The Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James ‘GOAT debate’ is an age-old conversation. But it continues to turn heads and attract eyeballs even today. Despite being retired for over two decades, MJ has remained fresh in the memories of many because of the impact he had when he suited up for the Chicago Bulls. But for the first time, Jordan’s GOAT status among NBA players has been threatened by King James. And on top of that, LeBron once revealed why MJ would not have even been there had it not been for the superstardom of Julius Erving.

In a poll conducted last year among 103 NBA players, 58.3% picked Jordan as their GOAT compared to only 33% picking LeBron. While LeBron and MJ garnered the majority of the votes, only 6.8% voted for Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. However, the story this year is slightly different. The same anonymous poll was conducted between 133 NBA players this time, and Jordan’s share dropped to 45.9%. 

Although the 6-time Champion remained the majority’s GOAT pick, LeBron came extremely close to defeating him at 42.1%! It looks like players have finally started taking LeBron’s longevity into consideration for the GOAT debate.

But all these discussions might have been meaningless if the original legend, Julius Erving, had not paved the way for them. At least that’s what King James had to say.

Erving was Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan. Even LeBron James acknowledged Doctor J’s impact in an old interview with Infobae, “If Doctor J hadn’t existed, probably neither did Michael Jordan. And therefore, I would not have been a basketball player.” According to LBJ, the influence of Erving motivated superstars like MJ and himself to achieve greatness on the hardwood.

The legend of Doctor J

Apart from having one of the coolest nicknames in NBA history, Doctor J was also one of the most influential players to ever step on the court. His aura was unmatched, and his game made fans believe that anything was possible. Erving began dominating the game years before the ABA-NBA merger. And who can forget his iconic free-throw line dunk in the 1976 ABA slam dunk contest, isn’t it? Even basketball legends like Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas turned into the biggest fanboys when they watched Doctor J go up in the air for a dunk.

Erving was one of the few superstars to win Championships in both ABA and NBA. He won two rings in the ABA and then lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a title in 1983. His individual accolades were no less. Erving’s magic mesmerized the crowd for sixteen years, and he stunningly became one of the few legends to make the All-Star team every year of his career! Fans also understood how important Erving was for his teams as he bagged 4 MVP trophies.

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To this day, Julius Erving is someone who had the ability to fill arenas just with his mere presence. And LeBron James might be right in saying that Michael Jordan might not have become what he became if Doctor J had not shown everyone what was possible.