The National Basketball Association features nothing but the greatest talents in the basketball world.
So, standing out from the rest of the pack is perhaps one of the toughest things to do, let alone be consistently better than everybody else and win more NBA championships than the average player.
That’s why the never-ending GOAT debate often features the same names, with Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the most common responses.
With that in mind, and on the verge of LeBron becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer, sports radio host Mike Francesca recently shared his thoughts on this matter.
Notably, Francesca included three players to the GOAT list whose names aren’t mentioned that often anymore, choosing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Bill Russell in no particular order.
.@MikeFrancesa's top five NBA players of all time ✍️ pic.twitter.com/7FsJcpexka
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 1, 2023
Younger fans don’t mention Chamberlain a lot nowadays, even despite the fact that he owns the most — and some of the most impressive — records in NBA history.
Perhaps, his lack of championships stains what could’ve been the most impressive résumé of all time.
As for Bill Russell, younger fans often criticize him for playing in a non-competitive league against below-average athletes and still not averaging high-scoring numbers.
However, he was one of the most outstanding athletes and defenders this game has ever seen, not to mention the winningest player of all time.
Kareem, on the other hand, should’ve gotten way more consideration as the GOAT.
By the time he retired, he led the league in total points, MVPs, All-Star appearances, and many more, being one of the most dominant two-way forces ever.
Then again, at the end of the day, we don’t have to choose who was better, as there’s no point in comparing players from different eras who played in different positions.
NEXT: Steve Nash Responds To LeBron Passing Him On All-Time List
