Michael Jordan - “There’s no such thing as GOAT.”
Always fascinating to see this take brought up every 5-10 years by MJ himself and people be surprised.
You can find footage back to his first 5 years in the league repeating this almost word for word. Never waivered.
Respect.
First time he said it was like 1985 I believe lol. And he has said it yearly since then since he is always asked.
Makes perfect sense too. Being the greatest is much more about your snapshot in time than it is about different eras.
Like was rookie MJ looking at Kareem/Magic/Bird in the 80s and thinking, “Yeah, Wilt’s bitchmade compared to this.” Obviously not. Different eras, different game.
Props to him for remaining consistent even when he became the focal point.
Yeah but what does he know about basketball?
And that’s why he’s the GOAT 😌
I mean he plays both sides of the argument. He says stuff like this and gases up how dynamic the sport is and a bunch of other “High BBIQ” takes, then when it gets down to how he stacks up against [insert other superstar player throughout history] he acts like they’d have no chance against his greatness.
Because he’s ultra competitive. Both things can easily be true.
They both can be true, but it’s to say, he doesn’t commit to either opinion. So attributing him the GOAT status because he has one opinion, but ignoring the other opinion that contradicts it isn’t a logical conclusion to come to.
It’s like Shaq changing his opinion for whatever is convenient for him at the time.
For me the goat conversation is just for fun. Is not supposed to be a serious discussion because it’s not possible to have a goat unless there is a player who is the greatest C/PF/SF/SG/PG. That player does not exist and no, just because someone can guard 1-5 for short periods of time vs certain matchups doesn’t count. I’m talking playing a full season in all 5 positions and still be the best at those position. That is a true positionless player and again, that player does not exist. Maybe in the distant future but from history until now, no one is able to do so.
So yes, the goat conversation is only for fun. Not something to seriously be debated.
For most people is for fun. For the media they need something to talk about.
There is one person who actually cares that much about this.
Larry Bird called Michael Jordan GOD so it kind of makes sense that Jordan doesn’t want to be referred to by a lesser title /s
What’s God to a non-believer
Who don’t believe in anything
It’s either GOD or Black Jesus for Mike, nothing less
But privately, MJ would have debates with Bill Russell and Wilt over how he was gonna win more rings than them or how he was more dominant lol.
But I think he always knew, it’s just a debate for fun. And the media drives it for money.
But i genuinely think he would never say to them “I’m GREATER than you”. There is no Michael without those two. There is no Kobe and Lebron without Michael. There is no Zion without Kelvin Benjamin, the list goes on…
This is one of the more effortlessly funny comments I’ve read online in some time.
A+
God dammit
That’s just competition
Thats why he is the Goat
I honestly think there is only one person who cares about this. This goat discussion was so meaningless to most people when you compare across generations with different rules.
Back in the day, the debate was Kareem, Jordan, Bird and Magic for who would be the best to ever play (while the last three were all active - no one knew Bird and Magic’s careers would be so short at the time).
The thing was, no one really took it seriously. They all played completely different positions with completely different styles, so it made no sense to compare them except for rivalry reasons. And that was mostly around the same time (kinda), so it was a cleaner comparison than usual.
Their are literally stories about how Micheal Jordan and Wild got in to a Heated argument at the NBA’s 50tg anniversary about who the GOAT is.
Yeah he’s talked about Bill Russell, Kareem, etc. plenty of times and he’s honestly right. GOAT is a fun argument to have but it’s hard to compare players across eras. The game changes and the greats are the ones who change it.
Stephen A said Jordan texted him that he puts Magic above Curry because he has one more ring. As goofy as Stephen A is, I don’t see him lying on Jordan’s name like that on international air waves. So, assuming it’s true, Jordan clearly isn’t opposed to ranking players from different eras.
I think MJ believes he was the best to ever lace them up, but I think he also genuinely believes that to put those thoughts to words is to disrespect the foundation laid before him by generations past. He’s maintained his position for decades.
Very well put. Russell, Chamberlain, Kareem, even Magic and Bird all had some sort of claim at one time
Westbrook was NOT that good
He was talking about D’angelo.
Barksdale?
WHERES WALLACE
Wallace = Michael Jordan
The circle is complete.
