Jerry West is one of the NBA’s most revered legends. The 10-time All-Star also has the privilege of being the logo of the National Basketball Association. After having a successful 14-year basketball career, in which he would win almost every individual honor there is to win, West would transition into a management role. As an executive, he would have a more successful career. Between 1982 and 2017, teams that had West as their General Manager won eight championships. From his debut in the NBA as a player in 1960 to still being an executive board member with the Clippers, West has seen 63 of the NBA’s 77 years play out right in front of his eyes. So he is the perfect man to have a say on who is the GOAT of the game of basketball. As it turns out, West’s GOAT take during his recent appearance on Podcast P with Paul George seemed to align with Michael Jordan’s take from three years ago.
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It’s almost impossible to determine objectively the GOAT of a sport, especially in basketball. With how much Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James have achieved in different eras, it would be unfair to say one of them is better than the other. Everybody has their own views on the debate and hence, it’s as subjective as it gets.
Jerry West reveals his take on the GOAT debate
In a recent appearance on Clippers star Paul George’s podcast, Jerry West gave his two cents on the GOAT debate. And according to him, hailing one player to be the greatest in a sport doesn’t make sense.
“I don’t buy into this goat stuff. My god. There’s a lot of smelly goats around, I know that,” said West, on Podcast P with Paul George.
“There’s a lot of smelly 🐐s around.”
Jerry West is not messing with the GOAT debate 😅 pic.twitter.com/LO3e5JRAKD
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) June 16, 2023
While explaining how this debate is ridiculous, West brought up the changes the game has underwent through different eras. Going back to what MJ said 3 years ago during his Cigar Aficionado interview, we can notice how some legends think alike. According to Jordan, “I won six championships, Bill Russell won 11. Does that make Bill Russell better than me or make me better than him? No. Because we played in different eras. So when you try to equate who’s the greatest of all time, it’s an unfair parallel, it’s an unfair choice.”
The Lakers icon further stated that players nowadays are much better in terms of shooting, speed and efficiency, as they should be. However, West called out a few NBA players for being ‘copy cats’ and trying to mimic great players.
West is a fan of LeBron James too
The OGs of basketball often stick with players from their own generation or Michael Jordan in GOAT debates. They refrain from acknowledging that LeBron James dominated the game in multiple aspects for longer than their favorite player.
West acknowledged it when the topic of James and how he became the NBA’s all-time top scorer came up. The 85-year-old admitted that he is a fan of the 4x MVP.
George and West discussed how hard it would be to break the record set by James because it’d be impossible to play at the highest level without injuries for so long, with the changes the league has been making.
