Winning titles with multiple teams is not an easy task to accomplish. LeBron James is the only player ever to win the Finals MVP (alongside the NBA Championship) with three different teams. While the majority of the basketball world lauds him for it, a former NBA star believes that this same feat actually hurts LBJ’s GOAT case.
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Kenny Anderson, a former 14-year NBA veteran, had an interesting take on LeBron James’ positioning in the NBA GOAT debate. During an appearance on Mark Jackson’s Come And Talk 2 Me podcast, Anderson claimed that Michael Jordan is his GOAT pick.
Trying to justify his choice, the 1994 All-Star would go on to compare the number of teams that James and Jordan have played for over their careers. While doing so, he downplayed LeBron’s body of work for jumping ship too often.
“LeBron is one of the best ever to play the game but when you run around different teams, play with this guy, play with that guy… Mike never did that. He stayed and got Pippen… Kobe stayed 20 years with the Lakers. LeBron, he’s always running around, playing with Wade, Chris Bosh, Kyrie, Kevin Love,” Anderson said.
While talking with Mark Jackson and his son Bluu Jackson, Anderson didn’t even think that King James is anywhere close to Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate. The former NBA star’s chief point of contention was that LeBron ran around to team up with great players as Kobe and MJ stayed with the team that drafted them and tried to make it happen there.
Mark Jackson also gave his take on the argument, picking the Chicago Bulls legend as his GOAT. However, Jackson did give James some credit.
“He’s (LeBron James) had an incredible run and it seems like he still has plenty left in the tank. So there’s no disrespect to him. You just got to pick who you believe is the GOAT,” the former Golden State Warriors coach said.
Similar to Anderson, Jackson has also always been a bit partial towards MJ while awarding him the prestigious title. His opinion regarding the GOAT debate has not changed over the years despite James adding more silverware to his trophy cabinet.
Mark Jackson has snubbed LeBron James for several years
During an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show in 2020, Jackson claimed that Michael Jordan was the GOAT. He would also state that the 5-time NBA MVP would continue to remain the GOAT even if LeBron James were to become the league’s all-time leading scorer.
“I will say this: When it’s all said and done, LeBron James will have the best basketball – NBA basketball career that there’s ever been. With that being said, I’m saying he’s going to be the all-time leading scorer, he’s going to be a top-5 assist-man in the history of the game with a bunch of other accolades that we don’t have enough time for me to go through,” Jackson stated.
However, Jordan’s mentality was the biggest reason behind Jackson backing him as the GOAT.
“But Michael Jordan is the best player who’s ever played the game. I think that the difference’s that mentality, that killer mentality. I think I’ve said it already on record: There’s only two guys that I’ve faced that I felt like they were willing to die on the floor and that’s Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, just different mentalities,” Jackson said on the Rich Eisen Show.
James has one of the most stacked resumes ever. However, having two fewer championships than His Airness will continue to be a point that his detractors will hold against him. It almost seems as though another title win would still not be enough for personalities like Mark Jackson to dub LeBron as their GOAT.