B tier MJ
He just won an Oscar
The grouch?
The Stallone movie.
Jamarcus
RIP
Dude that went buck-ass for his record to sell?
Plus he’s ringless!
I agree, he’s the most overrated basketball player of all time
In addition to the disrespect factor, I think there’s a part of him that truly thinks it’s wrong to say that ges better than guys he didn’t play against. If you ask him if he’s ever played against anyone who was better than him I’m sure he’ll respond with a responding ‘hell no’ though. Unlike other players it never felt like he played for legacy. He played to compete and prove he was better than anyone who was playing
Also the legacy carried forward by the younger guys like Bron stephband others he has always respected different generations.
I could definitely see this take and why he probably also didn’t mind being a mentor of sorts to the late great Kobe Bryant (R.I.P. 🙏🏼) once Phil Jackson reached out to him on doing so.
I wish Jordan did more media stuff. He’s an interesting guy…when he does talk I find myself agreeing with him.
This is exactly it. It’s about those before him and respecting them. He’s said it, where saying he or someone else is the GOAT is disrespecting those that came before. Because quite honestly, if it wasn’t for them the game wouldn’t have evolved the way it has. And if you gave those same players the luxuries of the players today, who’s to say they don’t become better considering they were so good without the luxuries.
I think what he said in this video is very true though. Each generation learns from past generations and build upon what they’ve done.
This is why when someone says “can you imagine (current elite player) playing in the 80s??!” I’m always the pedant that asks whether this player would also be born in the 60s.
If so, then that means they only have access to the existing training, nutrition, etc. that all the players had at that time and they’d probably be the same tier of player they are now.
Versus LeBron saying “I am the greatestest, coming back 3-1 made me so”
All wise and great thinkers would have Jordan’s answer. He is the GOAT, confirmed
Easy reply to that…“Jordan was never down 3-1 in a series, so….” I mean, LeBron is basketball greatness and we were lucky to get to see him play in his prime, but I agree with you. Jordan is the GOAT.
Michael “socrates” Jordan
Lebron “Fake prophet” “Wemby” James
GSP has always done the same in MMA.
I have no issues with dudes saying the right thing in public but probably believing they’re the best ever.
More or less. He absolutely believes he’s the GOAT.
We’re talking about a guy who had the final approval on a vault of content filmed by the league over his career and sat on it for almost 20 years until the next and only guy that seriously threatened his claim won perhaps the hardest title of all.
He said it without saying it. He’ll never say, “Of course it’s me” bc he has the luxury of letting almost everybody over thirty years old say it and because he can just drop a documentary.
Oh yes, the man who tried to make LeBron’s 2016 championship about himself by announcing his documentary “the last dance”
And then made a public $2 million donation from the proceeds of the “the last dance” a day after after LeBron’s bubble championship
Def not a guy who wants to disrespect other great players in the league
That’s the perfect answer to it. Period. If he thinks like that behind it all, we don’t know, but what we know what he says here. And that lifts up those that he played with and paved his way. 100% respect. How can you hate on that ?
At least he’s been consistent with that take aswell
That makes it a lot more believable that this is fully just his true opinion and belief.
I think if you really ever have to sit and think about the concept for a while like as an adult it’s the only answer I think that makes sense at least imo. Like how you gonna compare MJ and bill Russell? Where do you even start?
They could both jump really high
I’m sure he feels he’s the best in his lifetime but I do think it’s genuine and also honest to believe he is carries the mantle for it to be carried on. That’s respect for the game he was a fan of before he ever came to fame
Exactly. Perfect answer. And of course it would be a terrible looks to call yourself the GOAT
Tell that to LeBron and klutch
(Pantomimes putting crown on own head…)
He called himself god tho lol everyone saying “look he doesn’t call himself goat”
Yea, he really thinks that way.
Now, he absolutely would tell you that he was the best player of his era. Quickly. And any player of that time, who he even thought-that they thought-were better than him…Well, you can probably guess.
What I like the most is he says “not to me” after claiming there’s no such thing as GOAT. He would’ve come off as egotistical had he just stated it firmly with “ there’s no GOAT” (and that’s final). Shows his humility
He looking good tbf.
