‘I love you brother, but Michael Jordan is the GOAT’: LeBron James’ former teammate recounts how Lakers star reacted to his opinion

One of the only 4 players to play with both Michael Jordan and LeBron James was Brendan Haywood, who told us what side of the GOAT debate he’s on.

The consensual wisdom of the day when Haywood was LeBron’s teammate was that MJ was without peer. Haywood made his debut with the Wizards when MJ was making his second comeback to the game.

Haywood pipped Kwame Brown to the starter’s spot, and was a consistent starter over his 9 seasons in DC. At one point, LeBron was even recruiting him for the Cavs.

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Brendan Haywood recalls plane conversation on LeBron James vs Michael Jordan

Brendan Haywood gave his opinion about the GOAT debate back in 2015, when he was a teammate of Mike Miller and James:

“One of the more interesting things is that I had the GOAT conversation with LeBron. We were on the plane and I told him: ‘I love you, brother, but I have to go with Mike.’ I told him my reasons. I’ve had this conversation with him face-to-face.”

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“Six rings. Six MVPs. The guy has had two different three-peats and has never been to a Game 7. He was MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. I played with both of them and what LeBron has slowly but surely turned into from a confidence standpoint, MJ was that the first time he walked in the league.”

“The biggest difference is that MJ is a cold-blooded killer. He is an assassin. LeBron is more respected and loved. He is loved by his teammates and he is respected by his opponents.”