Rich Paul's LeBron James GOAT case has nothing to do with basketball

For decades, NBA fans have debated who’s the GOAT. And while most Michael Jordan fans can agree that he’s the best to ever do it, some LeBron James stans often go out of their way to try and make a case for James.

Truth be told, there’s no way to objectively know who’s the GOAT, and both sides have more than valid points. You couldn’t go wrong with one or the other, but LeBron fans often take the conversation away from the game itself.

That was the case — again — with his lifelong friend and agent, Rich Paul. In his latest public appearance, he tried to make it seem like media scrutiny should be a part of the conversation, and it would obviously favor the Los Angeles Lakers star.

Rich Paul Includes Media Scrutiny In GOAT Debate

“[Michael Jordan] transcended the game,” Paul said on Gil’s Arena. “When Kobe [Bryant] came, Kobe was a silhouette of Mike. That’s everything, which is great. But LeBron is the first player to have to deal with a 24-7-365 news cycle of sports and opinions from those that’s not even capable or carry the expertise to give a valid opinion.”

“In addition to, ‘No, I’m not gonna really do it how y’all want me to do it, I’m probably gonna do it how I decide to do it.’ We all know that don’t go over well, and so then you have this environment and this sports society that’s created, and so now you have to root against. That’s a whole another thing that Mike never had to deal with, because his hardest critic was probably Peter Vecsey,” he added.

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LeBron James" agent Rich Paul reveals why he left Cleveland for the Lakers

Yeah, or maybe Jordan didn’t deal with criticism because people didn’t have any reason to criticize him — at least basketball-wise. It’s not like people didn’t talk about basketball before social media existed.