This is from 2006 man ofc he looks good nah I’m kidding no clue when this is from Edit: oh he’s 63 here.
Thinking logically did you believe we had footage like this in 06? Camera resolutions even professional were not great. 1080p max
This video is not from 2006 but it has nothing to do with the video quality lol
Okay cameras could absolutely achieve this level of quality in 2006 lmao. This is straight up inaccurate. Films were already being filmed digitally at this point. The Dalsa Origin was shooting 4K by 2003.
I’m not even sure they had gone to digital television cameras by 2006.
The first feature film that used a fully digital camera was attack of the clones in 2002.
High quality film actually provides pretty excellent equivalent resolution. That’s why they are able to create great looking 4K scans when they have high quality masters.
The Dalsa Origin was 2003 and Red One was 2007.
But to be clear! Movies in 2026 are still being mastered in 2K not 4K. What you see in the theaters is 2K not 4K. And professional digital cameras in 2K were a thing since 1999!!
This is is why most 4K blu rays are upscaled not native 4K. It’s ridiculous lol
Thinking historically and knowledgeably yes we had footage like this in 06. Was it in everyone’s pocket? No
MJ has always paid his dues to yesteryear greats. I remember him talking about Bill Russell and David Thompson in two separate interviews in response to GOAT questions.
At the end of the day, there is no objective or definitive way to determine what constitutes greatness and who is the greatest. And the modern game stand on the shoulders of what came before.
Still makes for great conversation/debate material though.
Agree though there was a much older clip recently where he said he was the best of all time - or something to that effect. He did not use the term GOAT
MJ is the goat in two sports though
Greatest basketball player ever and the man who fixed modern nascar
He was built and played with a killer mentality in the NBA but that man truly loves Nascar. He’s so happy in that scene.
He also loves deep sea fishing, comes to my county every year for the Big Rock.
A cavaliers fan saying this is fucking vile
He needs one more ring
Meanwhile, Lebron: Yeah, that moment made me the Greatest of All Time. 🤣
this is why he is and always will be the GOAT
fuck you MJ, there is a goat and it’s you
You’re the GOAT and you know it!!
GOAT talk never made sense, nothing new.
The only legit debate can be done while talking about best players of a decade, and even there there’s going to be some issues when you see players who reached their peak between two decades.
Top 10 all-time can be made using individual accomplishments but still, there are issues even doing that.
Bill Russell won 5 MVP and ZERO Finals MVP or DPOTY and this happened only because those awards didn’t exist yet. It’s legit thinking that he would’ve had won 6-7 FMVP out of 11 rings and something like 7-8 DPOTY. Russell having also those awards would stand alone on top against anybody else and it wouldn’t be close.
And the only reason he doesn’t have more MVP’s is due to racism
MJ is one of the few people I hear speak and it just feels unreal. I think it’s the feeling of witnessing a true “living legend”. And it has been like this for so many years already. Makes me think of those Top 75 celebrations. The room is filled with a who’s who of legends themselves, but Jordan comes in and you can just feel the reverence or perhaps awe from the other players. Just another level.
The word “aura” gets thrown around a LOT, but yeah with MJ… true to the definition
Tiger Woods had that aura for a while. Michael Jackson for sure. Wonder who else has it today
The big 3 in Tennis, Lewis Hamilton (even more so once he retires), Michael Schumacher
I find people who say “he’s my GOAT” to have more weight than “he’s the GOAT.” That conversation feels more grounded than trying to compare players across eras.
Agreed, it’s just personal opinions. Same with top X all time lists. Yet this sub gets all worked up if a former player puts someone controversial like Kobe higher than they would have put him, those threads always get a ton of engagement.
Honestly don’t know why people bother asking him about the GOAT convo anymore. He’s been remarkably consistent with this take over the years
Hate to disagree with the GOAT, but that’s the GOAT right there and it’s not even close.
The Mahdi is too humble to say He is the Mahdi. Even more reason to know He is! As written!
Not close?
Interesting.
Michael Jordan is so effortlessly cool and always has been.
He’s a mega-cool guy (like he’s fucking MJ) that’s also pre-social media, so he’s like a different flavor of mega-cool we don’t see much anymore. It’s refreshing.
