“Michael Jordan, Dr J, Larry Bird”: When LeBron James questionably omitted a few Lakers legends from his GOAT list in 2013

LeBron James claimed that Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Julius Erving were the three greatest players in the history of the NBA. 

The never-ending debate on who the GOAT is between LeBron James and Michael Jordan was actually given a definitive answer to by the kid from Akron himself. The notion that the Lakers star has surpassed the ‘ghost in Chicago’ has irked many Michael Jordan-truthers but has also gained a lot of traction ever since LeBron claimed his 4th title last year. 

Nowadays, the debate on who the GOAT is has been narrowed down to merely two candidates. However, there is a small faction of fans who believe other players embedded within the history of the league have a case for being the greatest of all time. 

 Legends such as Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have been inserted back into the conversation as claim they should’ve never been omitted from it in the first place. 

Also read: “If you want to win a championship, you’ve got to beat everybody”: Mavs star Luka Doncic softens his stance on the 2021 NBA play-in tournament

It seems as though LeBron James had an answer ready back in 2013 on who believes is the greatest to have ever laced up to take to NBA hardwood. 

LeBron James puts Michael Jordan and Larry Bird above himself in the all-time ranking. 

In an interview with Fox Sports back in 2013, LeBron James was asked to list out his 3 best players of all time. 

“Michael Jordan, uh Michael Jordan, wow this tough, Michael Jordan, Dr. J, Larry Bird. Can I get 4? Alright I’ll put Magic Johnson there too.” 

The way LeBron has started off his answer, it seemed as though he listed out Jordan’s name thrice to complete his list of 3 of the best players in league history. However, he did in fact pay respects to Larry Bird and Julius Erving; both of whom are fine candidates for such a list. 

Also read: 3 Reasons why Kobe Bryant’s 2020 Hall of Fame class is better than Michael Jordan’s 2009 Hall of Fame class

Dr. J was Jordan before Jordan, everything from the high-flying dunks to the charisma. Larry Bird is up there with being one of the greatest forwards of all time as he’s won 3 MVPs and has 3 championships to go along with them. 

LeBron James including himself in this list would’ve seemed a bit arrogant considering the fact that he only had one title up until that point. Fast-forward to today and is an undisputed top 3 player of all time. It’s safe to say that his list is a formidable one and made sense for the time that it was put out.