Always been a pointless debate in all sports the equivalent of small talk.

Yeah, but what does he know compared to the average r/NBA poster. I bet he doesn’t even use advanced metrics like FUBAR and WILLY.

The guy himself has the most reasonable take thats super respectful, but then people online will argue whos better and trash on players to prop up their guy. You can compare players that play against each other in the same era, but how do you compare dudes in completely different eras. Hell even in the same era its hard since how do you judge something against a player if its a coaches decision to play them a specific way? We’ve seen plenty of guys go from not talked about to everyone praising them when they went to a situation that could better use them. Aaron Gordon being a great example of this.

Tending to agree. It’s fun to talk about, but you’ll never know who the true GOAT is if you want consider how they would fare against each other in their primes. Without that, you’re kind of just comparing their relative journeys in their eras which differed from each other. Like you can say Lebron is GOAT for having this much success against modern defense and athleticism but how is that fair for MJ who didn’t compete in modern nba. A modern day MJ could’ve adapted and excelled in ways possibly beyond Lebron - no one truly knows.

Jordan should have stopped at 4 championships to respect (in the future) Kobe’s (not at all a) record of 5.

Nobody with a straight face can argue Kobe was better than Jordan. 

Honestly most people decide who the GOAT is by looking at the best player face of the league they grew up with. Similar to how people tend to think the best era of NBA is the one they grew up with. Any stats/accolades after that are only really used to justify their decision post-hoc.

EDIT: Changed ‘best player’ to ‘face of the league’ because marketability also plays a role. E.G Kobe and Tim Duncan had about the same amount of success in the same era, but the number of people who would say Kobe is their GOAT compared to TD is huge.

How is his multi-year decayed RAPM. That’s the only argument I make…

How is he so much wiser than the entire sportstalk universe? I guess they need to fill airtime…

Was thinking bout wilts 100 and the dude was shooting practically lights out at the ft line as a big which is still uncommon in today’s game, can’t even act like old stars wouldn’t be monsters if they played now.

He is so WRONG.

It’s Joe Ingles… and its not even close!

A list of some of the top 10 NBA players and what they think about the GOAT topic. Very interesting, especially from the old heads.

Lebron: “That one right there made me the greatest player of all time.”

Shaq: Lebron’s the greatest of all time? What about Michael and Kobe?”

Kobe: “Magic at PG, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Kareem, Wilt at the 5. I’m not anywhere near those guys”

Larry Bird “I played against Magic, Michael, Kareem, it’s hard to pick one, the list goes on and on.”

Magic: “Michael Jordan. Larry Bird. Dr J. Kareem, and Bill Russell”

Wilt: “I’m greater than Michael Jordan”

Notice how he says “play against them” and not “play with them.” The competitive flame still burns brightly.

Jordan is still the GOAT though. But it’s great he’s so respectful.

Good take but we all know he’s the goat

I have spoken

The scenario you have to imagine is Michael Jordan or any of the greats being born now with the same gifts but they’re trained on modern kinesiology/physical therapy/analytics/dietetics/information.

I bet this Jordan guy doesn’t even know what EFG stands for

I agree.

The goat argument is hard when you have a guy with 11 rings.

I think the greats of every era can play in any era as the difference is the mentality between superstars.

80% of all basketball Content is goat debates.  Without it espn has 5 minutes of content a day 

Jordan is my GOAT and I’m a Pistons fan…do you realize how good he had to be for me to say this lol? Other people can have their own personal GOAT(s) and that’s probably the best we can all do because it’s just really tough to say there’s a consensus #1 of all time for shit like this.

This is very par for the course for MJ. He has said this for years, and hasn’t deviated. I also happen to agree with him - it’s impossible to accurately compare eras in any consequential way.

Say what you will about the goat convo. MJ has been pretty consistent with this. He has always paid his respects to older generation. I have never heard MJ trash the older or the new gen. GOAT of his time maybe a better term then.

