If I ask you, who your GOAT in the sports world is, what would you say? Let’s specify it further, if it is just basketball, then? In the NBA, many debates rise, bloom, and die. But one that has gone for at least half a decade now is– Michael Jordan vs LeBron James. When The Athletic took its very first players poll in 2019, the findings for the GOAT debate were squarely in Jordan’s court with 73% votes to Bron’s 11.1%. When ESPN polled fans the next year, based on 17 categories, Jordan again came out as a winner in almost all sets; 65% as a better player. That wasn’t magic, but there were reasons.

Although individual GOAT debate will usually settle with what era you are from, who you watched play, who impacted you, and many more reasons, there’s no denying that Jordan, for the better, influenced sports across the board. One player even told The Athletic, “The greatest ever is LeBron James, (but) the greatest of all time is Michael Jordan.” While the dust had settled on the debate with the regular season and then the heated ongoing Conference Finals, the GOAT discussion has somehow taken center stage once again. Interestingly, the one to start was his long-time agent David Falk and here is how it evolved:

– NBA super agent David Falk picks his side: Appearing on SBJ’s 4se conference in Manhattan, Falk said, “I really like LeBron, but I think if Jordan had cherry picked what teams he wanted to be on and two other superstars, he would’ve won 15 championships.” Arrows shot! But LeBron’s inner circle wasn’t quietly going to let it hit the target!

– LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul shoots back: On the Rick Eisen Show a day ago, Rich clapped back, “(Michael Jordan vs LeBron James careers) are not apples to apples. But I just thought that was very unfair and a little beneath David Falk for a number of reasons. We can’t have revisionist history and we all wanna determine who’s the GOAT and who’s the best and so on so forth. But I just thought that was a little beneath David to say that. Michael never had to leave.

“Michael’s never been the underdog in any Finals. Not one time. Michael never had a 24-hour x 365 news cycle. He never had shows built strictly to criticize him. People made millions of dollars criticizing LeBron. That was their entire job… I’m a biggest Michael Jordan fan ever. Love Michael Jordan. I don’t think Michael Jordan would use the term ‘Cherry-picking’ so I’m not here to discredit Michael Jordan.”

While Paul did go on to say how Jordan transcended the game and everyone benefited from it, one other entity came up who took a little offense to his remarks. Of course, it is ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith. And as usual, he is there to ask the questions that need to be answered, at least for him.

“What the h— do you mean, Rich Paul, when you say Michael never had a 24-hour x 365 news cycle? He never had shows built strictly to criticize him? What shows are built strictly to criticize LeBron James? See, this is the BS. This is the BS.

“We cover the sport. It’s a 24-hours news cycle. There are plenty of positive things that are said about LeBron James on every show. Every show! This is where the whining and moaning accusations come from, from him and his camp. What 24-hour x 365 news cycle has shows built strictly to criticize him? So, in other words, the shows that criticize him never ever ever give him credit, huh? Ever? Look man, I ain’t got time.”

Although it was not as non-stop as the current social media era, Jordan was the most talked-about athlete during his time, both by the media and fans. So, Smith highlighted that Jordan went through similar scrutiny, while also emphasizing that no one targets LeBron 24/7 like Paul claimed. However, unlike him, he moved on to his next guest without much adding to the debate. And then there was a twist!

Although the analyst was clearly frustrated, he shifted focus to his guest, as he welcomed, none other than, David Falk himself, who had more to say about the GOAT debate.

David Falk details why Michael Jordan is the GOAT over LeBron James on Stephen A. Smith’s podcast

Following Rich’s public response to Falk’s initial comments, Stephen A. invited Jordan’s agent to his podcast to get his final word on the debate. And Falk explained in detail why he believes MJ is better than any player in NBA history, not just LeBron. “Clearly LeBron James is a great player in any era. You’d be foolish to suggest otherwise. His longevity, his statistics, are amazing. I think what makes Michael the GOAT goes way beyond the court.

“I think on the court, Michael obviated the Center position. Prior to Jordan, you needed Olajuwons, the Ewings, the Kareems, the Bob Laniers, and the way Michael played, he made it unnecessary to have a great Center. Look who he won the championship with. Bill Wennington, D Simpkins, Bill Cartwright. And I think that had a huge impact on the game.”

“Secondly, perhaps more importantly, I think Michael individually broke down every barrier that existed for professional basketball players and in particular African American professional basketball players to become national marketing brand ambassadors. So, the whole generation of LeBrons and Kobes and Steph Currys having their own shoes and being in commercials did not exist before Michael came in the game.”

“Third, I believe he’s the first NBA player to become a billionaire. I think he’s the first NBA player to become a majority owner of NBA team. And finally, he had a tremendous impact on fashion. He changed the way players played with the long shorts, he made bald as beautiful. I think beyond comparing statistics, who had more points, who averaged more, even who had more championships, I think Michael’s impact is extremely broad and deep in what he did to change the game. I don’t think any other player in history had that kind of an impact.”

Yes, MJ came into the league when it was Center dominant, and won championships anyway. Sure, there were still some amazing Centers in the league, but the shooting guard was clearly a tier above everyone else. More importantly, he sparked the era of a guard-dominant league that the viewers see today. Even to this day, there are no bigger sneakers than Jordans. Their significance and impact paved the way for every future athlete. In fact, many grow up wishing to have the Jordans just because they are as classic as it gets.

Obviously, LeBron’s impact is also massive, and many would debate even bigger than Jordan given his 20-seasons long career. And that’s the discussion that will go on till the end of time, and guess what? There might be no wrong answers because that’s how great both LeBron and Jordan are. Who is your GOAT?