Joe Budden recently had ESPN’s star analyst Stephen A. Smith as his guest for an episode of his podcast show last week. One of the main topics of discussion was comparing Michael Jordan and LeBron James’ legacy in the NBA. The GOAT debate is certainly one of the heated conversations among NBA circles, with each picking their own side. When Joe Budden sparked a discussion on this debate, SAS was quick to point out how Michael Jordan’s career easily edges over LeBron James. Perhaps, Shaquille O’Neal also agrees with Smith as he re-shared a clip from this conversation on his Instagram story.
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Though Stephen A. Smith never vehemently criticized LeBron James, he could still be categorized as a huge pro-MJ guy in the GOAT debate. On several instances and occasions, SAS never failed to bring up instances of how MJ’s status as a ‘GOAT’ is well justified. On the other hand, Smith claimed that LeBron James lost his contention for the title after being swept by the Nuggets in the post-season this year.
Stephen A. Smith snubs LeBron James over Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate
Stephen A. Smith recently addressed the GOAT debate in his recent appearance on Joe Budden’s podcast show last week. SAS kept emphasizing how LeBron James would not have been as we know him if Jordan never acted as a role model. Furthermore, Smith also explained why he placed Kobe behind Jordan and LeBron in this debate.
“LeBron [James] had to learn to become Jordan-esque. The only reason why Kobe does not get over Jordan is- number one- he played in the same position as Jordan did, and number two he had Shaq for the first three seasons. Otherwise, we would be talking about how Kobe should be ahead of LeBron. That is why I have LeBron number two.”
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To tip off his argument, Smith tried reminding everyone of the ultra-competitive athlete that Jordan was back in the day. If he determined himself to drop an incredibly high amount of points on a player, he would anyhow do it. Furthermore, Jordan could defensively hound his opponents which made him one of the most complete players of his generation.
Perhaps, the reason why SAS places MJ over LeBron James or Kobe is because of how he stood out from the rest of the flock. In LeBron’s era, he has to prove himself every season against the likes of other league greats such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and many others. As for MJ, he made himself unilaterally stand out as the global icon of basketball, all within a few years.
Shaquille O’Neal agrees with Stephen A Smith about Kobe being ahead of LeBron 👀 pic.twitter.com/vsloGYSGWo
— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) September 29, 2023
This is perhaps the reason why Shaq relayed MJ as the GOAT by reiterating SAS’s message on his IG story.
Shaquille O’Neal has often picked MJ as the GOAT
Shaquille O’Neal might mostly seem split sides when one notices his varied stances on the GOAT debate. However, if fans notice Shaq’s pattern of answers during this debate, he has heavily favored and relayed Michael Jordan as the GOAT above LeBron James.
Shaq often gets his views out to his Instagram followers and fans through his various story reshares. In July, the Big Aristotle shared a post that highlighted 21 reasons why Jordan became the greatest of all time. Furthermore, just a few months prior to this, Shaq had teased how he and MJ would have dominated every team, had they teamed up back in the 1990s.
