- Jordan is widely considered by many to be the greatest player in basketball history.
- But others think LeBron has surpassed Bulls legend to become NBA GOAT
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Legendary basketball coach Doc Rivers has weighed in on the Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James debate, though he stressed he doesn’t like comparing the two.
Considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the game, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships during his iconic career.
However, just as the Bulls legend was winding down his career, LeBron emerged as the clear heir to his throne in 2003, with the Ohio-born star spending the past two decades playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, The Miami Heat and the Miami Heat have won the NBA Championship four times. Los Angeles Lakers.
James also became the NBA’s all-time scoring leader with 39,440 points, while Jordan holds the record for career regular season points per game (30.1 points per game) and career playoff points per game (33.4 points per game).
Basketball fans have endlessly compared LeBron to Jordan over the years given their dominance during their respective eras. Now Rivers has spoken out.
“I hate the GOAT debate, but I’m one of Michael’s guys,” the former Philadelphia 76ers coach said in an interview with Kevin Garnett on Showtime Basketball.
“But that doesn’t mean there’s anything bad about LeBron. LeBron is going to have the greatest career ever.
“There’s no question he’s going to have the greatest career, but the only player to me is Mike. But that doesn’t make LeBron a bad person. I feel like if you say one, that means you Dropping another one in the process. They’re both great.
“It’s an interesting debate, but I just hate it when you do that and people think you’re disparaging one person or the other.”
Rivers most recently took charge of the 76ers, but he was fired following a Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals.
He led the Celtics to the NBA championship in 2008 and also played for the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Rivers told TMZ after leaving Philadelphia in July. “I’m just going to enjoy life.”
LeBron is still going strong in the NBA at age 39, and he showed last week that his passion for the game is still there.
The Lakers icon was furious after draining a late three-pointer to tie the game. Minnesota was ruled out after officials said his foot was on the three-point line.
With 2.3 seconds left in the game, James hit a shot and Los Angeles trailed the Timberwolves by 3 points.
But the 39-year-old’s birthday celebrations quickly turned to anger as the referee only ruled he had made a two-pointer to give the Wolves a 107-106 lead. The game was reviewed and the call on the field stood.
LeBron then saw a replay of his shot on a courtside screen, which showed his feet narrowly on the three-point line, although a different angle suggested otherwise.
“It was obviously a three-pointer — my foot was behind the line,” said James, who was all but ruled out of Saturday’s game with COVID-19. “You can see the space between the front of my foot and the three-point line. You can clearly see the wood on the floor — there’s a space between the front of my foot and the three-point line. Steve Wong De can see this, champ!”