The debate over who the greatest basketball player of all time is will likely rage on for the rest of history. As of now, the biggest debate is choosing between Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and current Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
The recent 10-part ESPN documentary The Last Dance has helped reignite the debate between the two legends and depending on who you ask, you'll get a different answer. However, if you ask 15-year NBA veteran and five-time champion Ron Harper who the GOAT is, the answer is clear.
Via Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype.
“They make the wrong comparison. When you look at LeBron James, you have to think of Oscar Robertson or Magic Johnson – big guards who can do everything. One thing they don’t give MJ credit for was his defense. MJ was an aggressive defensive player – one of the best of all-time at that two-guard spot,” Harper said.
During Jordan's 15-year NBA career, the Hall of Famer was named to nine All-NBA Defensive Teams and was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year for the 1987-88 season.
While James does have six All-NBA Defensive First Team selections to his name, his different style of play is enough for Harper to separate him from the ‘MJ conversation.'
Harper played for four different teams during his career including the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, but he did play four seasons with Jordan on the Bulls, winning three championships in the process. Harper also won a fourth and fifth championship in 2000 and 2001 with the Lakers in his final season.
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He (Jordan) doesn’t get any credit for that because everyone wants to talk about the way he scored the basketball, but MJ was a great defensive ball player too. So I don’t really put LeBron in that MJ conversation. I put LeBron with those big guys.”