For decades, fans and analysts have debated whoās the greatest player of all time. It happens in every single sport, and basketball clearly isnāt the exception to that rule, especially given how many legends the NBA has seen.
Most of the time, the GOAT debate ends on two or three possible outcomes: Itās either Michael Jordan, or LeBron James, or Kobe Bryant. Not many people will tell you that the greatest of all time is someone outside of those three.
Then again, every now and then, someone brings up one of the older legends of the game such as Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or Bill Russell; citing their unmatched dominance in their time.
Metta World Peace Says Bill Russell, Not Michael Jordan, Is The GOAT
That seems to be the case with Ron Artest, A.K.A Metta World Peace, as he recently said on the Fierce Talk with Ryan Garcia podcast that Bill Russell is the undisputed GOAT because of all the rings he won:
āI think Bill Russell is (the GOAT), honestly. Bill Russell got 11 championships. I look at Michael as one of the greatest. But I think Bill Russell is the greatest. When you can win in your era. Thatās what itās about. Winning in your era. And nobody dominated like that. Not even Michael Jordan,ā the former champion said.
Nonetheless, Artestās words should be taken with a grain of salt, as heās gone back-and-forth in this subject multiple times. Heās called Kobe, LeBron, and Jordan the GOAT more than once, so maybe he just canāt make up his mind.
Bill Russell is the winningest playerof all time and his 11 rings arenāt likely to be matched. Ever. So even if he played during a softer era with mostly non-professional players, he still dominated as no one else did.
