Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone gave his take on the never-ending GOAT debate, siding with Michael Jordan due to his “killer mentality,” one that LeBron James hasn't seemed to develop during his long NBA career.

Malone coached James as an assistant for the Cleveland Cavaliers before getting his shot to become a head coach. Following the airing of the first two episodes of The Last Dance, the coach drew his own conclusions as to how to best assert the title of greatest of all time:

“It's always an ongoing argument about who is the GOAT. Michael obviously is up there and is the greatest of all time,” Malone said Tuesday in a Zoom call with reporters, per Mark Medina of USA TODAY Sports. “There are not many Michael Jordans out there. I coached LeBron James for five years and have a great relationship with him. LeBron did not have the same mindset or killer mentality that Michael Jordan is supposed to have had. But LeBron James is arguably the greatest of all time as well.”

While this seems a bit wishy-washy, Malone is likely trying to let James down easy on this one after saying he lacked that killer mentality. In fairness, not many have had the same maniacal desire to win games or to win everything the way Jordan did.

Malone recognized that some of what makes Jordan special goes beyond the 94 feet of hardwood:

“Michael Jordan was not just a great player. He would reach into your chest and pull your heart out if he had to win a game,” said Malone. “You don’t see that really often. He had that killer mindset and brought it every single night. That’s why all of these many years later, he’s the greatest of all time.”

Jordan gets more than an edge here because he can hold two titles at once, the greatest player of all-time and the fiercest competitor of all-time. The latter is a category that James might not be up for the running, making this a clear choice for the coach.