Getty LeBron James and Michael Jordan
NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson doesn’t like to answer the GOAT question since he loves Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
“I hate it because I love both of them so much and both of them did so much for our game,” Iverson told Marc J. Spears of Andscape during All-Star Weekend. “LeBron, I think, to me is the best overall basketball player that we’ll ever see. If you look in the dictionary and look up basketball player, there’ll be a picture of LeBron. But for me, it’s so different because Mike was everything to me. He gave me the vision. He made me want to play basketball. He’s my everything. I wanted to actually be like him, like the commercial, ‘Be like Mike,’ I really wanted to be him. I’m still starstruck every time I see him. I’m still nervous every time. Because he’s Mike to me. He’s my guy. So there’ll never be no one at the top of my list besides Mike. But LeBron is just everything that you want in a basketball player. He’s a total package. He’s God’s gift to the basketball world.”
Jordan and James are universally recognized as the two greatest basketball players in NBA history. The two legends have combined to win nine regular-season MVPs, 10 championships and 10 Finals MVPs.
Jordan won six championships, six Finals MVPs and five regular-season MVPs with the Bulls during the ’90s. He went 6-0 in the Finals and three-peated twice. James, meanwhile, is a four-time champion, four-time Finals MVP and four-time regular-season MVP.
LeBron James: ‘I Feel like I’m the Best Basketball Player That Ever Played’
James told Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group at the beginning of February that he thinks he’s the best basketball player ever. The King recently became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
“What I bring to the table as a basketball player … I feel like I’m the best basketball player that ever played the game,” James said. “That’s just my confidence, that’s just what I bring to the table, what I possess. But as far as if the scoring record gets me to another level, I don’t know.”
James has career averages of 27.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Lakers. LeBron, who grew up idolizing Jordan, is the only player in NBA history to win three Finals MVPs with three different teams and record 10,000+ points, 10,000+ rebounds and 10,000+ assists.
A future Hall of Famer, James is first in NBA history in points, fourth in assists, 10th in steals, fifth in triple-doubles, second in player efficiency rating and fifth in points per game. The Akron Hammer is the only player to rank top-five all-time in both points and assists.
Michael Jordan Was Incredible
Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists during his stellar career with the Bulls and Washington Wizards. He won 10 scoring titles, three steals titles and three All-Star Game MVPs with the Bulls. MJ is one of three players to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Houston Rockets icon Hakeem Olajuwon and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo are the other two.
Jordan is fifth in NBA history in points, first in points per game, third in steals and first in player efficiency rating. He holds the record for the most points scored in a playoff game (63).
Jordan and James embraced at the 2022 All-Star Game in Cleveland. Jordan was the last player introduced during the halftime ceremony celebrating the top 75 players in NBA history. After the ceremony concluded, James went up to Jordan and the two men shared an emphatic hug.