Yeah I think this is it. He’s so different from celebrities today. His confidence and charisma feels really authentic. I think that’s why by for all his faults people still like him. I only caught the tail end of MJ because I wasn’t born for most of it but people who weren’t around back then don’t understand how fucking cool he was.
Jordan and Bron stans won’t care. They’ll keep having the same pointless arguments until they die
He allows the people to choose, unlike King Joffrey who crowns himself
Meanwhile LeBron has to force down everyone’s throat that he thinks he’s the goat…
This is the type of talk when you’re confident & content with what you did. You have this perspective.
When you’re insecure, you say stuff like “I feel like that made me the greatest of all time.” always campaigning for it hoping others will buy what you’re selling.
Meh. It’s also the type of talk that can come from maturity and the perspective of age. He’s said he was the best of all time in an older clip posted here recently.
To be fair - MJ has been saying almost exactly the same thing for decades. You can find clips of it on youtube from his playing days
That’s the GOAT response to this question
You know damn well if MJ had a time machine he’d travel and challenge all the greats from all eras and won’t stop until he beats them or he’ll die trying.
I’m pretty sure he’d travel forward into time, average 50 points a game in the modern era and take every single ring LeBron and KD has ever won.
This is what Goku would say
My humble GOAT
lol the irony of MJ being the most competitive dude ever saying there’s no such thing as a GOAT. I actually get what he means though - the convo has gotten so toxic that nobody can just appreciate greatness anymore without it turning into a comparison war. feels like you cant say LeBron is amazing without someone immediately going but MJ
This lowkey is why he’s the GOAT
Interviewer: Is it cool to be Michael Jordan?
Mike: Yes, very.
Wayne Gretzky always talks about legends before him being better
My GOAT is so humble. 😌
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HDnCGuKXIAAFmSo?format=jpg&name=small
Lebron played against Podcasters and Gamers
Bunch of butthurt Bronny Sr fans in the comments. Holy shit yall are insufferable.
Bro, I’ve seen 5 comments about LeBron that aren’t calling him a clown. Every other comment is contradicting Michael Jordan’s point and saying “Yeah, MJ’s the GOAT.” I’m not saying he’s not, but you’re fighting like 3 people out of the 150 here.
Only a GOAT would say that. THATS WHY HES THE GOAT
Well said
Forget all that for a second. If you’re Michael Jordan, are you trying to show Gayle King what you’re really the goat at or naw? Because I would be on a cruise with her rn, yk IF I was Mike
Don’t make me like you, MJ 🥺
Ain’t no best
Greatest Of A Time!?
Said like a tru goat. The people chose him regardless. Ton of players on mikes talent level have came and gone but nobody with the dominance mentality. Straight killer mentality and mindset. Two threepeats undefeated in the finals never going past game 6. No sports team besides 00-02 lakers in the major 4 major American sports leagues has done that. Nobody dominated like the goat. Only player in the league to win the scoring title, league mvp, and first team all defense in the same season( he did it 4 times)
GOAT
I hate GOAT discourse. We should be able to respect/enjoy the greatness that has already happened, the greatness that is ongoing, and the greatness that is to come. They all exist in their own context.
Goat convos are for the plebians. The people who consume trash and believe their purpose is to hold up a heavy statue of their chosen idol and recruit others to do the same. I’m picturing a group of guys holding a heavy ass metal statue of Jordan and another group holding up a heavy ass LeBron statue and they keep arguing who is holding it higher. It’s all so futile, but the people who sell tickets(social media) make bank, and incidently increase the number of supporters willing to hold that statue for a minute or two at a time.
MJ obviously has never been to a petting zoo
Lebron watching film of himself hitting an open elbow shot against the Spurs to go up 3-4: And that’s when I became the greatest of all time.
he’s right. it’s all by era
He says that because he witnessed Wilt. And he knows that there always will be counter argument of some sort. He knows that he crushes Wilt on many aspects, but Wilt does same on different aspects.
Like there are many angles and GOAT could mean, how much a player is better compared to his peers. Where Wilt is probably the GOAT. If it comes to fame, impact and hype, then Michael is. If you argue who is best player then Lebron is very solid in this conversation. Greatness is such a vague term that it naturally will be debated and interpreted in many ways.
