‘LeBron James is the GOAT, not Michael Jordan’: Geotagged Twitter data from 50 US states puts Lakers star on summit

More states in the United States believe LeBron James is the GOAT, over Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.

The GOAT debate is perhaps the one question which may never have a unanimously agreed upon conclusion. Ever since LeBron James captured his 4^th Finals MVP and championship, the GOAT debate has basically come down to a LeBron vs. Michael Jordan face off.

Also read: ‘Ain’t nobody beating this team’: Shaquille O’Neal selects all-time NBA team featuring Michael Jordan and LeBron James

With James’s acquisition of his 4^th title, almost all NBA legends have been essentially disregarded from this debate. Prior to these 2020 Finals, fans were still on the fence about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, and more.

However now, it has truly boiled down to the kid from Akron and UNC graduate.

Map of USA shows which states believe LeBron James is the GOAT

A map of the United States that tells us which states believe LeBron is the GOAT and which states believe Michael Jordan is the GOAT.

It was posted on Twitter and it can be clearly seen, a majority of people believe LeBron is the greatest NBA player of all time, over Jordan.

LeBron James vs Michael Jordan GOAT Debate across all 50 states pic.twitter.com/D4c8YOaU0B

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) November 4, 2020

California, Ohio, and Florida are all states LeBron has played in, and they all believe LeBron is the GOAT. Illinois obviously is on Jordan’s side here as he brought Chicago 6 championships.

What may be the other factors contributing to LeBron James having the majority ‘vote’?

The most obvious would be recency bias. LeBron is coming off a historic season with the Lakers, capped off with a championship. The Twitter geotagged data in that graphic was collected right after LeBron had won the title.

Also read: ‘Never knew Michael Jordan felt that way’: Isiah Thomas on beef with MJ; labels LeBron James as GOAT

Another factor contributing to this may be fans of teams who Jordan beat multiple times, are still ‘salty’. Both Utah and New York say LeBron is the GOAT. These are 2 teams who just could not get over the Jordan hump.