Winning the championship with three different teams is what really makes a case for LeBron imo, but to me, MJ had something magical that LeBron lacks.
statistically, Wilt is GOAT. I mean, c'mon, 50 points and 26 rebounds a game in a season? 30 points and 23 rebounds a game for his career? A season when he averaged 24-24-9? And he also probably averaged 4-5 blocks a game too of course, Russell's 11 championships is a pretty compelling stat Kareem had quite the career too, and his Skyhook was the most un-guardable shot in basketball history Lebron is right there with those guys and like somebody mentioned, leading 3 different teams to championships might never happen again. And his game may have evolved more over his career than any of the other greats MJ was special. And other than Jabbar's Skyhook, I can't recall any player with the ability to get quality shots against strong defense so easily. Jordan's BBIQ was extremely high so yeah, I vote for all those guys
There should be an asterisk there, with LeBron having a 3-year head start. So, 15 (and counting) vs 13 isn't that big of a difference.
I think MJ was the best to ever do it and then it's LeBron. Putting bigs on the list from the 80s and before is a bit odd. Everyone of those guys would have got their asses handed to them by Shaq, Hakeem and the Admiral and most of them would have been dominated by Malone. MJ and LeBron would have been impossible to stop in any era. I think Magic and Bird come after them.
For sake of the thread. My head tells me Michael Jordan. But I never saw any players who played before '78 when I started watching NBA basketball. LeBron may be the best player since they changed the rules and you can no longer defend the way that you could in the 80's and 90's.
This was a joke thread that only Strenuus seem to get. Nevertheless, it's nice to hear your guys' opinions. The answer is of course Jordan but if LeBron wins the title this year...
My issue with LeBron as a GOAT candidate is he's the best at collecting "back handed compliment" accolades. Played at a high level the longest. Made the Finals ten straight years or whatever. Did the most with the least help. If you have to make that many excuses for someone, they can't be the greatest ever.
The simplest answer to the simple question: There is no such thing as a goat - it's a team game that's changed its rules, salaries, and training methods over time.
Oh no, I disagree. It is simple, though. The GOAT don't quit. https://thesportsrush.com/nba-news-...game-4-vs-chris-pauls-suns-at-staples-center/
I would say "learn the game, then post" but A. you wouldn't get the joke and B. the man who made that phrase notable included Dillon Brooks on this list.
All sorts of things were out of control for both guys. Jordan didn't really have the chance to make the leap out of high school, but on the other hand there's no guarantee he'd have been as great as LeBron was at that age. (After all, LeBron had a ridiculous grown man's frame right from the start.) You can't just throw away three years of LeBron's legacy because Jordan didn't do it. In fact, there's a pretty good argument that it makes LeBron's NBA career all the more impressive that he did it without the benefit of attending an elite college program to nurture his skills like Jordan did. LeBron went up against guys like Kobe and Duncan as an 18 year old while Jordan was sometimes playing against future accountants at that age. Like I said, I judge them for what they actually had control over. LeBron has been consistently great without interruption for a ridiculous amount of time. He took no years off from the game. If I were in a high-stress business and had two elite employees and one of them showed up for a critical eleven hour shift and the other chose to only go nine hours, well, the guy who did nine is fantastic. But I'm going to love the guy who put in 11 even more. Showing up counts. People think it's all about rings or MVP's or whatever. That stuff matters too. But at this level of elite, one guy clearly put more work in over his NBA career. It's indisputable.
Participation award. Got it. I usually agree with your takes, but that last bit is a, dafuq? You have zero basis for making that statement. LeBron has more years, but you don't know how much work each guy put in per year. That's exceptionally far from "indisputable."
