Throughout NBA history, people have debated about whether a given player is the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). More recently, that debate has had two candidates going back-and-forth at the top: Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Old school fans tend to lean towards Jordan thanks to his dominance, his flawless record in the NBA Finals, and how he completely owned the league in his prime. Young hoopers, on the other hand, often say that LeBron is better and more complete.
Ironically, that doesn't seem to be the case with Eddie House, who shared the locker room with James. According to the former NBA player, James should never be considered the GOAT after averaging just 17 points against the Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.
Eddie House Says LeBron Will Never Be The GOAT After Choking Against The Mavs In 2011
"I can't get over the fact he didn't show up in Dallas," House said in 2018. "Not only because I was on the team, but the fact he was the best player and everybody was dependent on him to show up and do what he does, and he was M.I.A. He had a bad series. Jordan never had that. People killed James Harden for having a bad series last year ... but you going to say somebody who quit in the Finals, [at] the end of everything, when all the marbles are on the table, that he's the greatest of all time? I can't buy it."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Says There's More Than One GOAT
That's a valid point right there. Nonetheless, Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar seems to have an even more interesting take on this debate. Per Kareem, people should talk about multiple GOATs:
“GOAT discussions are fun, like debating who’s faster: Superman or the Flash," the Lakers legend said. "It’s a metaphysical mystery. The question can never be answered because players from the past were trained under different restrictions and played under different rules."
“Then you have to ask what to give more weight to: Scoring, defense, assists? All of them? But the stats don’t always reveal the particular conditions and challenges of each season. Way too many variables. How about we just discuss the O’GOAT (One of the Greatest of All-Time)?” Abdul-Jabbar added.
Maybe that's better. Michael Jordan is undeniably better than LeBron James in multiple aspects of the game and vice versa. There's no point in comparing when we could lift both of them up.
