"Mention me with MJ and Brady" - LeBron James doesn't shy away from comparing himself to the all-time GOATs
LeBron James recently made a bold statement on Instagram. He believes he should be mentioned in the same conversation as Michael Jordan and brady" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Tom Brady, presumably when talking about the all-time GOATs of the sports world.
"Mention me with MJ and Brady like you're 'posed to" -Lebron James on Instagram
The full post is as follows.
In a "lyrical" post, LeBron stakes his claim among the greatest athletes of all time. He pays his respects to Michael Jordan and Tom Brady, while stating that he belongs with them. He probably should have also included Wayne Gretzky if he was talking about true GOATs of team sports, but that's another story.
When defining a GOAT, many factors play into the equation. Individual production and team success are two of the biggest. Production can be measured by statistics and awards while team success should be equated to championships. All of these things are how Brady and Jordan earned their widely accepted title of GOAT. That's what LeBron is pursuing and he's not too far off.
LeBron James pursues the title of GOAT
Tom Brady holds almost every career statistical record that a quarterback can earn, including passing yards and touchdowns. He has won three NFL MVP awards and appeared in ten Super Bowls, winning seven of them with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He's already accomplished the greatest career by any player in NFL history and he's still going for more.
Michael Jordan absolutely dominated his era of basketball. He won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s decade and was the named the Finals MVP in all six of them. He never once lost a Finals series. Jordan was named NBA MVP five times in his career and was also a Defensive Player of the Year.
LeBron James has been to the NBA Finals ten times in his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. He won four championships in ten attempts. He has been named the NBA MVP four times and has never won a Defensive Player of the Year award.
No doubt LeBron has put together one of the greatest careers of all time. He is still active in the NBA and playing at an extremely high level, being among the favorites to win the MVP award this year. When comparing overall career accomplishments, he hasn't quite achieved as much as Jordan and Brady quite yet, but he still has time to catch up.