Before he even hit the NBA hardwood, LeBron James was being hailed as the second coming of Michael Jordan. After more than 20 years in the league, there is no doubt that he has earned every right to be in the Greatest of All Time debate alongside MJ. Since he will be entering his 22nd season soon, James still has time to solidify his case as the NBA GOAT. But has he already surpassed MJ? At least, Kendrick Perkins thinks so.
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On Mark Jackson’s Come and Talk 2 Me podcast, Perkins explained why he thinks LBJ has already surpassed Jordan in the GOAT debate. Big Perk has been pretty open about King James being his GOAT pick.
As per the former Boston Celtics star, no other athlete in sports history had to handle the pressure to become the greatest player in the history of sport like LeBron James did. The kid from Akron was labeled the ‘Chosen One’ when he was still in high school.
Since LBJ transcended those expectations in his career, he has an unparalleled case as the GOAT. While acknowledging Jordan’s superb NBA resume, Perkins argued,
“Jordan went 6 and 0 in the NBA Finals, you know 6 Final MVPs, I get that. Bron is [the GOAT] just because no other player in sports, not just in the NBA, but in sports, was under the pressure that he was under [coming into the league]. But he exceeded those expectations.”
The ESPN analyst admitted that the LBJ-MJ debate is a close one. But Perk declared that Bron takes the cake because he was already gauged by Jordan’s standards as a rookie. There were people in the league waiting to disprove the legend of LeBron James. But James got through all those hurdles.
This is not the first time that Kendrick Perkins has sung such high praises for his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate. Despite being at odds with his former mate recently, the 39-year-old has continued to back him.
Not only Perkins, but even his former coach believes that LBJ deserves the GOAT tag.
Doc Rivers also believes LeBron James deserves credit for surpassing expectations
As per Perk’s 2008 champion coach Doc Rivers, James deserves credit for living up to the hype around him. He argued that when Jordan entered the league, he wasn’t expected to be an All-Time Great. However, James was expected to take over the league even before he played an NBA game.
LBJ didn’t have the space to evolve into a superstar, he was expected to be an elite player since day one. For Rivers, living up to such lofty standards is what gives James the edge over Jordan. The veteran HC argued,
“When Michael came into the league, he surprised everybody how great he was. When LeBron came to the league, they expected him to be great, so it was already on him. Michael in some ways, we allowed to grow into greatness, we didn’t allow LeBron that and he still overachieved.”
Therefore, both Doc Rivers and Kendrick Perkins rewarded James with the GOAT title because he had to bear the burden of being a top-notch athlete right off the bat.
