The Athletic created a firestorm on Tuesday when they released an anonymous poll that asked NBA players some of the toughest questions.
They wanted to know who was the worst referee in the Association, who was the best defender, and who was the most overrated player.
The poll also asked who is the greatest NBA star of all time.
As expected, the top two answers were Michael Jordan and LeBron James, with Jordan coming out on top with 58% and James behind him with 33%.
Over 100 current NBA players were polled on who the GOAT is.
Majority are still taking MJ over LeBron 👀 pic.twitter.com/se5ZR6aX4s
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 18, 2023
Most people assumed that these two icons would sit atop the list.
But that didn’t mean a debate online wasn’t coming.
Sure enough, people wanted to give their opinions about Jordan beating James in the poll.
There were many online who felt Jordan as the GOAT was the right call.
“MJ all day,” one fan said.
MJ all day. 🏀
— JB (@John_Blizzard) April 18, 2023
As always, there were some NBA fans who commented on the state of the league during Jordan’s time playing.
“Jordan was playing against plumbers,” one Twitter user said, suggesting that he didn’t have it as hard as James.
Jordan was playing against plumbers
— LeLoadingBRON&RODGERSbetter-journalist-local paper (@NYJ_FB) April 18, 2023
Other people thought the chance of James taking the top spot was slim because NBA stars weren’t going to vote for someone they currently compete against.
Of course @NBA players aren’t gonna pick the guy they have to compete against
— A2G (@arthurtoogood) April 18, 2023
Then there were some who repeated that James is competing in a league that is much harder than the one Jordan dominated.
look how talented the league is compared to then its not even close
— christopher (@GamerRuss2013) April 18, 2023
The debate about Jordan over James has been raging for years now.
It’ll continue to rage for many more because this is going to be something that people argue about until the end of time.
No matter who is better, these are definitely two of the most influential basketball players to ever play the game.
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