Is Lebron the Official GOAT of Basketball Now?
Discussing if Lebron breaking the scoring record makes him the best NBA player ever
I’m sure you’ve heard about it, but Lebron James recently broke the all-time NBA scoring record, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He now has an insane 38,890 total points scored, with that number ever increasing. Many had already acclaimed Lebron as the greatest of all time (GOAT) when it came to basketball, but now can he officially claim the title?
The debate of who the GOAT basketball player is really boils down to two names: Michael Jordan and Lebron James. Jordan had reigned supreme for quite some time before the arrival of James. MJ during a 13 year career, earned 5 MVPs, 6 NBA championships, 10 scoring titles, and a plethora of other awards. Meanwhile Lebron has acquired 4 MVPS, 4 NBA championships, 18 All-NBA selections, etcetera.
Lebron’s main argument for his GOAT case is is longevity. Despite playing 20 years, his play has not dropped off at all. Playing at all-NBA level at the age of 38 is unheard of and what’s more crazy is that he’s averaging 30.2 points (his third highest in a season).
Furthermore, another case for Lebron being above Jordan is the level of competition both played against during their careers. Basketball players will only get better over time, with the league having its highest amount of talent ever right now. In the finals Lebron had to play the Golden State Warriors 4 times, with two of them being against the arguable greatest team of all time with Kevin Durant. If these “superteams” didn’t exist, maybe Lebron would be matching MJ when it came to rings.
Now with the newly acquired all-time scoring record, people are claiming that there is no argument for anyone else to be above Lebron on a best NBA players of all time list. This record may never be matched again, with a player needing to average over 27 points over the course of 20 seasons to beat it.
However, despite all of his accomplishments, Lebron cannot be labeled the definitive GOAT when it comes to basketball. The argument is purely subjective and and relies on a viewer’s opinions to decide. Whether you pick Lebron James, Michael Jordan, or any other player there will always be another side to the debate.
Do you think Lebron James is the GOAT of basketball? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