Looking forward to the reunion golf game with Chuck and how Chuck roasts him about it
Meanwhile Lebron: I’m the goat
Is this like when rich people say “Money isn’t everything”?
This comment is WHY hes the GOAT!!!!!!
The GOAT does not concern himself with such petty squabbles.
This must be true, after all, the GOAT said it.
We need to popularize the term GOTE (Greatest of the era).
Lmao MJ says this because he and everyone else knows he’s the goat. Easy to be this humble when there’s no question it’s you
Me as a kid when I learned about Rams
Still got it!!
You don’t see this level of eloquence in today’s NBA.
Im glad you still see this level of eloquence in today’s r/NBA
They him this ALL the time. And, for decades, has had the same answer.
There is a difference between having the confidence that you can beat anyone, and believing you are the “greatest of all time”. As MJ said, he never had the opportunity to play against West or Chamberlain before him, or Lebron and Steph after him.
Maybe its the makeup but MJ doesnt look like he’s dying in 4 years this time
You know it’s peak off season when the MJ Stan’s start up 😅.
I think people overdebate this issue in general. Does it matter who the greatest is? There will never be a universal agreement no matter how much you debate about it or no matter what happens. Why does Jordan deserve more respect than other greats such as Bird or Magic? Or LeBron the same way?
That’s my humble king
how many more times he gonna say this till yall stop mf asking
You know, a rapper (who “fell” off) has been saying this since his 2014 album but since this is basketball and that is rap, it’s a real difference 🫠
A Mt Rushmore is always the best way to consider greatness, because it’s purely down to personal opinion what individual metric is better. A 5 person NBA Mt Rushmore of Kareem, Russell, Jordan, Magic, and LeBron feels like the most acceptable combination to acknowledge different playstyles and skillsets.
There is, and it’s Steph Curry
True GOATs don’t need to call themselves the GOAT. They know what they did and are secure with their place in history. Russell, Larry, Magic, MJ, Brady, Gretzky, these dudes will brush it off when people try to call them this because they don’t need it.
He called him self god, he doesn’t care about goat lmao
Whatever you say, GOAT.
Black Jesus > goat
I have to believe the most competitive bitter ahole is still in there somewhere.
Wow. Only a true GOAT could be that truly honest.
GOAT response from THE GOAT
Lebron going to be so upset.
That’s what a true GOAT would say, and always has said by the way.
Unlike LeCringe who constantly has to inject himself into the conversation like the classless dude he is.
I just think we should separate the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time obv) from the BOAT (Best of All-Time).
The GOAT has the most achievements and influence the BOAT is the player who you would pick to win one game if everyone basically came out of a time machine in their prime.
As time goes on, it gets easier to be the BOAT, because more is learned about the game, but harder to be the GOAT, since it’s tougher to make a fundamental influence on the game.
We should separate? I always thought they were different.
A GOAT is a hardy, cud-chewing mammal belonging to the genus Capra. Famous for their agility and adaptability, goats are widely raised globally for their meat (often called mutton or chevon), milk, wool, and hide.
A BOAT is a watercraft of varying sizes designed to float, plane, or travel on water. Generally smaller than a ship, boats are primarily used on inland waterways (such as lakes and rivers) or in protected coastal areas.
A for effort
What if you make a BOAT out of GOAT skin.
BOGOAT? BOGUT? Andrew Bogut?
Im in favor of best of your era. So it would be fair to compare lebron to curry and KD or MJ to Isaiah Thomas. The rules and umpiring change so much over the years that in one era grazing someone’s 3 foot long hair is a foul but the other if there is no blood there is no foul. These are different games imo. Cross era comparisons happen the most because thats what people push for controversial takes but its really silly as we are all playing different games through the eras.
I agree with this take specifically because of the word “influence”. From an influence perspective the GOAT is MJ and it’s never gonna be anyone but MJ, because people who know nothing about basketball other than “it’s a sport people play” can still name Michael Jordan. They may not even know what team he played for, but they know who he is.
I may not be able to name a hockey player other than Wayne Gretzky, and I may not be able to say what makes him the GOAT hockey player (other than the obvious ‘he was really, really good at playing hockey’), but I can definitely name him.
