Michael Jordan Settled the NBA GOAT Debate With Perfect Answer
Michael Jordan settled the NBA GOAT debate with a perfect answer to one of basketball's most-asked questions.
Jordan is one of the greatest NBA players in history, having won an astonishing six championships with the Chicago Bulls.
He achieved a three-peat between 1991 and 1993 before briefly retiring, only to make his return and claim another three-peat from 1996 to 1998.
The NBA returns tonight with the reigning champions Oklahoma City Thunder taking on the Houston Rockets.
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Jordan will make his punditry debut during the game, with NBC broadcasting the league for the first time since 2002.
Ahead of the season, a TikTok clip of Jordan discussing the GOAT debate has recirculated online, with the NBA icon giving a simple answer.
Jordan said: "People always debated who's the greatest player of all time?
"Dumb question. It should be who's the greatest team of all time.
"You know, there are so many teams to choose from."
Jordan added: "The '91 Chicago Bulls. The '92 Bulls, back-to-back. The 93' Bulls, first three-peat.
"The '97 Bulls, even with the flu. The '98 Bulls, no push off.
"And my favourite, the '96 Chicago Bulls, 72 wins, tough to beat that.
"You think there's someone else? Prove it."
While Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are both NBA legends, most basketball fans believe Jordan's achievements in Chicago cement him as the greatest ever.
James has previously questioned the obsession with rings defining basketball greatness.
On the Mind the Game podcast earlier this year, he said: "Trying to nitpick an individual because he was not able to win a team game or a team match or whatever the case may be.
"I don't know where it started, but it's a long conversation.
"Especially with me. It's so weird. It's never enough.
"I don't know why it's discussed so much in our sport and why it's the end-all, be-all of everything."
Jordan has also spoken on the subject, emphasising the difficulty of comparing players from different generations.
"That's how people are judging certain things," he said during a Cigar Aficionado interview.
"I won six championships, Bill Russell won 11. Does that make Bill Russell better than me, or make me better than him?
"No, because we play in different eras.
"So when you try to equate who's the greatest of all time, it's an unfair parallel and it's an unfair choice."
Although neither NBA legend believes rings are the determining factor, tonight's game will be special for the Thunder as they receive their NBA championship rings.
It will be just the second time the franchise has received rings, following the former team Seattle SuperSonics, in 1979.
Topics: Michael Jordan, NBA, Basketball, Chicago Bulls, Lebron James
James Taylor