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LeBron James calls himself the GOAT because of a very specific reason

Utkarsh Bhatla
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LeBron James has been part of the GOAT debate for some time now, with the Lakers man considered to be worthy enough of being spoken about in the same breath as Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan’s claim to the title of the GOAT is pretty simple. He has had the greatest impact in the sport of basketball, has a 6-0 record in NBA finals and his style of play helped NBA become a global entity,

While LeBron’s game and statistics could be comparable to Jordan’s, he has a miserbale 3-6 record in NBA finals and isn’t as great as Jordan in clutch situations(especially his free throw shooting).

However, in the show ‘More than a athlete’ on ESPN+, James said that the 2016 NBA finals win with Cavs, one where they rallied to beat the Warriors 4-3 made him feel like the GOAT.

“That one right there made me the greatest player of all time,” James said.

“That’s what I felt,” he added.

James then went onto describe his emotions post the win. The Warriors were considered to be the greatest team ever assembled and for the Cavs to come back from 3-1 down to win it, James felt that he took a step back from the celebrations and felt that he really was the greatest player of all time.

“I was super, super ecstatic to win one for Cleveland because of the 52-year drought. … The first wave of emotion was when everyone saw me crying, like, that was all for 52 years of everything in sports that’s gone on in Cleveland. And then after I stopped, I was like — that one right there made you the greatest player of all time.

“Everybody was just talking — how [the Warriors] were the greatest team of all time, like it was the greatest team ever assembled

“And for us to come back, you know, the way we came back in that fashion, I was like, ‘You did, you did something special.’ That’s probably one of the only times in my career I felt like, oh, s—, like you did something special.

“I haven’t had, really had time, to really, like, sit back and think, but that … that was a moment.” he added.

James was exceptional in that 2016 NBA finals, winning the unanimous NBA finals MVP, helping Cavs achieve the impossible, winning  2 games on the road after falling behind 3-1.

Jordan has always spoken highly of Jordan and how he was his idol while growing up and how he has always tried to emulate him on the basketball court.

“My motivation is this ghost I’m chasing,” James had said in 2016.

“My career is totally different than Michael Jordan’s. What I’ve gone through is totally different than what he went through. What he did was unbelievable, and I watched it unfold. I looked up to him so much.

“I think it’s cool to put myself in position to be one of those great players, but if I can ever put myself in position to be the greatest player, that would be something extraordinary.” he added.

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