There will never be a definitive answer to put a stop to the GOAT debate. Is it Lebron James or is it Michael Jordan? Both camps have some heavy hitters but there are only a few players in NBA history who have had the luxury of playing with/against both James and Jordan. Legendary sharpshooter Ray Allen is among the select few. He highlights one stark difference that separates the two.
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Allen made his NBA debut in the 1996-97 season. He played against Jordan during the tail end of his Chicago Bulls tenure and his brief time with the Washington Wizards in the early 2000s. The six-time NBA champion didn’t waste any time welcoming Allen to the NBA during his rookie season.
Beginning his career with the Milwaukee Bucks, Allen wasn’t the defined player that fans remember him as with the Boston Celtics. He had plenty of raw offensive potential but didn’t have a reputation as a formidable defender. Jordan took advantage of that weakness in their first matchup.
“I remember Chris Ford yelling at me the whole time. ‘Rookie, get in front of him!” Allen revealed on The Dan Patrick Show in 2018.
Chris Ford was the head coach of the Bucks during Allen’s early seasons in Milwaukee. Jordan’s strong suit was operating in the mid-post. Ford implored Allen to eliminate that aspect of MJ’s game to slow him down. It didn’t quite pan out the way Allen and the Bucks hoped for. That didn’t stop Jordan from showing respect to Allen for his effort.
“There’s a break in action, and Chris Ford is just hammering me. MJ’s like, ‘He’s doing a great job,’ meanwhile he’s got 45 on the books,” Allen said.
Although it may have seemed that Allen’s defense wasn’t good, Jordan himself revealed that it wasn’t the case. Allen’s story is more of a testament to how great a scorer Jordan truly was. Those experiences against Jordan play a heavy role in his opinion on the GOAT debate.
“Playing against [LeBron James] and MJ, I think for me, it’s MJ all day long,” Allen proclaimed. “MJ just had everything.”
By no means does Allen’s comments suggest he is belittling his former teammate on the Miami Heat. “I think [LeBron] is certainly on the cusp. He’s top five all-time,” Allen said.
Allen, notably, also fell victim to Jordan’s iconic trash talk, but he is far from the only one. Jordan once made a bet with Dikembe Mutombo during a game that he could make a free-throw eyes closed. A few seconds later, the Denver Nuggets were collecting the ball through the basket.
At the end of the day, the GOAT debate remains a subjective conversation, one that will forever rage on social media with fans, analysts and veterans all going at it with no answer in sight.
However, these accounts from former players do have the power to sway opinions from time to time, at least till the next expert opinion finds its way onto Twitter.
