Kevin Love gave his opinion on the GOAT debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James and most of the fans have been appreciating it. He praised LBJ but did not rank them at 1 or 2, instead of that he said 1A or 1B. However, it seems to be a never-ending topic to debate on since both the players never faced each other on the ground. Michael Jordan ruled the NBA in the 1980s-90s and King James has been ruling this since 2003.
If we look at the stats, Michael Jordan has won six championships while LBJ has won four. But the thing to notice is that MJ won six championships out of all the six finals that he played while on the other hand, LBJ won four championships out of the 10 finals. And if we look at the career points, LBJ surpassed MJ in that.
Michael Jordan vs LeBron James
🐐 or 👑? pic.twitter.com/pDqAlKPfZv
— Playmaker (@playmaker) March 19, 2023
Kevin Love on the GOAT debate
In a conversation, Kevin Love gave his opinion on this GOAT debate between Michael Jordan and LBJ. He said:
He’s arguably top one or two greatest players of all time, Any time you get an opportunity to play against him, that’s always going to be special. I think last year, we got really caught up with him coming home because obviously the crowd is going to be into it. Akron and Cleveland, that’s their hometown hero, always will be. So, does James rank No. 1 or No. 2 in that GOAT debate? “1A, 1B,” I have seen it firsthand playing with him. I personally think he is one, but again, that’s up for debate for everybody.
This statement by Kevin Love was loved by the fans and it makes sense too. Ranking two players from two different eras is difficult. If we look at the number of championship LBJ have fewer as compared to MJ but we can’t ignore the fact that LBJ has played more finals than MJ and have the highest career points. Let’s compare some of their stats:
Career (Averages)
Points
LBJ: 27.1
MJ: 30.1
Rebounds
LBJ: 7.5
MJ: 6.2
Assists
LBJ: 7.4
MJ: 5.3
Steals
LBJ: 1.6
MJ: 2.3
Blocks
LBJ: 0.8
MJ: 0.8
Turnovers
LBJ: 3.5
MJ: 2.7
Minutes
LBJ: 38.2
MJ: 38.3
Since both of them excelled in their times, fans of both sides will be super biased towards their favorite. Kevin Love’s ranking Michael Jordan and LBJ as 1A and LBJ as 1B makes sense if you think about it. But this is a never-ending debate, fans will continue to put their favorite at the number 1 spot. There’s no doubt that both deserve the top spot but placing one below the other will be a bit unfair.
