Chris Broussard says LeBron James needs to do something astronomical to overtake Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate: “There was a time when I thought LeBron would be viewed as the GOAT”
NBA and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James' eternal comparisons to Michael Jordan seem inevitable at this point. One imagines that these comparisons will stand the test of time as they are a testament to the two greatest players in league history.
On Fox Sports' morning show "First Things First," sports media personality Chris Broussard, an ardent Jordan fan, spoke about how he once believed that "King James" would surpass "His Airness" as the greatest of all time.
"There was a time when I thought LeBron would be viewed as the GOAT. I felt that when the millennials and the gen zers began dominating the discussion and when they were on TV shows like this and radio shows and they dominated the discussion, they would say that LeBron is the GOAT and it would become accepted wisdom just like today it is accepted wisdom that Jordan is the GOAT."
Broussard continued on by saying that he now no longer believes this to be true because even today, Jordan is seen as the best player of all-time across society.
"He [Michael Jordan] has reached that status in our society where its going to take more than [what] even the great LeBron James did for someone to come along and people to say 'he was better than Jordan'. Whether you look at the shoes, the 6-0, the iconic shot against Utah, whatever you wanna look at, Michael Jordan has reached that level, where its like you got to do something astronomical to surpass Michael Jordan in people's view."
"There was a time when I thought LeBron would be viewed as the GOAT. I no longer believe that. It's going to take more than the great LeBron James to say, 'He was better than Jordan.' You've got to do something astronomical to surpass MJ." — @Chris_Broussard https://t.co/uL8OSsEVqi
Contrast between Michael Jordan and LeBron James
Michael Jordan and LeBron James - the two greatest players of all time - have been in constant comparison ever since the latter made his debut back in 2003. Anything and everything James accomplishes in his career is an opportunity for the media and the fans to bring the age-old debate back to life.
The media has played a huge part in creating a narrative of James essentially chasing Jordan to be the greatest of all time. However, we should keep in mind that these two players have played in different eras, with a slight difference in rules. The league has also taken on a different identity since Jordan's time as the face of the NBA.
This was a cool moment between LeBron James and Michael Jordan. #NBA75
https://t.co/tXtcDlex7Q
The two also played in different positions and were required to do different things to contribute to the team's success. Jordan was asked to carry the scoring burden while James has regularly been asked to run the offense and get other players involved in the game.
The game was also played in a completely different way, as today's NBA is more three-point oriented. Whereas the former Chicago Bulls superstar played at a time when most of the damage was done inside the arc.
While we will never truly and definitively know who the better player is, it is an interesting conversation to have. It is one that piques the interest of NBA fans all around the globe as everybody seems to be able to make a case for why their favorite player is the greatest of all time.