It's No Longer Undisputed: MJ v LeBron
(C4) Who is the Real GOAT? Plus, the 12 most important players in the NBA Today
As the Game of Basketball has evolved, the best/most important players in the league today are:
Two “Do It All” guys on the Lakers listed as Guard/Forwards who are both built like Power Forwards.
The '“Serbian Sensation” in Denver who is considered Larry Bird and Kareem Abdul-Jabarr in one. By most fans' standards (including mine), he is the undisputed best player in the game today and has been over the last five years.
The “Lone Star” in Milwaukee who is built like a freight train, slices and dices through the lane, and holds the ball like a grapefruit like Dr. J.
The players I’m referring to above, consist of 3 international phenoms, and 1 other player who has been in the NBA limelight since his junior year of high school. They are not necessarily in order of (current) greatness, but in order of (current) importance.
LeBron James - Still the face of the league
Luka Doncic - Ever since coming to the Lakers his #77 Jersey is #1 in sales
Nikola Jokic - Best player in the league for the last five seasons, plus 3 MVPs
Giannis Antetokounmpo - Regarded as one of the 3 best players in the league for the last seven seasons, plus 2 MVPs & 1 DPOY
I realize the level of importance a player has is rather subjective and while (5) Steph Curry isn’t #2 (or at least #3) on this list, some people might find that sac religious. I get it! He’s transformed the game of basketball in a way nobody has since players regularly started playing above the rim.
When I think of the “most important players” in the game I think of not only the players with the biggest *impact on the game, but those who also are still vying for championships.
*There is a popularity factor at play, as well
Steph Curry and the Warriors are no longer viable contenders. As I put this on the record in my playoff predictions for this year. Curry’s also not only a defensive liability, but he has had a handful of just terrible games played this season. More bad games than he has since his first three years in the league. (It is now year 16 for Steph).
(6) *Anthony Edwards should probably be higher on this list. Part of the problem is that the Minnesota Timberwolves are a small market team that has underperformed this regular season.
Whether THE ANT MAN leads his T-Wolves to a great upset over LeBron/Luka Lakers, is to be determined. But, even if he doesn’t, he very well might be deserving of being the #3 most important player in the league, right now!
*Anthony Edwards is prominently mentioned in my breakdown of the MJ/LeBron GOAT Debate further down in this article.
We can split hairs on the ranking of these TOP 6 and what the proper order is for each of them. But it’s clear there is a bit of a drop-off in regard to popularity/importance to the league after them.
(7) Kawhi Leonard! What an amazing turn-around! Let's just see him stay healthy during these playoffs.
(8) Kevin Durant!? How he couldn’t even drag his team to a play-in game, is just shocking! I don’t think I would have ever predicted KD would not be in the very top tier of importance, four short years after his last impactful playoff run.
(9) SGA! Even as he is about to win his very first MVP, SGA is still not in my TOP 4 or even my TOP 6 for level of importance.
I also don’t think anyone would put SGA in their “ALL TIME TOP 75” just yet. Meanwhile seven of the eight players mentioned before him are easily on most (if not all) fans “ALL TIME TOP 40” list.
(10) Jayson Tatum??? Who outside of Boston is going to give me a hard time about ranking his importance this low? Maybe the gasbag, Stephen A. Smith will! But I don’t think he reads this publication very often.
(11) Victor Wembanyanna still has time.
And as much as I love what (12) Donavan Mitchell is doing for Cleveland, I’m not sure he will ever be one of the three or four most important players in the game.
Of course, there are **other names being left off this list, fairly or unfairly. But the 12 beforementioned names are the ones I think of as the most important to the NBA in 2025.
**To most casual fans, James Harden is more famous, but Jalen Brown has been the more impactful player over the last 3-4 years. Kyrie Irving and Ja Morant certainly have their resonance with younger fans. I don’t think any 76ers fan will be mad that Joel Embiid isn’t in my Top 12 (although they’d be mad if I didn’t give him passing mention). And as much as Jalen Brunson is clearly a winner, and truly resonates with the MSG crowd, it’s unlikely he’d be nearly as famous if not for the NY media market.
The fact that LeBron James is still the most important player in the NBA in Year 22, says it all!
Every year LeBron keeps on chugging along; it continues to chip away at MJ being the clear favorite ahead of him.
Obviously, Michael Jordan was like a comet. His multiple 3-peats were incredible. But the league just wasn’t as talented in his era as it is today. The Game evolves. And the GOAT debate maybe should be retired.
Here are my 4 biggest reasons why I think the GOAT debate should be retired:
FYI - There are a lot of stats that compare MJ and LeBron. Advanced stats, PERs, and all of that. This post right here does not go into the weeds like that, however. I still share some valuable resources/websites that better show the side-by-side comparison, for those of you that are interested.
1- LeBron’s 22 seasons is (many) more than MJ’s 15 seasons:
If LeBron plays 24 years (entirely feasible) he will have played 9 more seasons than MJ. Let’s not forget that Michael Jordan initially retired after 9 seasons.
MJ did end up playing 6 more seasons, over the course of 8 years (1995-2003). Three of those seasons were some of the most remarkable seasons ever played by a basketball player. Hence why Jordan gets so much deserved accolades. But LeBron’s longevity is incredibly impressive also.
2- How can there be a GOAT when each era of Basketball brings something different?
If you are “the best of your era”, who is to say you’d be the best of another era?
The game evolves over time. Basketball looks very different in the 2020s than it did in the 1990s. It just does.
