By Jamal Laoudi
Washington, D.C.- The title of the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) in sports is often up for debate, be it from average Joes to experts and sports casters and writers.
In the case of soccer, or Football as it is known outside the 50 states, the debate has focused on Pele vs. Maradona comparison for the most part. Zidane, Cruyff, and other names do enter the debate on occasion.
Today, Messi and Ronaldo are making some serious noise for GOAT. Plenty already consider one or the other the GOAT. Ina few short years, we will know the kind of impact on the game these two would end up having, and may be the GOAT debate could be settled?
Basketball is another sport with a debate as just as fierce. The name Michael Jordan dominates the discussion but serious cases have been made for names like Jerry West, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson.
Today, LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers’ star is one of the latest to enter the debate. Is LeBron better than Jordan? As the debate rages and intensifies, LeBron is presented with a huge opportunity to score major points on that front.
In the past three years, the discussion has also focused on the comparison between LeBron and Warriors’ Steph Curry who was the NBA’s MVP in both 2015 and 2016. He was also instrumental in setting the insane best ever regular-season record of 73–9 beating a record set by former Jordan’s team.
LeBron and Steph met three times in the NBA finals the past three years. They split the first two and are now battling for the third. Last year, Cleveland was down 3 games to 1. Most have considered the series a done deal, guilty as charged here, only to have the Cavaliers, led by LeBron, turn the tables on the Warriors. They won the next 3 straight games and the season’s championship along with it.
In the heat of the moment, the question was is LeBron the greatest ever or is LeBron the greatest ever? As emotions settled down, we were back to is LeBron as good as Jordan?
This year’s finals are well underway. The Warriors added a major difference-making weapon to their already wicked arsenal: Kevin Durant! The Bleacher Report has Durant as the number two best player of this season after his former teammate Russel Westbrook. They are already up in this series, with Durant and Steph having their way so far.
This is a golden opportunity for LeBron to assert his dominance and to provide much fuel for the best ever argument in his favor. If he manages to come back from being down against the Warriors and check both Steph and Durant, I would definitely give him a seat at the table a whole lot closer to Jordan.
