Who is the G.O.A.T.?
The term G.O.A.T means Greatest of All Time. There are many different definitions of what makes someone the G.O.A.T. The amount of sports that have a G.O.A.T is all of them but not everyone will ever be unanimous on one player. I wanna talk about the one of the biggest G.O.A.T debates of all time, and finding once and for all who the G.O.A.T really is, and who I think the G.O.A.T is, depending on the facts and reasoning.
The History of the debate:
The story starts with the first 2 G.O.A.T’s of basketball, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell. Which were 2 of the best players of the 50s-70s, and they had played each other multiple times, and Russell easily dominated in the wins. Yet Wilt’s stats and play became out of this world, they were both freak athletes. Wilt had the only 100 point game ever, and Bill Russell had 11 different rings. These 2 were the first blueprint of what will become a long list of athletes going through this debate.
THE RUBRIC:
The Stats of the player themselves, The individual awards they have gained, The Level of competition, and the amount of Playoff success they have gained or gotten while playing.
The arguments for each “G.O.A.T.”:
LARRY BIRD:
Larry Bird was one of the most dominant players of all time, and one of the best of all time. Bird’s career was short-lived, even though he did so much in little time. Bird was very influential to a style of play that hadn’t been very popular in this time. Being one of the best 3 point shooters of all time even though no one else shot 3s back then. Bird won 3 straight Most Valuable Player awards in a row. Also winning 3 championships and getting 2 Finals MVPs, while also garnering 5 Finals appearances. Bird’s career stats were 24.3 Points, 10 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. A very impressive stat line. Bird had a very good career, but many believe didn’t play long enough to actually be the G.O.A.T.
MAGIC JOHNSON:
Magic Johnson, one of the best point guards of all time, and one of the best facilitators of all time. Being the first and only player to win a Finals MVP as a Rookie. Magic also won 3 MVPS, and is one of the only players to play every position. He also won 5 championships with the Lakers, and won 3 Finals MVP as well during that time. Magic Johnson was one of the best and most efficient players in NBA history. His career also ended so soon after he announced that he had an illness that he made him have to take a break from basketball.
WILT CHAMBERLAIN:
Wilt Chamberlain is one of the most dominant players in any era. No matter who you ask they can agree that he was dominant. He has the only 100 point game of all time, 118 career 50 point games, 32 career 60 point games, winning 4 MVP awards. The only player to ever pull down 2,000 rebounds in a season. He has some of the best performances by anyone ever, and we will never fully understand how it happened. Winning 2 championships but only getting 1 Finals MVP. Wilt is one of the best and most prolific players in the league for a very long time.
BILL RUSSELL:
Bill Russell is one of the winningest athletes of all time. Winning 11 NBA championships, and being the standard as one of the best Defensive players ever. Russell for a long time and among most was considered the G.O.A.T of the older eras. Bill Russell had 5 MVPs, and easily set the standard for what a Defensive player has to do. He was one of the most influential players and people for Athletes, and his legacy will forever be remembered by the NBA.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is easily recognized as one of the best players of all time. Jabbar set a blueprint winning 6 MVPs and 6 NBA championships, as a player. Kareem held the title for the most points of all time for a very long time, taking over Wilt Chamberlain’s record. While Kareem won 6 championships he only got 2 Finals MVPs, which is the biggest knock on his case for the G.O.A.T. Kareem still led some of the Greatest teams of all time, and played some of the best basketball we will see in a very long time.
KOBE BRYANT:
Kobe Bryant, easily one of the best players of all time. Bryant was an 18 time all star, a 5x NBA champion, 2x Finals MVP. Bryant is one of the greatest scorers of all time, and Bryant somehow only won 1 MVP award, even though he had some of the best seasons from a basketball player we have seen. He scored 81 points in a game, which is the 2nd most in a game ever. Bryant was one of the best scorers of all time and it shows that he has the most 50 point games in a season. He even had a 4 game stretch where he scored 225 points in that stretch, averaging 56.3 points during that time. Bryant is the only player ever to score over 15,000 points in 2 different jersey numbers. Bryant averaged an impressive 25.0 Points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists on his career, a very good and impressive stat line. Bryant will always be remembered for how good of a player he was, and we sadly lost him too soon.
THE CONSENSUS PICKS:
MICHAEL JEFFERY JORDAN:
Michael Jordan has and always will be a household name, everyone knows who he is. But is he the G.O.A.T? Or is it just all hype? Michael Jordan won 6 championships, 3 peating 2 times, winning every single Finals MVP of each championships. He won 5 MVPS, and a DPOY as a guard. Jordan was a 10x scoring champion, and an 11x All-NBA team. He has the highest scoring game in the playoffs with 63 points against the Boston Celtics. There is a reason why Jordan is widely considered the G.O.A.T. The case can be made, as he is a phenomenal athlete, and an amazing player. The big thing is the fact that the era that Jordan played in is way different then the standard, as the game was a whole different pace but Jordan set a standard on his own as his own kind of player. Jordan is 6-0 in the Finals which shows his perfection on this. Now Jordan has a good case for the G.O.A.T and many of those who watched him play believed he was the G.O.A.T. No matter what anyone says, he is the Standard or the blueprint for what the future of NBA players looks like.
LEBRON RAYMONE JAMES:
LeBron James is regarded by many to be in the G.O.A.T or at least be in the top 2. James is a 21 time All star, 21 time All NBA player, 4 time MVP, 6x All defensive teams. No matter who you ask he has the stats to show and back up how good he is. James is the only player who has over 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists, no other player has ever done this, and at a forward position that doesn’t pass first, or necessarily rebound, the fact that he can get all 3 to such high numbers shows the dominance. He has only dropped below double digits in 8 of his games of all time. James even has the most playoff points and the playoff wins in a career. James consistently demonstrates excellence in every game he plays. James has 4 championships, but has been to 10 championships. Even inspiring most of the recent NBA players. James is regarded as the G.O.A.T more recently because basketball fans have seen him play their whole lives if not longer, he’s been one of the best basketball players so they see which makes younger NBA enjoyers make him the G.O.A.T but does that actually make him the G.O.A.T?
MY OPINION:
I have never really liked either of the consensus “G.O.A.T. ‘s” but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have an opinion on this. There are so many different ways to think about this debate. In my opinion, based on longevity, statistical dominance, and overall impact, LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time. LeBron is the only player to have 30,000+ points, 10,000+ rebounds, 10,000+ assists in one career. He’s had 20 seasons with at least 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. James is also the oldest player to average 20 points per game in a season. He also holds the record for the most triple doubles as a forward. He even has a 40 point game against every team in the league. He even has more 50 point games than single-digit scoring games. The big knock on James is that Jordan is perfect in the Finals. However, the fact that James reached 10 Finals is remarkable, and that is about half of his career in the Finals. He also led some not great teams to the Finals like the 2007 or 2018 teams as besides James, these two teams had only two All-Stars combined, with one injured throughout the playoff run, and carried his teams single-handedly. LeBron James is the G.O.A.T or at least in my eyes he is. For being just a kid from Akron, he isn’t too bad.