This is why he is the goat

It wasn’t until the self proclaimed king, the chosen one, or whatever else he calls himself, was there ever this debate of who is the GOAT. MJ is right because he didn’t play in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Bill Russell, Wilt, the Big O didn’t get to play beyond the’70s.

The GOAT is humble too

Not even just in their primes, what if today’s guys grew up back in the 60s when some of these dribbling concepts either weren’t thought of or were outright illegal NBA moves, or with the different training available, or any number of variables that have changed over the last 75+ years.

I think most of our best guys from any era could figure it out in another era given the opportunity.

I doubt he really thinks this deep down

Give the man some credit at least, he’s fully aware of his credentials but doesn’t keep pushing the “I’m GOAT” narrative everywhere. Unlike LeBron who takes every moment to let the world know he thinks he’s the best thing since sliced bread.

He must’ve said this before Bam entered the conversation later that evening. /s

He wins one Oscar and now he has takes on basketball???

/s

Don’t belittle those who came before you.

You can see more than they could because you are standing on their shoulders.

If you’ve watched the entire careers of a lot of these players, you likely know who the GOAT is. Stats and even championships are impossible to value over the course of multiple eras - a lot of things change, like rules, styles, philosophies, travel, lifestyle, CONTEXT, etc. Being productive and winning are, of course, crucial to a player’s legacy - but don’t dismiss the eye test of just watching a lot of great players hoop.

It’s all preference, but if you missed watching the Jordan Era, you’re missing a big, big piece of data.

that one right there made MJ that greatest of all time

This is the correct answer. It will sadly stop nobody from charging ahead and continuing to pointlessly debate it though

Respectful answer but everyone knows Jordan is the GOAT of basketball, he’s honestly probably the greatest athlete I’ve ever seen, period.

Hard to believe there will ever be someone with that level of skill, athleticism, build, ability to be coached, and mentality all rolled into one. Wembanyama could be that guy though.

Only the real GOAT would come up with such a thoughtful response😂

Nah real talk. He ain’t wrong though. The game has been played so differently across eras. The whole GOAT debate has never really made sense. It always took the people before laying the foundation of what is possible to inspire future generations of what could be possible.

Goated

MJ has been saying this since 1996.

https://youtu.be/BwbSedTDUoU?si=3_7XAvil6sumgHQz

He respects the previous “artists” too much. He’s correct that it doesn’t exist. All-time means you faced everybody in every decade. You dealt with all the levels of different competition and rules. You endured what your forefathers did before you like playing in Chuck Taylors and riding trains to travel instead of commercial flights. You slept in motels. And it’s a TEAM sport. How can you single out an individual? Every individual can be affected by the organization that drafts or trades for him. That puts a decent supporting cast around him.

But this stupid, endless GOAT debate continues because the NBA and networks want to farm for clicks. A good 10 minutes to waste every morning on ESPN or any other sports channel. Now if you define the GOAT with the most trophies, then it’s Michael Jordan. But it would be unfair to Bill Russell because he won as many MVPs as MJ but Finals MVP didn’t exist yet until 1969 and DPOY until the 1982-1983 season. Bil Russell could’ve won 6-8 Finals MVPs and DPOY at least 6-8x.

It does not exist. GOAT is only used for marketing hype and clickbait. There might be GOATs for each generation or decade but that’s it.

MJ has always been consistent on this topic. Even when playing he never compared himself to former greats in that way.

One of the big head coaches( my memory is shot ) in an interview gave a great answer If there was a draft for every player in history to make a team around virtually every coach or owner would pick LeBron with pick #1 as the overall best all around option

3 /10/26 is a crazy career statline is this guy the next draymond?

Always found it funny how Jordan, a brasher and more arrogant person in general, is sooooo much more deferential about this stuff than LeBron (“that one right there made me the greatest of all time”)

Jordan is killing the stupid GOAT debate. ESPN in shambles. Jordan is a GOAT for this.

The phony GOAT said he’s the one, though

MJ truly the GOAT of GOAT debates, there is no argument

That’s why he’s the GOAT