Is LeBron James the Goat?

Lebron James may soon surpass Michael Jordan at the GOAT of men’s basketball in the opinion of NBA players. In a 2019 poll conducted by The Athletic, 73 percent of NBA players chose Jordan as their sport’s GOAT, while only 11.9 percent selected James. By 2023, Jordan received 58.3 percent of the vote to James’ 33 percent. In a poll released this week, Jordan garnered 45.9 percent of the votes, whereas James earned 42.1 of the votes. The pendulum is clearly swinging in James’ direction. Why? The key reason is James’ longevity.

Since February 7, 2023, James has broken Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record and led the Lakers to the Western Conference title and to the title in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. He was named to a record 20th All-Star team this February, and he is one of three players to average at least twenty-five points, eight assists, and seven rebounds per game this season.

Consider several representative statements from NBA players: “I think we got MVP fatigue with ‘Bron. I think he should have like seven (MVPs, rather than four).” He specifies 2011 when Derrick Rose won, 2014 when Kevin Durant received the award, and 2018 when James Harden was named the MVP.  Another declares that “in an all-time draft, I’m choosing LeBron. Why? I get 20 years of greatness, and I get somebody who plays one through five (point guard through center).” Yet another adds, “If you took players from right now and put them back then, we’re faster, stronger, more skilled. We’d kill them. . . . Part of the reason Michael was Michael was he was the first of this generation’s athletes: 6-foot-6, 40-inch vertical, which back in the ’80s was insane. But we’ve got rookies and role players doing that nowadays. ‘Bron is 6-foot-9, 260 pounds, with a 50-inch vertical.” A fourth player asserts that James is “the best at everything, His longevity, his consistency, his availability. And he’s won.”