There is no denying that LeBron James is one of the greatest players that have ever played the game of basketball. Even in year 20, James was able to play at an elite level and lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the Western Conference Finals.
LeBron has long been compared to Michael Jordan and there has been a legitimate debate around who the greatest of all time truly is. With LeBron passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list, many LeBron fans took that as proof that he is the best to ever do it.
It is a contentious debate with most people over the age of 30 agreeing that Jordan is the greatest of all time. Rich Paul, who runs Klutch Sports (LeBron James’ agency) disagrees. Paul recently made his case for LeBron being the GOAT on the “Gil’s Arena” show, mainly pointing out the media that he has had to deal with and the fact that he has always been compared to Jordan.
“LeBron is the first player to have to deal with a 24/7 365 news cycle of sports and opinions.”
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) September 4, 2023
Rich Paul speaks to how the coverage of LeBron is different from the other greats. pic.twitter.com/aL4scR4l4b
It is a compelling argument (aside from the fact that goats have horns, not antlers) and it certainly is true that Jordan did not have to deal with the same kind of media cycle that LeBron dealt with. However, this argument has not landed as Paul would have hoped.
NBA fans push back on Rich Paul’s argument for LeBron James over Michael Jordan
Most of the conversation on Twitter was around how Paul is business partners and friends with LeBron and that he is an extremely biased party. There were plenty on social media that pointed this out as soon as these clips dropped.
Rich Paul is one of LeBron's best friends, his agent, and they started Klutch together - ofc he's gonna say this, and I don't even mind it. It's okay to say Bron is an all-time player because he is.
— Jim Park🏀🌌 (@Sheridanblog) September 5, 2023
As for him implying that Bron is a victim of bad media coverage, that's truly… https://t.co/j3J3sG7yhd
That was not the only pushback on Paul’s comments. A lot of fans pointed out the fact that Paul is simply incorrect about the notion that Jordan was not compared to anyone in the same way that LeBron has had to live in MJ’s shadow.
The media coverage may not have been as heavy but there is no doubt that Jordan had to outgrow the legends that came before him. Jordan was absolutely compared to the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Julius Irving as he was making his rise. To suggest otherwise is silly.
At the end of the day, arguing about who is the greatest basketball player of all time is like arguing about your favorite flavor of ice cream. I am going to say it’s mint and chip, my fiance is going to say it’s cookies and cream. Both are great and can be appreciated, but everyone has a preference!
Whether you fall on the LeBron James side of the argument or the Michael Jordan side of the argument, just make sure you make a better point than Paul made in this podcast appearance.