Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson is echoing the majority argument that followed the airing of the docu-series "The Last Dance," - that as far as the NBA is concerned, Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time, hands-down. However, Johnson refused to discount the possibility of somebody bumping off MJ as the league's GOAT, and that would be LeBron James.
The Lakers franchise player and executive is a big fan of James, chiefly because the latter mirrors the flashes of skill and efficiency that was seen in the 1980s and the early 1990s. it's a common observation among pundits that Johnson and James have similarities when playing on the court, which likely explains why the former is a believer of King James.
It's worth mentioning that the NBA icon was instrumental in bringing the former Cleveland star to Los Angeles. It served as the strongest statement of Johnson's conviction that James is a fantastic player and his story is yet to be included.
However, Johnson made clear in an interview with ESPN that picking between Jordan and James, the decision is easy. He will go for the Chicago Bulls legend, whose career accomplishments include denying Johnson NBA titles.
"When you want to say 'who's the greatest ever,' it's still Michael Jordan," CBS Sports reported the Hall of Famer as saying.
Johnson though hastened to add that MJ being the GOAT is not taking anything away from the Lakers star. He remains convinced that James is one of the best that the NBA has produced since its inception.
If the debate involving James and Jordan is centered on all-around impact on the game, Johnson said his pick has to be James, whom he crowned as the best all-around individual to ever play the game.
The basketball great likewise reminded that James has an advantage over Jordan on the GOAT debate, which is yet to be concluded. That is the Lakers star remains in active duty and the chance he could still surpass the illustrious accomplishments by Jordan.
Johnson said more title wins for James in the future will certainly boost the already stature that he built over the years. More championships will be a game-changer and when the GOAT debate is revisited in the future, people might be singing a different tune, according to Johnson.
Picking up on the observations offered by Johnson, Yahoo Sports said the Lakers legend saying James as the best all-around player only created more questions. Johnson's position on who the GOAT indicated he entertains the likelihood of Jordan losing to a rival soon.
Such a scenario is not surprising at all since it is indeed a close call on who is the greatest when the choice boils down to MJ and King James.
