the GOAT] because he’s never lost [in the] finals in his whole career.” 

Imagine that someone who got 40 percent on a test says that they are a better student than someone who got a perfect score. Illogical, correct? Many would argue that Lebron had a harder exam, but that’s not the case. In his finals trips, Lebron played legends such as Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry. In his career, Jordan faced Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkely, Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, John Stockton, and Karl Malone. One can say that Jordan faced a lot more high-caliber players than Lebron.

Considering regular season accolades, Jordan still dominates. Lebron has more All-Star appearances and 1st Team All-NBA appearances, but Jordan has more All-Defensive, MVPs and FMVPs. He also has a Defensive Player of the Year award, while Lebron has none. 

Our last category of consideration is the historical significance of Jordan and Lebron. A lot of people point to Lebron’s 2016 down 3-1 in the NBA Finals against the Warriors, who had a regular season record 73 wins to nine losses, and call it the greatest moment in NBA history. Others cite Jordan’s, “The Shot”, as a memorable moment in NBA history. Personally, these moments cancel out. When we talk about significance, I look at the inspirational side of things. Coming out of high school, Lebron was the next MJ, or what people wanted next. Many say he was the first ball-handling forward, as he had all the skills and physical tools necessary for greatness. 

“LeBron James is by far [the] best basketball player to live, he has 40,000 all time scoring points, he’s the greatest to do it,” said sophomore Ammar Salik.

This was all because of Jordan, who set the record on what a basketball player is. He came into the league as the third pick and destroyed everybody in his path. He instilled so much fear in his opponents that they wouldn’t even say his name. Lebron, on the other hand, never really instilled fear quite like Michael Jordan. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very easy to be scared of Lebron, but there’s a large difference between being scared of and fearing someone. Jordan would get beat up every time he got into the paint (the colored part of the floor right under the basket), especially by the infamous Bad Boy Pistons. They would light him up just because they were scared to be utterly embarrassed by a 25-year-old man. That’s the true definition of fear: “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.” 

Jordan was dangerous. Lebron instills a different type of fear. He enacts fear in the person, not just the team or the franchise. People are scared of Lebron on the court, while entire rosters were scared of Jordan. Lebron doesn’t have any so-called beef with anyone that most would consider personal with opponents in the league. For example, he’s friends with his biggest rival, Steph Curry. Jordan just wasn’t like that. He disrespected you with his words and actions. Lebron can scream in your face, but he won’t emotionally kill you with his mouth like Jordan did.

Jordan was the blueprint for greatness. Lebron is the actual building that came after. Thinking that the builder is more important than the architect is totally up to your personal interpretation, but I hope that your opinions were challenged and that you found yourself once again asking: who is the GOAT?