Sometimes it’s important to wonder if the GOAT conversation will ever come to an end in the NBA. Well, the current reality of things says it won’t. At least, not any time soon. Because when you have Michael Jordan seemingly considering LeBron his biggest rival, the debate will never end. If you want to simplify everything in a single word, then it has to be ‘threat’. Take an example.

When Kobe Bryant joined the LA Lakers in 1996, he was 17 and 307 days. The youngest on the roster, yet the most lethal and hardworking player you’d ever come across. There were other players who were 27, 28, 29, and 25 who would want to go out. Kobe just wanted to stay in his hotel room and watch film, and wanted to be his own man. A lot of those older people felt threatened by Kobe because they thought, “Well, do you think you’re better than us that you can’t hang out with the guys?”

Similarly, does MJ still see himself in competition with LeBron James? Does he want to stop Bron from matching his six rings or surpassing him? The answer is “Yes,” NBA insider Brandon Robinson, aka Scoop B, shared on the Basketball Society podcast.

“I think Michael and LeBron’s conversations will enhance more when LeBron is towards the end, which could happen sooner rather than later. A lot of people feel like LeBron was chasing Michael’s ghost, which was part of the reason why LeBron never joined the Chicago Bulls,” Scoop B added. Simply put, Bron avoided joining the Chicago Bulls to escape direct comparison with Jordan, especially since he grew up nearby in Ohio.

Scoop compared it to Kyrie Irving skipping the Knicks, where legends like Patrick Ewing and John Starks add pressure. “Comparatively, when you look at LeBron and Michael, there’s just so much being compared and contrasted,” the insider added. “When you’re no longer seen as a threat, LeBron could win two more championships, whether in Los Angeles, whether he signs somewhere else, or whether he gets traded. LeBron’s story is still being written. You don’t want to give your competitor any type of advice to chase me, meaning Michael.”

He noted the constant comparisons between LeBron James and Michael Jordan, noting the Akron Hammer’s career is still unfolding. He suggested Jordan, viewing LeBron as a competitor, would avoid offering guidance that could help him surpass his legacy. The rivalry may ease once people no longer see LeBron as a threat, but until then, his chase for greatness fuels the narrative.

Meanwhile, Scoop B’s experiences at NBC have been nothing less than NBA drama. Remember the Kobe Bryant example? He relates to that story because senior Lakers players in 1996 looked at the Black Mamba much like seasoned reporters looked at him as a newbie.

Scoop B relates to the Michael Jordan-LeBron James situation through his own experiences

“I didn’t play. However, I have journalist peers as an example. I can say that there are some journalists who are older than me who, on my climb up, saw something in me,” Scoop B shared. “And they went extra hard in the way that they acted. The way they treated me, the way that they were. It was almost like their level of rites of passage. I think that bullies bully because they were bullied, and they think that is the way to go about the next person.”

He feels that Kobe Bryant went through the same during his rookie year in LA. “In my field, in my genre, I have felt that way,” he added. But in their comparison, the LeBron James and MJ conversation will peak when the Lakers star reaches the end of his glorious career.

Well, it’s not so surprising to believe that Bron still views a season of not winning as a disappointment. You see, sitting at the same table with Jordan, who had six rings in eight years and never lost an NBA finals, James Sr.’s story is different. Yet, the complex tug-of-war on who’s the greatest player of all time will barely stop. Sometimes, stats and sometimes rings take all the load.

Greatness never sits quietly at the back of the room; it commands, it challenges, it provokes. That is why the LeBron–Jordan saga feels less like a debate and more like an eternal duel of legacies. Kobe once felt it from his own teammates, and Scoop B felt it in journalism’s halls. Threat shapes rivalry, and rivalry shapes destiny. As long as LeBron James keeps writing chapters, Michael’s ghost keeps turning the page. And the GOAT conversation? It may never close the book.