When it comes to discussing who the greatest NBA player of all time is, most fans are either on Team MJ or Team LeBron. Sacramento Kings legend Olden Polynice — who has played against both — leans toward His Airness and has a no-nonsense take on James.
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You can’t appear on a basketball podcast these days without proffering your opinion on which player deserves to be called the GOAT. Whether it’s right before the NBA Finals are set to begin or at a slow point in the offseason, it’s always a good time to let the GOAT takes fly.
Olden Polynice appeared on the most recent episode of Byron Scott’s Fast Break, and between stories about his playing career, he waded into the GOAT discussion.
Polynice’s NBA career spanned from 1987 to 2001, with a very brief return in 2004. That means he played against many of the greats, from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Magic Johnson, Larry Bird to Charles Barkley, and more, whom he mentioned before giving his top three.
“Jordan’s number one, in my opinion,” Polynice said. “Kobe comes second, only because he patterned so much of his game after Jordan. And LeBron is third.”
Before any LeBron stans jump through the screen, Polynice was quick to give all three players their props. “I can go any one of them number one and be correct,” he said in a moment of objectiveness that most fans lack.
LeBron’s longevity is one of the strongest arguments for his superiority. He’s 22 years into his NBA career and still playing at an extremely high level. Jordan and Kobe were both retired by this point, which is why LeBron has already statistically lapped them in many ways.
That’s all well and good, but Polynice doesn’t believe that sticking around into his 40s helps LeBron’s case. After saying, “It’s time for you to start thinking about retiring,” Polynice was asked if he thought LeBron had a chance to get a fifth ring, which would put him even with Kobe and just one behind Jordan.
“He ain’t getting no fifth ring unless he buys one!” Polynice shouted.
Byron Scott made the point that the Lakers have a lot of work to do this summer to give LeBron a chance to prove Polynice wrong, but the Kings legend remained adamant in his stance.
As Scott and Polynice both noted, the Thunder aren’t going anywhere. They’re huge favorites to beat the Pacers in the Finals. With the amount of young players under contract and an endless war chest of draft picks, OKC is only going to get better, if that’s even possible after winning 68 games this regular season.
The Lakers have LeBron and Luka Doncic, but as their first-round series against the Timberwolves proved, they have an extremely flawed roster. Minnesota bullied them physically and clamped down on them defensively. If the Lakers think they have a chance to improve by simply running it back, they have another thing coming.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka needs to find a real center after trading away Anthony Davis. Jaxson Hayes didn’t cut it, and playing LeBron or Rui Hachimura as a small-ball 5 just isn’t sustainable. They need someone who can provide rim protection while also helping the offense flow.
LeBron has put together an incredible resume, but Polynice is probably right that it pretty much is what it is at this point. If that’s not enough to sway basketball fans to his side, the final year or two of his career probably won’t either. Still, we should appreciate the unprecedented things he’s doing nonetheless, whether a fifth ring comes or not.
