The Los Angeles Lakers might be two seasons removed from winning it all but with LeBron James and Anthony Davis still, on the roster this team will have championship aspirations come opening night. This leads to the inevitable debate what would another Lakers title do for LeBron’s legacy in the GOAT debate?
Contrary to what debate shows might tell you when it comes to debating Michael Jordan vs. LeBron there is no wrong answer. Both players have been historically great in their own ways and have cemented their legacies.
Who you believe is the GOAT comes down to what you value most and what generation of basketball you watched. For many that watched Jordan growing up there simply isn’t anything LeBron can do to push past him.
Similarly, many LeBron fans grew up watching him and have reduced Jordan to the tall tales attached to him and not the dynamic player and leader he was during the 90s in Chicago.
A definitive answer will emerge if LeBron James wins another title with the Lakers.
For the record, I believe LeBron is a close 1A to Jordan’s 1B so to speak without winning another title. However, there are clear reasons that another title should push LeBron past Jordan if he is able to win another title in the purple and gold.
1. LeBron James’ Sustained greatness
If the Lakers win another title this season LeBron James is going to have to put together an MVP-worthy season. One that would go a long way in adding another accolade in the argument against Jordan. At this point in Jordan’s career, he was still retired before returning for two underwhelming seasons with the Wizards.
Part of LeBron’s argument against Jordan is his sustained greatness and ability to make an impact late into his career. At age 38, Jordan wasn’t close to the same player he had been in Chicago and isn’t close to the player LeBron was last season when healthy.
If James can stay on the floor and play at the level last season there is no arguing about who was better for a longer period of time and who aged better despite James having the disadvantage of playing far more minutes than Jordan.
LeBron already has Jordan when it comes to longevity, however, playing this season at a high level and getting his team to a title while etching his name as the all-time leading scorer would be too impressive even for the biggest Jordan fan to ignore.
Also, worth noting here is Jordan’s field goal percentage with the Wizards when he did return he shot %41 percent for the Wizards. In comparison, LeBron shot %52 percent last season the best he has shot since the 2018 season in Cleveland.
2. The team has never mattered as long as LeBron was on the roster
The one thing Jordan was never able to do was to win apart from his core group with the Chicago Bulls. He had the coach, supporting cast, and a great secondary player in Scottie Pippen. Yes, some of the supporting cast might have changed by the core group remained the same when Jordan was winning rings for Chicago.
LeBron already has two rings from Miami, one from Cleveland, and one from the Lakers bubble championship run. Winning one more with the Lakers will bring his total up to five rings with three different teams and all different supporting casts.
James hasn’t needed the continuity that Jordan did he didn’t need the perfect support system around him he could go anywhere and install that system and win a title. Winning a second title in year twenty outside of the bubble would cement this legacy and go a long way in pushing him past Jordan.
The Lakers have been a mess for over a year now winning a title with an injury-prone Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook or Kyrie Irving depending on which point guard ends up on the Lakers’ starting roster would be a huge accomplishment one bigger than the bubble championship when almost everything fell the Lakers way.
3. This cannot be a count the rings argument
The go-to argument against LeBron James being the GOAT is usually something along the lines of “Jordan won all six of his rings while LeBron has a losing record in the finals” while this is true context is everything. Is there anyone willing to argue that Jordan faced a team as great as the Kevin Durant and Steph Curry-led Warriors?
Any such argument cannot be rooted in facts considering the dynasty the Warriors have had before and after adding one of the greatest players of all time to their roster. If we are simply making this about who has the better Finals record unfortunately both Jordan and LeBron are disqualified.
The count the rings argument only works when attempting to discount LeBron in truth if that is the basis of the discussion it is over before it began the late great Bill Russel would be the end of that GOAT debating having gone 11-2 in the Finals.
This isn’t a debate where we simply count championships we look thoughtfully and consider the degree of difficulty, the era, and the relevance of the season historically for what each player has accomplished.
LeBron winning his fifth ring in year twenty has an argument as his best lone accomplishment and should push him well past Jordan despite trailing by a ring.
The path LeBron has taken has not only been more difficult but has required sustained greatness for far longer against superior opponents. Winning one more title in the purple and gold should be the ultimate accomplishment that ends the Jordan vs. LeBron debate.