Quick Reasons on why Lebron’s scoring records shouldn’t matter in G.O.A.T debate
On Saturday, Lebron James passed Karl Malone as the second-leading scorer of all time. This is a historic moment for N.B.A. basketball and should be revered. However, this still doesn’t mean anything about who the Greatest of All Time is, Micheal Jeffery Jordan.
Michael Jordan was revered not only through his dominance on the court but off it. At the right time, Jordan was in the N.B.A. to where the brand was going global. Fans of the N.B.A. from all over the world wanted to watch the sensationalized basketball league that promoted its stars. The main attraction of that league was number 23. If you haven’t already watched the “Last Dance” watch how international fans were captivated by Jordan’s presence.
Lebron does some amazing things off the court for his community. However, Jordan became a legend while in the league, being an icon before even leaving the game. Jordan’s were selling at an all-time high, and having the game reach a new audience is unique and won’t ever be done again with this combination.
Another undeniable fact is Jordan’s brand is just so much more massive than Lebrons’. All the millennials understand what Jordans represent and how they were always an enormous success during our childhood. Lebron can’t overcome the brand dominance of the Jordan brand because it even has surpassed M.J. himself.
In addition, M.J. played in a turbulent era. This may not mean much to most people, but it matters in this debate. Jordan beat up in the 90s when they essentially played football with the basketball. The enforcers were just different, and the fact that he succeeded through all of that matters.
I’ll compare this to comic arcs. Most people love Batman because his rogue’s gallery was epic, making for better stories. Lebron has had some rivalries with the Spurs and Warriors, who I’ll admit are more formidable than any team Jordan has faced. However, Lebron didn’t dominate those teams like Jordan, dominated his Finals opponents.
Being unblemished in the finals will always haunt Lebron. He would have a more valid case if he had more victories than defeats, but we can conclude that won’t happen. The ghost of M.J. survives due to Lebron’s failed attempts to capitalize on his Finals appearance. Unfortunately, to basketball purest, this should matter.
Lebron passing Kareem is an outstanding achievement, but it won’t supersede the consensus that M.J. is the G.O.A.T. of basketball. You can throw all the individual stats at me, but moments matter: the era matters, and the dominance in the era matter even more. Nevertheless, Lebron shouldn’t be mad because being in second place to M.J. shouldn’t be so bad to a kid from Akron.
