The GOAT debate might be the longest-standing argument in the league. Every other week, a new point is added to it, still, there doesn’t seem to be an end anytime soon. Recently, Skip Bayless, on the ‘UNDISPUTED‘ show, doubled down on his take on Michael Jordan being the GOAT and listed out reasons why LeBron James could never overtake the Bulls legend.
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Bayless said,
“I saw it against Denver matchup last year and have four straight chances to win four close games. By the way, just for the record, in those four games, LeBron [James] was just pathetic in the four 4th quarters.”
The media veteran dubbed himself the ‘truth teller’ and decided to roll out some more receipts of LeBron failing miserably on the court. He added that in 2015, against the Warriors, LBJ had a great three games at the beginning of the series. However, when it was time for him to close the series, he ghosted in the next three.
“Just because you play longer at a higher level does not make you better.”@RealSkipBayless won’t give LeBron GOAT status over Jordan, even with a 5th ring pic.twitter.com/93antpAYVr
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) March 29, 2024
In the first three games of the series, LBJ had 44, 39, and 40 points while going triple-double in the second game. Even though LeBron’s scoring wasn’t impacted in the next three games, the Cavs lost those games and the series. Bayless also has an issue with him for the way he lost to the Mavs in the 2011 NBA Finals.
In six games, he averaged 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.8 assists and among all the forgettable outings, he had eight points in 46 minutes in Game 4. Even though the list is endless for Bayless, one of his biggest problems with LeBron is that his legacy largely rides on the longevity factor.
It’s hard to compete with a 6-0 Finals record, 6 MVPs and 10 scoring titles. It’s hard to compete with a Michael Jordan who had no epic failures in his playoff runs. https://t.co/8eeKp4QJBM
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 29, 2024
He said, “Just because you play longer at a higher level does not make you better.” To emphasize his point, he quoted the clip from his show and wrote, “It’s hard to compete with a 6-0 Finals record, 6 MVPs and 10 scoring titles. It’s hard to compete with a Michael Jordan who had no epic failures in his playoff runs.” With all these arguments highlighting LeBron’s landmark failures, it’s tough to argue against Bayless.
Is LeBron James only great because of his longevity?
Bayless has claimed on many occasions that LeBron’s longevity is the only valuable factor on his resume that allows him a spot in these conversations. In 2022 when the NBA renamed several awards in honor of some of the all-time greats, Bayless posted,
“LeBron’s name should be permanently attached to the Longevity Award given annually to the player who has the best late-career season.”
LeBron’s name should be permanently attached to the Longevity Award given annually to the player who has the best late-career season.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 13, 2022
When LBJ broke the 40k-point barrier and became the first athlete to do so, Bayless acknowledged that this record was astonishing as no other athlete even dreamt of reaching there. However, he added that all this record proves is that LeBron has been an active player in the league for 21 seasons.
He also said that Jordan couldn’t get to that mark because he was taking long breaks in his career and falling out of love with the sport. There’s really no convincing argument that one can make for LeBron against Bayless, but it is understandable why he would rank MJ above the Lakers superstar.