The one argument every MJ guy seems to hold most near, and dear over LeBron is the championships one. Somehow, everyone is forgetting all the players that accumulated all those rings playing on those dynastic *Celtics Teams that won 11 titles in 13 years way back when.
From 1957 to 1969 there are six players on those Celtics Teams that have won *7 or 8 Championships. Then there is Sam Jones who won 10 titles with the Celtics. And of course, the Gold-Standard for Championships is Bill Russell with 11 in 13 seasons on the Celtics.
*Robert Horry is the only modern NBA Player (post NBA/ABA merger) with more titles than Michael Jordan with 7. And there are 3 other players with as many championships as Michael Jordan.
By my count, that is 9 players with more championships than Michael Jordan and 3 with just as many as him.
3- In Michael Jordan’s last All-Star Game, he wasn’t even voted in as a starter.
I just can’t shake the image of an old MJ on the Wizards and how he needed the league to convince Vince Carter to give up his spot just so they could sneak MJ into the starting line-up of the 2003 All Star Game.
That Vince Carter video is a bit of revisionist history, right there. If you dig a little deeper, Carter was clearly pressured by the league to give up his starting spot to MJ.
This was documented by NBA reporters, as shown by the two quotes and source, below.
“It got tiresome hearing all the bleating from media types about what VC should do, that he didn't deserve to be on the squad because he has missed most of the season, that the "right" thing to do would be to step aside and let Jordan start”.
Vince did the wrong thing by giving in - By *David Aldridge February 13, 2003, ESPN.COM
“Fans aren't stupid. They know that Carter has played in 12 games. Anyone that can read or watch TV knows that this is Jordan's last season”.
*David Aldridge recently co-wrote a book with John Hollinger on the 100 greatest NBA players ever. He feeds into the GOAT Debate as well. Although, based on the actual list, it’s almost as if Aldridge skipped over some of his own (earlier) reporting and findings on Michael Jordan when he decided who would get the #1 ranking.
For those thinking Michael Jordan not being voted as a starter (in his last year!) is not such a big deal; Just look at “Reason #2” of being “the best of your era”
Fans want to see the best players play. The All-Star Game is the best example of showcasing who the best players are. Despite it being billed as his last year, Michael Jordan didn’t even have enough resonance with the fans to be voted a starter in the 2003 All-Star Game.
Of course, by 2003 MJ was older and wasn’t the same player anymore, as he had been away from the game for three years. But why do we never hold this against him?
We somehow hold everything against LeBron, such as his first Finals appearance in 2007, with a truly awful supporting cast. There was also The Decision in 2010 and LeBron’s meltdown in the 2011 Finals. Those two are pretty hard to explain away. But all the other Finals losses LeBron’s teams have had were against some historically great teams.
Michael Jordan has been the #1 All Star Vote Getter a total of 9 times (out of 15 seasons) LeBron James has been voted #1 All Star Vote Getter 10 times (out of 22 seasons). LeBron has also been voted a starter for 21 straight years!!!
4- Has ESPN manufactured this GOAT debate all these years just for ratings?
I think what has also pushed me towards this thinking is how Stephen A Smith has apparently made it personal with LeBron. Before I thought LeBron was blowing things out of proportion with Stephen A. Smith. But then when enough thoughtful pundits and analysts distilled the fact that Stephen A. questioned LeBron as a father, it made me realize Stephen A. took things a bit too far.
It was good for ratings. And Stephen A. saying LeBron is not the GOAT is also good for ratings. But, it almost has too much of a WWE feel. Because it's as if it's only a matter of time before Stephen A flips the script and says, “I WAS WRONG”, and capitulates to LeBron being the GOAT!
<I can’t believe that Nick Wright’s arguments are starting to penetrate my brain, but all the MJ heads’ arguments are just starting to feel too trite>
There is so much talk and footage already out there debating MJ v. LeBron. I haven’t seen a YouTube video that has captured the debate, including LeBron’s most recent season (or seasons), just yet. But one of the most recent videos I found from a year ago distills the debate and how fans ranked who the GOAT is, >based on what era you grew up in.<
>Spoiler Alert: Gen X and older generations are in the MJ Camp. Millennials are a little more split, but still lean LeBron. As for the Gen Z kids, they couldn’t even identify Michael Jordan at a Dairy Queen (although they still love his shoes.) <
The NBA GOAT Debate 🐐 Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James
The article below is the closest/most recent thing I have seen to a side-by-side breakdown of their stats against each other
Here’s another good comparison article
LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan Comparison - "Land of Basketball.com"
Part of me wants to see LeBron win a 5th title this year just so I can see how everyone re-evaluates him (especially Stephen A).
It’s still going to be very hard for this Lakers’ squad to win a title this year, with a roster with so many holes on it. It’s also hard to see the Lakers win it next year, when LeBron will be 41 years old during the 2026 postseason.
In some ways, it’s a real cruel irony that LeBron and the Lakers might get bounced out of this year’s playoffs by Anthony Edwards and the T-Wolves. As some might say it’s THE ANT MAN who is the next “Air Apparent”.
Recency bias or not, another early playoff exit for LeBron and the Lakers certainly won’t help him level up and finally surpass MJ (as he so covets).
I’m still not ready to knock Michael Jordan off his throne. But in the Spring of 2025, “The GOAT debate” no longer feels as obvious to me anymore. This is actually quite the departure from when I last wrote about this debate in the Spring of 2017.
-JPJ