Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo believes Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is the greatest player in NBA history, surpassing Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
“Some people might say he’s No. 2, but other people like me, I say he’s No. 1 and he’s still going to keep going,” Antetokounmpo told The Athletic’s NBA reporter Joe Walden.
Antetokounmpo was born in 1994. He grew up watching and idolizing LeBron, who became the NBA’s all-time scoring leader last season, so it’s no surprise to hear that Antetokounmpo’s GOAT is LeBron, not Jordan.
LeBron and Jordan are widely regarded as the two best players in NBA history. The two icons have won a combined nine regular season MVPs, 10 championships and 10 finals MVPs.
Jordan won 6 championships, 6 Finals MVPs and 5 regular season MVPs with the Bulls in the 1990s. He achieved a 6-0 record in the finals and won three consecutive championships twice. LeBron, meanwhile, is a four-time championship, four-time Finals MVP and four-time regular season MVP.
Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists during an incredible NBA career with the Bulls and Washington Wizards. He won the 1984-85 Rookie of the Year Award, a 1987-88 Defensive Player of the Year Award, 10 scoring titles and 3 steals titles with the Bulls. Jordan is one of three NBA players to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. The other two are Antetokounmpo and Houston Rockets icon Hakeem Olajuwon.
Jordan, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2009, ranks fifth in NBA history in scoring, first in points per game, third in steals, and first in player efficiency. Jordan holds the record for most points scored in a playoff game (63 points).
As for LeBron, he is the only player in NBA history to rank in the top five in both scoring and assists history. King has career NBA averages of 27.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Lakers. LeBron is the only player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP three times with three different teams.
A future Hall of Famer, LeBron ranks first in NBA history in points, fourth in assists, ninth in steals, fourth in triple-doubles, third in player efficiency, and sixth in points per game. He is the only player with at least 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists.