“LeBron James is going to go down as the GOAT”: Jason Kidd chooses Lakers superstar over Michael Jordan, praises his complete skillset

Add Jason Kidd to the small list of NBA legends who prefer LeBron James over Michael Jordan as their GOAT.

As the Dallas Mavericks took on the severely Los Angeles Lakers, there was everything at stake for the latter team. But with LeBron James out of the starting line-up, they were never going to put up a big fight.

The 128-110 loss against Luka Doncic and Co now puts them at the 11th position in the West, having the same record as the San Antonio Spurs. It has been one of the most embarrassing years for James who even though is leading the league in scoring, has failed to guide his team to anything positive this season.

And although it is one of the rarest seasons in the past 12-years or so which is going to end in most probably a failure, people are ready to banish the 4x MVP from the GOAT debate. But a former player who handed the King his first Finals defeat with the Heat and whose voice actually matters much more than most analysts in the NBA media has the 37-year-old as his greatest of all time.

Also read: “Forget LeBron James, would you take Stephen Curry or Michael Jordan?”: When Stephen A Smith was bit a little too hard with the Baby Faced Assassin’s bug

Not MJ, LeBron James is the GOAT according to Jason Kidd

Although he constantly gets forgotten in the sea of Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Steve Nash, and now Chris Paul, Kidd is one of the best point guards to grace the game of basketball. A genius in the ball game, he might be the only one in that category with a bad jumper.

A 10x All-Star, NBA champion with the Mavs, and one of NBA’s top-75 players of all time knows and understands the game better than most and maybe the best because where he ended up without one of the most necessary skill sets for a guard is unbelievable.

Before the Tuesday night game against the Lakers, the Dallas head coach gave his two cents on the 4x champ’s legacy.

Jason Kidd on if LeBron James is the greatest NBA player of all-time:

— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) March 29, 2022

LeBron is the only player with 30k points, 10k assists, and 10k rebounds, then add all his accolades over 19 years. Obviously, Mike did it better in a shorter time, but so did Bill Russell. The Celtics’ legend won 5 more titles in 2 lesser seasons, that too without taking any breaks in between. And he is never brought up in the GOAT conversation anymore, much like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who has the top-most points in the league and as many NBA titles as MJ.

Also read: “LeBron just looked around and said, ‘it’s written we’re gonna win tonight and Game Seven anything can happen”‘: Kevin Love recalls a moment from the 2016 Finals that still gives him the chills

So ‘the best’ debate is always going to be unfair for somebody, but it doesn’t have to be. Why do we have to have A GOAT when we can consider all four of them the best of separate generations?

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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