The GOAT Debate

 GOAT?

For those of you who don't know what I mean when I say goat. No, I'm not talking about the animal with horns that walks around eating grass. And no, not the shoe website either for those of you sneakerheads. G.O.A.T. is an acronym often used when talking about sports that stands for Greatest Of All Time.


In the context of basketball, Goat is used to describe players whom people think are, well, the greatest of all time. This is what the Goat debate is. Depending on who you ask, you could get an array of different answers. The two most common answers in the goat debate are Michael Jordan and Lebron James. However, other less common answers you may hear could be Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlin and a couple others. 

While there will never be one clear, concise result to this goat debate, I am here to give my opinions on who I think the goat is. I believe the true goat debate is between the two most common picks. So, the question is:

Jordan or Lebron?

JORDAN

I'm pretty sure everyone knows who Michael Jordan is or at least has heard the name before. But just in case you're not sure, let me tell you a little bit about his life and career first.

Born in 1963, Jordan grew up to be an amazing basketball player. He would become a student athlete at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where his jersey would eventually be retired in the rafters of the Dean Dome which is the basketball arena at UNC Chapel Hill. He would then go on to be drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984. In 1994, 10 years after getting drafted to the NBA, he would sign a minor league contract with the White Sox before returning to the NBA a year later. In 2003, Jordan would retire from the NBA, but his legacy would live on in basketball forever as would his impressive signature shoes we all know and love. 

Here is a more in-depth video on Jordan's career: 


LEBRON

So now we've talked about Jordan, but who is Lebron and what was his career like.

Lebron James was born in 1984 in Akron, Ohio. Lebron's name started to grow in high school when he led his team to three different state championships. He would come out of high school and go straight to the NBA where he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. Since his draft, Lebron would be traded multiple times first to the Miami heat, then back to Cleveland, and finally to the Los Angeles Lakers where he is still on the roster today. Lebron James has been in the NBA for 20 years now, which, in itself, is an amazing feat, and he has already left a lasting impact on the game.

Again, here is a video on Mr. James (Keep in mind LeBron is not retired yet so there aren't really any super in-depth videos on his whole career): 

THE QUESTION

So now that I've explained both of their careers a little bit, we still have the question. 

Who Is The Goat? For me to answer this question we need to understand both players' achievements and accolades in comparison to each other. 

When comparing the accomplishments of both players, we can see that both players have their own advantages in this debate. Jordan takes the prize when looking at Championships and MVPS. While Jordan has won 6 Championships and 11 total MVPs (Finals MVPs and NBA MVPs), Lebron has only 4 championships and 8 total MVPs. 

On the other hand, there are also categories in which Lebron seems to be the winner. Lebron has been a part of 18 All NBA teams and 18 All-Star appearances while Jordan has only been a part of 11 All NBA teams and made 14 All-Star appearances. Also, Lebron has had 10 NBA finals appearances while Jordan has only had 6.


With all these facts in mind, there are two more things I want to point out that are crucial in my opinion in this debate. First of all, Jordan accomplished all of this in just 15 seasons while LeBron is in his 20th and still playing. I point this out to show that Jordan has won more Championships and MVPs while playing for a much shorter amount of time. And lastly, In Jordans 6 Finals appearances, he has won 6 of them (100%) while in LeBron's 10 Finals appearances he has only won 4 (40%). 

With all of this, I have to say that, to me, Michael Jordan is the goat. He has better accomplishments in less time than Lebron; not to mention that Jordan was literally unbeatable in the NBA finals. And, on top of all that, he did it all while staying true to one team whereas Lebron has bounced around from team-to-team throughout his career.

Overall, I think Jordan has left a much larger legacy not only in the sport of basketball but just in general. Don't get me wrong, Lebron is an amazing player, but only one can be the goat:

MICHAEL JORDAN.







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