Dexter Ballay
Sports Editor
The National Basketball League has been around for a little over 70 years. Throughout this time period many great players have come and gone. Bill Russell with his 11 championship rings playing for the Celtics set the bar very high to begin.
As the years progressed, players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Julius Erving came and made their case as the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). The 80’s embarked on a rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson as the sole position of greatest player of all time. Bird won 3 championships to Johnson’s 5. Of course kids in this generation love to say Lebron James deserves the title of GOAT. I believe however, there is someone more obvious and worthy of that title.
Lebron is in his 15th NBA season, and he seems to get better with age. This year at the age of 33, he averaged new career highs in assists and rebounds per game. The 4 time regular season MVP (Most Valuable Player) has been in the spotlight since he was in high school. He was put on a pedestal. He has been in eight finals during his career including the last seven straight. James is a statistical dynamo and has been described by many as a mixture of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan is described by many as one of the greatest athletes of all time. In this day and age he markets his brand and owns the Charlotte Hornets. That just adds to his already stellar resume.
Jordan has six rings to Lebron’s 3. His airness won every finals he competed in. Some like to assume he could have won 8 in a row if he wouldn’t have retired in 1993 for a brief amount of time.
I honestly think the greatest basketball player of all time Michael Jorda
n. Has has cultivated the game in a variety of ways and changed the way fans watch. Lots of critiques like to compare their statistics to decide who is the greatest.
James is a stronger passer and rebounder, but Jordan is stronger at scoring. They both are tremendous defenders as well. Lebron is very versatile and can guard almost every position.
Jordan on the other hand is third on the all-time list in steals and was named to the All-Defensive First Team nine times. This award is given to one player at each position each year and signifies the best defenders in the league. He was also named Defensive Player of the Year in 1987-88.
Jordan is the greatest player ever in my opinion due to the amount of championships. Basketball greats are primarily identified by championship rings. Other sports like baseball are more statistical in identifying the best.
When people think of sports, they often think of one person and that person is Michael Jordan. Jordan is the catalyst of the NBA and he has done so much more for the sport than anyone ever has or ever will. (At least in our lifetime that is.)
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