LeBron James has never been the one to shy away from throwing his hat into the GOAT list of basketball players ever since his amazing 3-1 comeback against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. But people have always considered this as an attempt by the King to boost his case rather than let his career and resume do all the talking.
Even after winning the 2020 NBA Championship and Finals MVP during the trophy presentation, LeBron talked about wanting respect for the now-fired then-champion coach Vogel, the Lakers organization, and himself.
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He said “We just want our respect. Rob wants his respect. Coach Vogel want his respect. Organization want their respect. And I want my damn respect.”
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After winning his third championship by beating the Golden State Warriors in 2016, he even thought of himself as the greatest basketball player ever. This brought him a lot of criticism. Many people talked about how his GOAT debate competitor, Michael Jordan never put himself above his peers.
Michael Jordan’s old comments when compared to legends
Now an interview of Michael Jordan for Slam Magazine from 1997 has resurfaced where when he was questioned about how he puts himself now along with Magic and Bird.
He replies by saying, “I don’t put myself above them. I think that we’re all on parallel ground here…. I had an opportunity to go against them, in the peak of their careers, while I was still young. And I went against them, when I was at the peak of mine, when they was on the other end… You know, so it’s hard to say that I’m above them, by no means. I like to consider myself parallel to them.”
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This snippet from Jordan himself in 1997 provides us an unseen peek into his psyche as he has always been famous for being one of the hardest ever competitors in the game.
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But this interview snippet makes him more human than his fans want to admit. It showcases him as a person who has always been more than welcome to give previous legends of the game their flowers which they thoroughly deserve.
The social media era may also have influenced LeBron’s comments in sports. Fans today constantly compare one player to the other and troll the competition. NBA GOAT is a very subjective topic whose answer may depend on the person you asked, but there is no denying that in every such discussion Jordan’s and LeBron’s name deserves mention.