The debate over the greatest player in basketball history has become one of the sport’s most constant conversations. But the man often placed at the center of it all, Michael Jordan, says the entire discussion is one he simply does not buy into.
“The whole GOAT term is never gonna be something that I ever will get high or low about, it just doesn’t exist for me,” Jordan said. “I never played against Oscar Robertson or Jerry West. Would’ve loved to, absolutely loved to. Just the competitor that I am, and I actually learned from them. And we paved the road for the Kobes and LeBrons right?
“Theres a beauty of the game of basketball that a player after previous players has evolved the game further. But don’t then now use that against the player that actually taught you the game or that you learned from. I would have loved to play against LeBron and Kobe in my prime, I’d love to have played against those guys but we’ll never be able to know that. Part of the marketing, part of the hype, part of the things that tries to elevate one generation above the other, I think it creates animosity.
“It is what it is. It is an empty comparison, it’s an absolutely never find out the true answer to that question. It’s just gonna keep going and I understand and 100% [great] to talk about and envision. I think LeBron has had an unbelievable career and I admire him for what he’s done. And Kobe as well as KD, all these guys who have played in this era, I think they’ve elevated the game of basketball tremendously. I just don’t agree when you start trying to put one above the other, it doesn’t work. We’ll never know. It creates more of a problem.
“Not for me, I’ve never given it credence. But for other players who look for their existence within the generation of basketball and we should always honor that. We should always preserve that.”
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