The debate about the possible best player in NBA history is a real snowball that keeps rolling and growing incessantly. The question is not open, it is usually closed to two options, Michael Jordan or LeBron James.
The opportunity to give an opinion on the matter came to one of the most authoritative voices to do so. A true NBA star considered one of the best shooting guards of all time: Clyde Drexler, who has played 15 seasons (Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets).
From his trench, Drexler already offered an answer to whether LeBron James or Michael Jordan is the GOAT of the NBA. An opinion to listen to, since Clyde the Glide was a 10-time All-Star, 1992 Olympic medalist and 1995 league champion in his first season with the Rockets.
Clyde Drexler’s surprising opinion on the NBA GOAT debate: neither Jordan nor James
Regularly, the NBA GOAT debate drifts into a closed question: either LeBron James or Michael Jordan. However, Clyde Drexler has categorically discarded this option, as he considers that there are more candidates to choose the best in the history of the league.
“I really have a problem with that. Because out of all the guys that played the game, you’re only having a conversation with these two guys as the GOAT. When you got Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, two of the greatest players who ever lived, I think you should start with those two. You got guys like Larry Bird, Dr. J, George Gervin, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West all of those guys are in the conversation. I love both Michael and LeBron but let’s not take something away from the other guys who played” stated Drexler to a podcast in 2020 (vía Fade Away World).
In the end, a league that has seen as many stars as the NBA itself, has at its disposal a good number of candidates to occupy its throne as the GOAT. While the strength of their immense talent and tremendous media capacity has put Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the frontrunners, digging into the past reveals options just as valid as them.
Clyde Drexler, NBA legend. (Joe Patronite/Allsport/Getty Images)
