The NBA world has been going nuts!
Sports shows, analysts, reporters, and LeBron James supporters have been making bold statements as of late! Since LeBron first entered the NBA in 2004, everyone has insinuated that LeBron is Greatest Of All-Time.
When you take a step back and look at LeBron’s body of work in this era, it might be true. He has 3 NBA Championships, 3-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, and 4-time NBA Most Valuable Player. He also has 12 All NBA First Teams and 14 NBA All-Stars, which is safe to say that LeBron James supporters aren’t completely delusional.
However, this isn’t why LeBron James has been catching heat as of late from many former NBA legends. On ESPN’s “More Than an Athlete,” Lebron told business partners Maverick Carter, Randy Mims, and Rich Paul that winning the 2016 NBA Finals made him the Goat.
“I was super, super ecstatic to win one for Cleveland because of the 52-year drought. … The first wave of emotion was when everyone saw me crying, like, that was all for 52 years of everything in sports that’s gone on in Cleveland. And then after I stopped, I was like — that one right there made you the greatest player of all time.
James continued:
“Everybody was just talking — how [the Warriors] were the greatest team of all time, like it was the greatest team ever assembled,” he said. “And for us to come back, you know, the way we came back in that fashion, I was like, ‘You did, you did something special.’ That’s probably one of the only times in my career I felt like, oh, s—, like you did something special. I haven’t had, really had time, to really, like, sit back and think, but that … that was a moment.”
The comment infuriated many former NBA greats like Isaiah Thomas, Scottie Pippen, and Kevin McHale. The statement forcing the former legends to speak out on the Goat comment. “My problem with LeBron is if you know that you are the greatest player if people are saying you are the greatest player, why do you have to say it? Michael Jordan has never come out and said that he was the greatest player. Why? Because he’s respected the other players that have come before him. You can’t say you’re the greatest player, you have to allow others to say that. “, Scottie Pippen said on an episode of ESPN’s “The Jump.”
Former 2-time NBA Champion Isaiah Thomas also gave his opinion on LeBron’s comments.
“Everybody knows I like LeBron, but Ima call timeout on this one, and I’ll speak directly to LeBron, or say it to his face. There’s a certain thing about greatness that demands that you have humility with greatness. Now, I’ve never heard even though we argue about Michael Jordan or Kareem being the greatest of all time, I have never heard Michael Jordan come out and say he was the greatest of all time, even though he might think that.”
The Legends Weigh-In!
The comment appeared harmless to most of LeBron’s fans, but many legends took the comment as very disrespectful. Michael Jordan has won 6 NBA Titles, never lost in the NBA Finals, and dominated. But, Jordan has still never claimed himself as the greatest, because he’s never played against all of the greats. This should raise the question to many LeBron supporters. How can LeBron be the greatest when he didn’t play against greats before his time? Or beaten every player in his era as well?
It’s a logical question that has an easy answer. However, the Goat debate will continue simply because most of LeBron’s fans haven’t seen legends before LeBron play. In the end, even if it’s true, legends like Isaiah Thomas and Scottie Pippen are correct. If you’re the greatest, your peers, supporters, and viewers will automatically view you as the Goat.
