"It's a full Hall of Fame career better" - Kevin Wildes presents an interesting take on the Michael Jordan-LeBron James GOAT debate
The Michael Jordan-LeBron James debate about the greatest basketball player of all time continues to rage after the recent unveiling of ESPN's NBA 75 list. With a number of experts on both sides of the argument, Kevin Wildes of First Things First offered an interesting take on the subject.
Explaining his opinion on the GOAT debate, Wildes attempted to convey the difference between Michael Jordan and LeBron James by using a thought-provoking example.
"No.1, all the counting stats are going to go LeBron because he didn't go to North Carolina, like Jordan did. So we have to take Jordan's national championship and throw it in the garbage. And Jordan also retired to play baseball and came back and retired again and then came back. So, his career is a little bit more- not standard, as LeBron's is."
"But here's my biggest thing. I'm going to invent a player here: guy with 2 titles, 2 Finals MVP, league MVP, 3 All-Defense teams, 1 DPOY & 9 scoring titles. Do you think that player is one of the best players of all time? Definitely a Hall of Famer if you had that resume. That's the difference between LeBron & Jordan. Everyone's says it's close, it's not. It's a full HOF career better. So he's still chasing and the counting numbers you can give me, but those accolades are a full HOF player better."
"I'm going to invent a player here: guy w/ 2 titles, 2 Finals MVP, league MVP, 3 All-Defense teams, DPOY & 9 scoring titles. That's the difference between LeBron & Jordan. Everyone's says it's close, it's not. It's a full HOF career better. LeBron's still chasing." — @kevinwildes https://t.co/3liYzaECK2
Wildes added to his comments by saying that while James will continue to rise in the counting stats argument, the difference between the Lakers star and Michael Jordan is not as small as people make it out to be.
The two have immense respect for each other and were recently spotted attending the NBA 75 event on All-Star weekend.
Michael Jordan and LeBron James featured in the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team
In a rare occurrence, LeBron James and Michael Jordan shared the stage together as members of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.
Honoring the 75 greatest players the NBA has seen for their 75th anniversary, the NBA 75 event featured past legends such as Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar alongside modern-day superstars like Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Jordan and James showed mutual respect for each other at the event. As living legends in the sport of basketball, being mentioned alongside the star-studded roster of the Anniversary Team was one of the highlights of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
This was a cool moment between LeBron James and Michael Jordan. #NBA75
https://t.co/tXtcDlex7Q
Meanwhile, LeBron James and the LA Lakers find themselves in a precarious spot this season. The Purple and Gold are currently ninth in the Western Conference standings with a 27-31 record and are headed towards the play-in tournament. Although James is averaging 29.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists, his terrific individual performances have not translated into wins for his team.
With the season's results playing a significant impact on James' legacy, it will be interesting to see how the King will save the Purple and Gold from this predicament.