NBA (DR) / The Volume (DR)
Having played against Michael Jordan and LeBron James during his great career, Gary Payton is in a pretty good position to give his opinion on the two men. Recently, he was also asked to decide between two in the GOAT debate, and The Glove delivered an interesting answer.
Defender of the Year in 1996, Gary Payton is perhaps the best point guard in history in his half of the field. The Hall of Famer was a real moth on the field, barking incessantly at his opponents while sticking them to the body. Suffice to say that he therefore had the right to missions on certain superstars opposite, including Michael Jordan, against whom he measured himself many times during the 90s, with the Supersonics.
Towards the end of his career, the Seattle legend also had the opportunity to cross paths with LeBron James, who was then taking his first steps in the big league. And according to the 2006 champion, when deciding who is the best player in basketball overall, there is no debate. Asked recently, the native of Oakland decided in favor of the Lakers winger, highlighting the way he played on the court:
Gary Payton: ‘LeBron is the best basketball player’
“LeBron James is by far a better all-around basketball player than Michael Jordan”
– Gary Payton
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— Hoops (@HoopMixOnly) September 29, 2022
I think LeBron is a versatile basketball player. If you ask me who is the better basketball player of the two, I’d say it’s LeBron James by far, because he does it all. He passes the ball better than Jordan, he dribble a little better than Jordan, but I don’t think that’s the case for the shot. He’s great at rebounding, yes, but so was Jordan.
If he doesn’t say so explicitly, it would seem that The Glove leans a little more on the side of the four-time MVP in the GOAT debate than the one he gave a hard time to in the 1996 Finals. once, we are talking about a legend who faced them both. And it is true that LBJ is exceptionally complete… On the side of the fans of His Airness, we obviously took this release badly and the brittle comments rocketed in stride:
“The Glove……I had no problem with The Glove.” -The GOAT
— Derrick T. Lewis (@TheRealDTLew) September 30, 2022
“I had no problem playing against The Glove” – Michael Jordan
According to Gary Payton, LeBron James would be the better basketball player than Michael Jordan, if only because he is more all-around. Be careful though, that doesn’t mean he’s the greatest all-time basketball player. GP evaded the question for once.