Michael Jordan named the 'NBA GOAT' in anonymous 108-player poll, he received the lion's share of the vote

Michael Jordan has been named the outright ‘NBA GOAT’ ahead of basketball legend Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

The 60-year-old American’s prolific playing career with the Chicago Bulls etched his name in the history books as one of the finest players in the history of the sport.

During the 1990s, Jordan played an instrumental part in the Bulls’ six NBA championship title wins after scooping his incredible six NBA Finals MVP awards.

Jordan went on to briefly play for the Washington Wizards in a somewhat forgettable spell before officially calling it time on his legendary career in 2003.

The Athletic conducted a study with 108 NBA players and the findings of the anonymous player poll revealed Jordan came out on top of their rankings.

‘MJ’ secured the lion’s share of the vote with 58.3 per cent backing him, putting him well clear of second-place James in the poll.

James, who is often considered one of the best players of all time, has won four NBA championships and secured four NBA Finals MVP awards in his glittering career.

The 38-year-old Lakers forward’s 33 per cent of the vote placed him ahead of third-place Bryant, who collected 6.8 per cent of the vote from the player poll.

The legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar surprisingly failed to secure a single vote, while Tracy McGrady and Bill Russell were the only other players who received mentions.

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Speaking on Jordan, one player said: “M.J., for sure. Definitely 6-for-6 [in the Finals] is a big thing for me.

“But the way I look at basketball is [it’s] about the winning, and if I feel like I need [somebody] to go win me a game, I’m picking M.J. over everybody.

“[I’d pick] whoever is going to carry me through a series, carry me through the playoffs, and is setting the tone. I think M.J. checks all those boxes.”

NBA legend Allen Iverson recently weighed in on the so-called GOAT debate and revealed why he believes that Jordan is the best player of all time.

“But for me, it’s so different because Mike was everything to me,” he told Andscape.

“He gave me the vision. He made me want to play basketball. He’s my everything. I wanted to actually be like him, like the commercial, ‘Be like Mike.’

“I really wanted to be him. I’m still starstruck every time I see him. I’m still nervous every time.

“Because he’s Mike to me. He’s my guy. So, there’ll never be no one at the top of my list besides Mike.”