Allen raises an interesting point about the GOAT debates.
The GOAT debate has been going on over the last few years. LeBron James and Michael Jordan are the two names that get mentioned repeatedly. Ray Allen shared an interesting observation on why people claim LeBron is the GOAT over Jordan.
LeBron vs Mike
Allen shared who he thinks is the greatest player of all time. He also defines what makes a player the GOAT and why certain people believe that LeBron takes the crown.
“In my opinion, MJ is the GOAT,” Allen said to CBS Sports. “LeBron is a product of MJ, so alot of what’s in LeBron — in his DNA — comes from Michael. For anybody that says that LeBron is the GOAT, they’re growing up in today’s era, and they believe what they believe based on how it feels and what he means to them, and that’s OK. But the way MJ affected the game, man, he had a stranglehold on the league and he struck fear in everyone because he was an unstoppable player.”
In other words, Allen is saying that LeBron could be a product of recency bias. Those who grew up watching him weren’t necessarily born yet when MJ was in his prime and dominating the league. And so there’s no way for them actually to have an informed opinion about Mike.
To them, Bron’s incredible milestones have made him the best player ever. They cannot say the same thing about MJ because they’ve likely only seen his highlights. But the same thing can be said about the old-school fans who are sure that Magic, Bird, and Jordan are the best and rarely give credit to the new guard.
Ray Allen meets MJ
Most old heads would agree with Allen that His Airness is the GOAT, especially those who played aginst him. He entered the NBA in 1996 and faced prime Jordan. Ray actually matched up with Jordan as he scored 40 points.
“I remember Chris Ford was yelling at me all the time that I should get in front of him,” Allen said. “And I’m fronting him on the post and MJ just kind of slowly glides across the floor and gets the ball. He shakes and scores. I did everything the game plan said, and then there is a break in the action, and we’re sitting there, and you know Chris Ford is hammering me and MJ comes over and said that I’m doing a great job while in the meantime he has 45 in the books.”
From the looks of it, this debate will go on forever. It’s all a matter of preference. One day, a new player will dominate the NBA, and there will be three players considered as the best ever. Or perhaps MJ will be booted out of the discussion. Who knows, legaue is only 77 years young; we still have a lot of basketball to see.
