“I played with LeBron James in his prime and with Michael Jordan in his last year”: Jerry Stackhouse gives honest assessment of Lakers star and Bulls legend’s GOAT status

Jerry Stackhouse, one of the 4 players to have played both with Michael Jordan and LeBron James, gave his opinion on the GOAT debate recently.

Hoopshype interviewed the 4 players to have been on both LeBron and MJ’s teams. Brendan Haywood and Scott Williams both picked MJ over LeBron by a shade. Larry Hughes complimented both but ultimately went with Jordan.

Only four players in league history were teammates with both Jordan and James: Scott Williams, Larry Hughes, Jerry Stackhouse and Brendan Haywood.

— Mike Paris (@zyxnix) December 13, 2020

Jerry Stackhouse was Jordan’s teammate during his final season in the league with the Wizards. MJ was 40 by the time he retired after the 2002-03 season, but he was still a legitimate star of the league. Stackhouse became the only player to ever outscore Jordan in a full season as his teammate.

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The story actually goes that Stackhouse beat MJ in a one on one while he was a Tar Heel. He began to brag about it every where he went and to everyone, including the media. Jordan shut him up for good in his rookie year, dropping 48 points on his Sixers.

Jerry Stackhouse refuses to pick between Michael Jordan and LeBron James

Stackhouse was popped the question of who he thinks is the GOAT. He evaded answering the question smartly:

“I don’t think it would be fair to give a comparison on them. I played with LeBron at the prime of his career and I played with Michael in the last year of his career. I just think both are unbelievable players. They’re probably one and two in the history of the game. That’s where I’ll leave it.”

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At the end of the day, the GOAT debate is a matter of whether you choose longevity over peak performance. Chances are, if you value the latter, you pick MJ. And you pick LeBron if you value longevity – that’s not to say LeBron’s peak isn’t insanely great. It’s just that Jordan was that much better on both ends of the floor.