The NBA community, like any sport, has a perpetual debate. Who’s the greatest of all time? Over the years there have been numerous perspectives, however, without any strong conclusion. A former Golden State Warriors star brought a fresh perspective to the table while comparing LeBron James and Michael Jordan, the most common names involved. However, the former NBA star also dragged Ja Morant and his career to explain his pick for the best-ever basketball player.

Although King James and MJ have refrained from explicitly talking about the Grizzlies star, even they might be surprised to hear his name popping up in comparison.?

Former NBA star slams Ja Morant while comparing Michael Jordan and LeBron James

Back in February, LeBron James broke the all-time scoring record in the NBA with a fade-away shot to reach 38,388 points. As soon as he achieved the unprecedented feat, the ‘GOAT’ conversation which had a pin on it, reignited. Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas came up with a very interesting argument to pick LeBron James over Michael Jordan as the best player to play the game.

In a recent episode on I Am Athlete, Arenas strongly presented his view on how Michael Jordan wouldn’t be the greatest if he was playing in the modern basketball era.

“If we take MJ, we take LeBron? and we switch them in eras, boom! Michael Jordan’s personality, the way he lived his life, he would not be perfect like LeBron is,” said Arenas. He added, “… When we’re talking about Ja Morant and the silly s**t he’s doing, and that’s tarnishing his legacy. You take MJ’s personality, the gambling, and all that and put it in this scrutiny, f*** no!”

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It seems like Morant’s actions have become a blueprint of what not to do as a young player in the eyes of many. Arenas pressed on the fact that MJ’s controversial gambling habits would have come under the spotlight in the current era. However, one could argue that Jordan’s gambling habits were still popular back in the day, but he handled those issues with immense grace.

Jordan handles gambling controversies in the ’90s

Jordan’s gambling caught the eyes of many in the 90s. Although the Chicago Bulls legend claimed that it was his recreational choice and it wasn’t an ‘issue’ as many assumed it to be, there was still a lot of pressure on MJ to become a good role model for the younger generation.

Hence, the Bulls legend came out clean in an interview with Ahmad Rashad to explain how he was financially stable enough to engage in such recreational activities. Furthermore, he also explained how his friends and family didn’t view his gambling as a ‘problem’ that he needed help with, effectively squashing all rumors about him being addicted to the activity..

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