The GOAT debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan is one that will rage on till the end of time. The two of them have achieved an incredible amount of success in the NBA, and they both have strong cases to be regarded as the greatest at this point.
Brooklyn Nets star Mikal Bridges was recently asked for his pick when it comes to the GOAT during an appearance on Gaming Room and for him, it is easily LeBron.
“LeBron, ain’t no hesitation to that,” Bridges said. “… You want a guy that’ll just take over whenever. It’s crazy that in 2013, 2014, and even like 15, he could be known as the greatest player ever and still keep getting better.
“I think his jump shot, I’ll give it to him like his jump shot been looking real nice,” Bridges continued. “(The) Biggest thing on LeBron, guarding him is just back up. He likes to get to the rim but now you gotta be up a little bit. Now you’re going to what he wants, he wants to go past you and take off.
“Him adding that aspect brought his game to another level,” Bridges added. “I feel like if I was one of the players on his team, why would you not want him on your team because he’s just gonna make everybody look better and I gotta says LeBron. Look at the numbers, look at everything.
“I don’t blame the Jordan stuff because I didn’t grow up watching Jordan,” Bridges said. “I’m just gonna go off some highlights and go off just what people say? No, that’s not right. I will go off what I’ve been watching, what I’ve been seeing all these years and even now and being in the league and guarding him and this is when he’s older. You watch games back in the day too in Miami and stuff so I gotta say LeBron easily.”
That’s fair on Bridges’ part to say he’ll just go with what he has seen with his own two eyes. He is not going to base it on highlights he has seen on YouTube or what someone has told him about Jordan. He has seen LeBron play first-hand and doesn’t think anyone else comes close to him.
As Bridges pointed out, LeBron’s outside shooting has gotten better over the years to the point where there is really no good way to guard him. It took his offensive game to another level and has helped him stay dominant as a scorer even at this stage of his career.
The overall stats are incredible, too, of course, as he is the only player in league history to rank in the top 10 all-time in points (first), assists (fourth), and steals (ninth). Add that to four championships, four finals MVPs, and four MVPs and you have a very strong argument to be regarded as the GOAT.
LeBron’s former teammate Rashard Lewis also chose him as the GOAT recently and the number of people who view him as the greatest just seems to be growing steadily.
Mikal Bridges Picked Chris Paul As His GOAT NBA Playmaker
During this episode, Bridges was also asked to pick his GOAT NBA playmaker. He once again went with a current player, his former teammate Chris Paul.
“I gotta go, former teammate, I gotta go CP,” Bridges said. “… Just being around him for years and learn and watch and pick a guy’s brain like that. That’s what makes him so different because you’re like, ‘You see everything like that?’… It’s just how he sees the game, that’s what makes him a Hall of Famer and one of the best PGs of all time. It’s just his mindset and not everybody has that.”
Paul is one of the greatest playmakers the game has ever seen and even in a down year, he averaged 8.9 APG this past season. CP3 currently ranks third all-time in the assists charts with 11,501 and is just over 500 assists behind second-placed Jason Kidd (12,091).
