The debate over who is the NBA’s Greatest of All Time—LeBron James or Michael Jordan—has persisted for decades. Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick, now working directly with LeBron, recently addressed the topic with a clear stance.
Redick’s perspective might seem biased, given his current role with LeBron’s Lakers. In fact, he previously stated in 2017, while with the Philadelphia 76ers, that “LeBron is, I think, the greatest player to ever play.” But during an appearance on The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal, Redick offered a definitive take on the debate.
“LeBron is so great. And people be like ‘you said this in 2017 when you played against him’—I was playing against him, of course I would say he’s the best player ever. I refuse to get on the GOAT debate, I don’t care. They didn’t play against each other. I do not care,” Redick shared with O’Neal.
Redick made clear his disinterest towards the comparison of the two NBA legends. However, after the straight answer, he did acknowledge why LeBron is worthy of such consideration:
“What makes him great—well a bunch of things—but what has made him great is the fact that he’s done it now for 21 years at the highest level. You talk about scoring? That’s great, so one guy averaged 35 a year. Yeah, LeBron has never averaged 35 in a year. Guess what? He’s averaged 25 or more for 20 straight years. No one had more than 15 of those years. That to me it’s a score… It’s all in the in the eye of the beholder,” the coach finished.
Shaq draws Kobe’s name into the debate
Shaq agrees with JJ Redick on how the GOAT debate argument has turned irrelevant due to the difference between each player. However, after marking LeBron as one of the greatest youngest leaders in history, Shaq expressed frustration with how the debate often excludes his former teammate Kobe Bryant.
“The only thing I don’t like about the conversation is that they don’t put my boy’s name in it. You’re right, I don’t care either, but if you’re going to be throwing names around, you going to have my boy’s name in it,” Shaq said to Redick. “Mike, LeBron and Kobe—now you all debate, that’s all I’ll say about it,” he finished