Jordan v. James

A news reporter asked Michael Jordan if he thought the ’90s Bulls could beat LeBron James’s Lakers. Jordan replied, “Yes.” The reporter inquired, “By how much?” Jordan responded, “Two or three points.”
The reporter: “Why so close?” Jordan declared, “Most of us are almost 60 now.”

This exchange reminds me of one that Ty Cobb allegedly had with a reporter in 1959. He asked the Hall of Famer whose career batting average was .366, the highest in Major League Baseball history, what his average who be against current pitchers. Cobb replied that he would probably hit only about .300. When the reporter asked why, Cobb replied, “You've got to remember, I'm 73.”

It is difficult to compare the performance and stats of players in various sports from different eras, but the evidence suggests that because of genetics, nutrition, training, and other factors, today’s athletes are the best in history in all sports. This strengthens the case for James rather than Jordan being the GOAT of men’s basketball. A recent customer review on Amazon gave me one out of five stars simply because I chose James over Jordan as the GOAT. The reviewer ignored my reasoning and the fact that I discuss fourteen other GOAT in the book. I would love to have your reaction to my case for James or any other athlete I choose in my book.