Draymond Green’s admiration for LeBron James is well known, and the Warriors star has often gone on record to back his claim that James is the GOAT. But when the inevitable comparison to Michael Jordan comes up, even Green has to step up his game, which he did during a stream with Kai Cenat.
Advertisement
From a neutral point of view, comparing Jordan and James seems both extremely difficult and arguably unnecessary. Green, however, had his reasons ready to settle the debate as he saw it.
The main argument the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer put forward was not about LeBron or Jordan themselves, but about the players they shared the court with. In making his case, James’ former teammates ended up taking the hit on a stream watched by millions around the world.
The four-time NBA champion first pointed to J.R. Smith as an example, stating that while the league gave up on the former Sixth Man of the Year winner, LeBron did not.
“People threw the towel in on JR Smith. As talented as JR was, people threw the towel in on him and was like, ‘Yo, he can’t play winning basketball. You can’t do this, you can’t do that.’ JR had talent, no question, but when people throw the towel in on you in this league, it’s over.”
James stood by J.R. Smith during their stint together at the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he was instrumental in the team making four straight Finals appearances, even winning in 2016. Other than the Game 1 clock blunder, which infuriated James, there doesn’t seem to be any stain in his legacy. That’s what James did to a player who was generally considered not good enough for the NBA.
Someone on the stream then mentioned Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova, a member of the 2016 Cavaliers. The comment nearly broke Green’s brain.
“That guy stinks. I got a lot of respect for Delly. Stinks. I respect his game. Completely stinks. MJ wasn’t winning with Matthew Delladova. I mean, unless they thought that of Steve Kerr,” stated Dray, who mentioned how Kerr had to find his own footing in the league while James manages to pick his own teammates up.
Draymond Green explains why LeBron is the GOAT.
“MJ had Pippen, Bron was winning games with Matthew Delladova.. that guy STINKS, no disrespect.”
(h/t @big_business_ )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 9, 2025
“Jordan had made teammates,” added Draymond, referring, of course, to Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. “The Miami team, no question,” he added, as if to remind himself that James, too, balled alongside legends like Ray Allen, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh on the same team.
To be fair, Draymond’s argument works like a double-edged sword. On one hand, there is no denying that James elevated the play of those around him. It is one of the main reasons he remains so highly regarded and talked about to this day.
On the other hand, the same can be said about Jordan. MJ might not have had Dellavedova on his team, but he did share the bench with players like Stacey King and B.J. Armstrong. Would Draymond consider them “made teammates”? It is a weak argument, especially since he ignored the Miami “Big Three,” who still finished with four fewer titles than Jordan’s Bulls.
There are plenty of well-reasoned cases for why LeBron should be considered the GOAT over Jordan. This, however, is not one of them. The unnecessary burial of Dellavedova only makes Draymond look like he is leaning further into the bully role he perfected on the court and, more recently, off it.
