$106.11 Billion Brand’s Scheme Suspected Behind Michael Jordan, Kobe, and LeBron’s GOAT Debate

The GOAT conversation has now become more like a marketing narrative than a basketball one. Stats should have been the primary metrics but now it has come to a point where the debate has been heavily influenced by factors beyond the hardwood- shoe deals, playing style and whatnot.  This selective focus has potentially overshadowed legendary players whose accomplishments rival or even surpass those commonly discussed in the GOAT conversation.

Is there a political agenda that limits the GOAT debate in the NBA to certain names? Most fans would agree that the GOAT debate primarily revolves around Michael Jordan vs LeBron James and yet another name that fans often include is Kobe Bryant. But why not someone like Magic Johnson or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Players who have been just as exceptional in their roles and have won almost equal awards and accolades.

Dwight Howard, for one, suspects politics behind their exclusion. “Was it political for LeBron to be the GOAT? Was it politics for Kobe to be considered a GOAT? Like, were these people put in this conversation because they wore Nike and they were shooting guard,” D12 raised some serious questions in the Instagram video shared by Entirely NBA.

Howard believes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could be considered one of the GOATs. “But Kareem don’t. He not with Nike. So they don’t talk about him in the GOAT conversation. They only talk about players who wear Nike shoes in the GOAT conversation,” he said. The conversation did bring up the fact that Kobe Bryant was once signed with Adidas but D12 argued that his popularity skyrocketed after signing with Nike.

It’s easy to see why this theory raises eyebrows. Jordan, LeBron, and Kobe—the three most commonly mentioned GOAT candidates—all have strong ties to Nike. But does that mean Nike is pulling the strings?

Let’s clear one thing right away: Nike did not make His Airness popular, it was the other way around. The brand itself admitted in its recent Air Jordan 1 “Banned” campaign that there might’ve been no sneaker culture in the first place had they not agreed to pay fines for Michael Jordan rocking AJ1 “Banned” sneakers. Though it’s a different story they never paid those fines, but the brand did build around the Chicago Bulls legend. At least in the basketball sense.

And here’s something a lot of people forget: MJ actually wanted to sign with Adidas. He gave them a chance to match Nike’s offer. But Adidas didn’t see his potential the way Nike’s Sonny Vaccaro did. Big mistake. And it wasn’t the last time Adidas fumbled a superstar.

Kobe Bryant had a similar experience. Adidas didn’t give him the creative control he wanted over his sneakers, so he left—paying $8 million out of his own pocket just to break his contract. Both Mike and Black Mamba found at Nike what they couldn’t at Adidas.

There’s no denying that players like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could easily be in the debate but at the end of the day, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James dominated the GOAT debate not just because they were great, but because they have had a global impact that extends beyond the game. Naturally, these three became a topic of discussion in more conversations not limited to just the US.

For those still in doubt, let’s take a step back and look at another league for perspective—the WNBA—on Dwight Howard’s claim.

Did Nike make a better judgment of Caitlin Clark’s potential?

The Indiana Fever star isn’t just a rising star—she’s a phenomenon. Her games draw millions of viewers, arenas are packed to the rafters, and her jerseys sell like anything. But here’s what makes her story even more fascinating: Clark was already making headlines before she even signed a major shoe deal.

Yes, she had already signed a NIL deal with Nike in 2022 but that expired at the end of season 2024. And later it was not just Nike but other brands like Puma, Adidas, and Under Armour chasing her. But Nike offered the best deal of all the brands: worth up to $28 million. Apart from this, yet another incentive included her getting a signature basketball shoe later.

So it’s safe to say that Nike does not make the players big that it signs but the sports apparel brand is good at its judgment of who is likely to leave a huge impact and the brand cashes on their opportunity. Exactly what the sports apparel brand did with Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James.