Who do students think is the greatest of all time to play in the NBA: Michael Jordan, LeBron James, or someone else? The G.O.A.T. debate has been around for many years and has intensified recently.
On February 7th, in a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron James broke the all-time scoring record that was previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who previously held the record for scoring with a total of 38,387 points for his career. For many, James breaking the record set him as the clear G.O.A.T. now, but the debate continues.
In a campus survey of 100 students after James broke the record asking whom they thought the G.O.A.T. is between LeBron and Jordan, the vote resulted in 52 students choosing James and 48 picking Jordan, showing that breaking the scoring record did not set James clearly ahead of Jordan. Bryce Johnson, a freshman HPER major from Kansas City Missouri who photographs the men’s and women’s basketball teams, gave his thoughts on how he determines who the greatest of all time is.
“Points, rings, how they score, accolades and leadership is what I consider for my choice on who the greatest of all time is, but overall, it comes down to points and stats to me.”
LeBron for his career is averaging 27.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game. He has won four NBA Championships, claiming the Finals Most Valuable Player Award in all, four Regular Season Most Valuable Players Awards, and has been named to 18 All-NBA teams.
Jordan during his career averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Winning six NBA Championships being named Finals Most Valuable Player all six times, regular season Most Valuable Player five times, All-NBA 11 times, and won Defensive Player of the Year once. Jordan only played in the NBA for 15 seasons while James has played in the NBA for 20 seasons and is still currently playing.
Are stats the only thing that matters? There are so many different things that can go into what makes a player the G.O.A.T, things like “who they are on and off the court,” as mentioned by Johnson, or the “legacies and impact on the game,” which sophomore Keshun Blair stated as something he considers when deciding who is the G.O.A.T. “For me, it’s like how do you decide who really the greatest is,” Blair said.
There are so many different things to consider for who the G.O.A.T. is, which is why there is so much debate, and not just between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Throw Kobe Bryant in the mix, who was Bryce Johnson’s pick for who the greatest is, someone who has five NBA Championships and whose legacy and impact on the game of basketball was like no other. Kareem-Abdul Jabbar has won six NBA Championships, which is more than LeBron, and held the scoring title before him. Maybe it is time to stop debating and just enjoy and appreciate greatness for what it is.
Sam Battle Jr.
Staff Writer
Sam Battle Jr. is a junior broadcast journalism major
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