Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: NBA, Michael Jordan, Lebron James
Alex Chivers
Dwayne Wade has given his take on the basketball GOAT debate – and Michael Jordan might not like it.
Jordan and LeBron James are the two players most often brought up in the discussion about the greatest to ever play the sport.
Jordan’s six Championships and five MVPs with the Chicago Bulls is set against the incredible longevity of Lebron, who is now in his 22nd NBA season and made history playing alongside son Bronny for the LA Lakers earlier this year.
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In previous eras, six-time MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or 11-time champion and Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell were often named as the NBA’s greatest, while Larry Bird and Magic Johnson also staked a claim.
Wade grew up in Chicago idolising Jordan, so it might be expected that he would try and persuade those now arguing for LeBron to change their minds.
But he believes it is natural that names will come and go as different generations play, watch and enter the debate.
And while it is rare now to see Abdul-Jabbar heralded in the same breath as Jordan or James, Wade insists that will keep happening and Jordan will be forgotten by younger fans who never saw him play.
Speaking on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard in 2022, Wade said: “These GOATs, these names that we throw out, it’s not gonna just be a lot of those players. But the game continues to keep moving forward. And so we are gonna continue to see things that we have never seen before. And the eyes are gonna get younger and younger.
“We are not going to have a conversation about the GOATs. Now it’s going to be the younger, younger, younger generation. And they’re gonna forget about Jordan like we forget about Kareem.”
Current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver might not agree, as he didn’t hesitate to name Jordan over LeBron when asked to pick his own GOAT.
But as the debate continues to rage, new names will have their chance to stake their claim. Victor Wembanyama, the reigning Rookie of the Year, or two time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo are two players who might hope that in a few decades it is them that new fans are arguing over.