Nah, it’s already a meaningless topic so it wouldn’t make any difference. That being said a goat has to be considered a boat otherwise they ain’t the goat.
Well there’s two different ways we respect people. By what they CAN do and by what they HAVE done. Euclid did a LOT for mathematics, so you want to give people like that their respect as a reward for what they gave us. But he couldn’t contribute anything to a modern mathematical problem. For that you want the person who CAN do the most, who might be someone in the modern era like Grigori Perelman or Terence Tao.
So we rank people both ways. Euclid is one of the GOAT’s, the modern mathematician is the BOAT. It’s good to have a list for both.
Why does one singular person have to be the GOAT? We put 4 dudes on Mt Rushmore. It’s good to just acknowledge that sometimes you don’t need to needlessly and relentlessly try to dissect two people’s accomplishments or discredit anyone and just say they are both great and maybe both the greatest. Maybe it’s too convoluted to try and separate them.
We can respect people by not constantly belittling others to prop them up. We can respect people by acknowledging that maybe they also have a claim to the title and to try and find the minute details that separate them is irrelevant.
Yes, we can have multiple people we love and respect. I think the reason why we obsess over who is number one is that it’s a way of simplifying life. If we know who the best ever is, then we know who our example is to study when we want to improve, without having to second-guess whether it’s the best person to be learning from. Similarly, in terms of the GOAT, we know the example, and we know who “eats first” in our ultimate hierarchy for that particular thing. We organize ourselves that way being social animals.
How does obsessing and arguing over an opinion simplify life? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just enjoy the works and study the works of all the greats and not be obsessed over proving that you “know” the answer?
Why does somebody gotta eat first? Never been to a dinner where people wait until everybody has their plate before anyone eats? Being social animals we also do that.
JT is da goat 🥹🥹🥹
But yeah, I the GOAT debate can go both ways and Im not here to argue anything abt it. Both MJ and Bron solidified an era
My friends Aliza & Amir would disagree.
they never got chicks so they used to fuck goats when they were in their village, that’s the tales they would tell me.
so Idk Michael, you might be wrong on this one.
MJ has never had goat curry it seems
I’ll tell you who’s definitely not the goat. NBC for farming this man for views and dragging out an interview for a season
By the way, I’m pretty sure MJ loves being called the GOAT since, for his competitive mind, it means he’s beaten everybody who ever touched a basketball. But if he says it out loud it’ll make him look silly or hurt his case, so it’s just another part of the strategy. Yes, he would think like this.
Random bit of evidence: He actually agreed to do the “Last Dance Documentary” after 2016 when the Warriors broke his record and Lebron had the “That one right there made me the GOAT” comeback.
Meh. He agreed when the tapes were found.
Wikipedia says he continually said no until 2016:
*“Over 500 hours of all-access footage was filmed and used to create the 10-part documentary series. According to Adam Silver (now NBA Commissioner, but then the head of NBA Entertainment), Jordan allowed the filming with the agreement that the footage would only be used with his direct permission. After many years, and many refusals from Jordan, he agreed in 2016 to a documentary proposal from Mike Tollin.*^(”)
MJ has been saying this since well before he started winning titles.
Yeah, but I do believe that being seen as the greatest ever means something special to him. It just has to. He was obsessed with beating everyone for his entire career, now suddenly it’s no big deal where people rank him? I don’t buy it.
The best test IMO would be someone complimenting Lebron around him, that usually gets people to stop being as diplomatic. There was a story were something like that happened and MJ started talking about how he watches Lebron and how Lebron always pulls up going left etc. You probably know it since you’re a Bulls fan.
Sounds like he took that comment personally
It’s always the same damn answer, why do they keep asking him😭😭
I actually like it. There is no such thing as the GOAT unless one person dominates multiple sports.
So, Jim Thorpe.
But what will ESPN fill up 80% of their basketball coverage with?
Lebon take notes !
Me personal, am not buying this. His mouth says one thing but his face, his face is saying something else.
Why don’t you change how much you fucked our franchise over
Imagine being him and knowing you can fuck whoever
It would be great if the brainless, repetitive summer posts could wait until after summer league.
Lmao MJ 100% thinks that he’s the GOAT, he is not fooling anyone