?LeBron James Lived up to the Hype?: Former Wizards All-Star Believes Goat Debate Is Unfair as Michael Jordan Had No Pressure Coming Into the NBA

LeBron James‘ two-decade dominance in the NBA world has made him second to none. The Akron Hammer has been able to achieve some of the most distinguished accolades. He even surpassed Kareem-Abdul Jabbar on the All-Time Scoring list and solidified himself in numerous top 10 stats. His four NBA championships and other feats often fuel the GOAT debates. By drawing parallels between the Chosen One and His Airness, fans often lock horns over “who the best” debates. But a former NBA star feels such discourses are pointless.

The GOAT debates have been engaging LeBron James and Michael Jordan fans for a long now. The diehards score points based on data and dominance of the duo. Part fanatic and part scientific in nature, these debates lately found a detractor dismissing the whole din over the comparative greatness.

A new twist in GOAT debate

Former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas offered fresh perspectives into the GOAT debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. In an interview with VLAD TV, Arenas said the whole discourse is unfair.

?It is f***ing amazing that LeBron James himself lived up to the hype and surpassed it,” the former Wizards star said. “And during that whole process, they treated him like sh*t.? This immediately led the interviewer to ask how the Los Angeles Lakers star got treated that way.

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Arenas continued his commentary, ?When Jordan?s 84 to 90, what did they say about Michael Jordan? Negative. Nothing at all. F***ing green lights to just try to be great, right??

Agent Zero went on to say, ?No one even thinks, no one even talks about, they talk about six years. Like, Jordan played six years only. They don?t count the Wizards years, they don?t count f***ing 80 to 90. They don?t count none of those years.?

?It?s just f***ing six rings. F***ing six tries. Greatest ever, right? That?s really how we treat Jordan, right? With LeBron, from day one, we compared him from day one to Michael Jordan. So, he was criticized from day one.?

Is Arenas right in siding with LeBron James?

Gilbert Arenas went on to shed light on how LeBron James had been treated by fans and media. He mentioned the level of scrutiny James had to face if he did not make the playoffs, switched teams, or got injured.

Arenas brought up the point of how James has not received the same treatment MJ got back in the day. According to the former All-Star, when the Chicago Bulls legend was building himself, the focus was on other stars. Whereas when James was building himself in the early years, all eyes were on him. And therefore faced a lot of criticism.

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Arenas indeed brought a new twist in the GOAT debate and has kept the floor open for further discussion.