Some debates deserve their own stage.
So while our (anonymous) NBA Player Poll was released on Monday and had a record 142 players weigh in on some of the most interesting questions about their league, we decided to delve a little deeper into the age-old GOAT discussion because there’s a Fascinating voting trends must be explored.
While Michael Jordan won his third consecutive “Greatest of All Time” award, his massive lead over LeBron James shrank significantly with each passing vote. This time, James almost took over the burden. The data speaks loud and clear…
- 2019 (first Competitor poll was conducted): Jordan received 73% of the vote, James came in second at 11.9% (a gap of 61.1 percentage points)
- 2023: Jordan received 58.3% of the votes, and James ranked second with 33% (a gap of 25.3%)
- 2024: Jordan received 45.9% of the votes, and James ranked second with 42.1% (the difference was only 3.8%)
But why has Jordan’s lead shrunk so much? We want players to explain themselves.
LeBron voters old and new alike argue that his longevity is the ultimate differentiating factor between the two. He will be 40 years old on December 30, but is still great enough to be widely considered one of the best players in the game today. While Jordan had epic accomplishments during his 14-year career, from his 6-0 record in the NBA Finals to his five Most Valuable Player Awards and his incredible… performance on both ends of the floor, but many players believe James has the ability to remain elite for longer.
To recap, Jordan retired twice during his storied career (1993 and 1998) and played 14 seasons over the course of 19 years. When he was James’ age, in the last of his two forgettable seasons in Washington, he had good results on a bad Wizards team, and in the two he didn’t make the playoffs, In this season, the Wizards achieved a record of 37 wins and 45 losses. James, meanwhile, saved his best work for last:
- On February 7, 2023, he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record
- He leads the Los Angeles Lakers into the Western Conference Conference finals three months later
- In December, he led the Lakers to the (first) in-season championship
- In February, he became the first player selected to the 20th All-Star Team
- He is one of three players (the other two are Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic) averaging at least 25 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds this season.
Out of respect for the current GOAT, we’ll start by highlighting the nuanced perspective of a Jordan voter who believes Jordan’s impact on the entire sports world, not just basketball, is a defining unknown.
“The greatest of all time is LeBron James, (but) the greatest of all time is Michael Jordan,” the player said. “The difference is the statistics. When you talk about impact, it’s Michael Jordan. When you talk about stats and numbers, it’s LeBron. Mike had the biggest impact, which makes him the greatest of all time in every way because he Not just basketball. He influenced people who looked up to him in tennis and football. But you don’t hear about LeBron. But more importantly, Jordan changed the game. That’s a big difference.
However, as many LeBron voters detail below, it goes much deeper than that for them. The microphone is theirs:
“I think it’s crazy what Jordan did in (14) years, but you have to add a lot of other things (for him to catch up to James). I think we’re getting MVP fatigue with ‘LeBron.’ I think he should There are seven (MVPs, not four). I think LeBron should get the MVP of D-Rose (2010-11). I think he should get the MVP of KD (Kevin Durant). (2013-14). I think he should have won an MVP over James Harden (2017-18).
“Who would I draft in a historical draft? That’s how I look at it, you know what I’m saying? Some people are like, ‘Who do I want to take the last shot?’ “Blah, blah, blah, all this other stuff –. But in the all-time draft, I picked LeBron James. Why? I had 20 years of greatness, and I got a pick from one to five. player (from point guard to center). I would just say that my No. 2 pick would be Shaq (O’Neal), the most dominant player of all time, so in my GOAT debate, I would. So pick 1-2. This is coming from a Kobe (Bryant) fan.
“Winning is tough from an era perspective. Obviously, Mike is the killer. So, how does he adapt to the growth of three-pointers? If we take off the Teflon MJ cape, there will be problems. If you take the current Players go back in time and we’re going to kill them. Part of what makes Michael who he is is the first of his generation: 6-foot-6. Inch, 40-inch vertical, which was crazy in the 1980s, but now we have rookies and role players doing it. James is 6-foot-9, 260 pounds, and has a 50-inch vertical. Years. (Now) in high school, people were jumping from the free throw line and dunking on people. When I was in school, it was a little thing to windmill up. … Now, these kids are just windmilling over kids. , did it in eighth grade. That’s part of the evolution, even in basketball, once people see it’s possible, they try to do it when I was a kid. Over-the-leg dunks. That’s what we’re eager to do. Now people are looking at Zach LaVine and 360s from the free throw line and other wild plays… That’s part of the growth of this stuff.
“(LeBron) Absolutely. I think he can do it all and win championships (champions) with so many different organizations (Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Lakers) and score the most points in his career. , while figuring out how to maintain longevity in his career, and he figured it out at the highest level.
“LeBron James is, without a doubt, the greatest basketball player of all time. What he brings to the court, and what he brings to the table for a long time, is my thing.
“I would say LeBron. To last 20 years, that’s crazy. I think it’s more of a longevity thing you have to look at and (how) he still plays at the highest level every year. With the highest expectations. (The expectations placed on him), he had everything to lose in terms of coming into the league and it would have been easy for him to underperform and not live up to those expectations, and I think he’s far exceeded them, all of them, somehow. … On the court, the closer you get to the game, the more you feel how great James is, how he sees things, how he speaks. His impact on the game, his importance to the game can be felt.
“(LeBron), easily. He’s the best in every aspect, his longevity, his consistency, his availability. He wins.
“For me personally, growing up, (James) was the pinnacle. As a kid from the Midwest, I remember him from (St. Vincent-St. Mary High School) in Ohio and I heard about him as a kid. Just that. To see him come up and see what he’s done since he’s been in the league, it’s been a testament to him and all the hard work that he’s done.
“Longevity, consistent for over 20 years.”
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(Illustration: John Bradford/ Competitor; Top photos of LeBron James and Michael Jordan: Justin Tafoya, Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images)
