I've seen Bird, Magic, Jordan, & Kobe play, IMO LeBron is the G.O.A.T

[jlprk]

Bill Walton has told a story about who is the g.o.a.t..

MJ & Wilt C. were having an argument about which one of them was the g.o.a.t.. Neither super star would back down, both claimed the title.

David Stern came to get them for the event they were attending. (I can not remember the event Walton mentioned). But they kept arguing.

As they were finally leaving the room, Wilt said this.

MJ, when you played, the rules were changed to make it easier for you to score. When I played, the rules were changed to make harder for me to score.
End of argument.

Good bar story. (I hope you don't really believe it.)

 

[oldfisherman]

Good bar story. (I hope you don't really believe it.)

Found it, google:
1997 NBA allstar luncheon

This is not the Walton version, but another report, with a picture of MJ & Wilt together. It is very similar to Waltons story. But with more details.

I'm new to posting by cellphone, and do not know how to post the link.

 

[jlprk]

Okay, I'll believe it. Wilt had a braggadocio personality. (By the way, he really did have all those women. I read an article around 1972 in which he took a reporter along.) I can imagine him arguing with Jordan, who would have humored him but stood up for himself. Jordan was the silent type, son of a policeman.

These two had personalities which the Oregonian, and now team policy, abhors.

 

[jlprk]

Hmm. When you Like a post, then accidentally hit the Enter button, it Unlikes the post.

 

[mook]

I'll chime in.....

GOAT?

60's = Wilt
70's = Kareem
80's = Magic
90's = MJ
00's = Kobe
10's = Lebron

Each was the terror of his decade (or more). No one wanted to play against them.

But, for each of these guys.....playing in his own era.....I think it's Wilt, but didn't see him play.
So, I'll take MJ.

Kobe? Really? He wasn't even the best player on his own team in his first 3 championships. If you want to cite one player for that decade, it has to be Tim Duncan. He was un-arguably the best player on 4 championships in that decade.

 

[mook]

The weird thing about how people remember Jordan is that they remember his 6 great championship seasons as though that's the entirety of his work. He was always the best and nobody could ever stop him.

Except there were 9 seasons where he didn't win a ring or make the NBA Finals. 2/3 of his career he didn't make the Finals. So no, actually a lot of the time he wasn't that successful by the metric of playoff wins.

I'm not saying Jordan wasn't great. I'm just pointing out that there's a lot of recency bias both directions in evaluating GOAT. Sure, people may overrate LeBron because he's the hot news now. But the Legend of Jordan has become so dominant in media and culture that we tend to just gloss over all those times he didn't make the Finals because it was old news.

Jordan's career was only 13 seasons (well, 15 if you want to count the joke that was his Wizards years. Ugh) LeBron is on year 13 too, and I think if it ended now it's a pretty close argument for who was the GOAT. But jeez--LeBron is having his best season ever and he just doesn't look to be stopping. The guy is just so strong and relentless--he could be an All Star 7 years from now when he's 40.

And this year's Cavs team is just another addition to his legend. That team maybe wins 22 games this year without him. You put any other star in the league in his place and it maybe sneaks into the playoffs. To drag that to the Finals is amazing.

 

[handiman]

The Jordan Rules referred to the defensive strategy that Detroit used on Jordan, not the NBA rules.

Yes, that's what I wrote.

For Wilt, the lane was widened to 16' in 1964.

For MJ, 1994 hand checking and clear path to the basket rules changed making it easier to score.

1997, defender can no longer use forearm to impede the progress of o player. No-charge area expanded. And new defensive player spacing rules made it easier to score.

1998, more rule changes to make it easier to score.

Look up nba rule changes by year for more info.

The changes you cited came in the second half of Jordan's championship run, which basically makes them late in his career. I call b.s. on those changes making it easier for him to score, whether or not that was the intent as Wilt quipped.

 

[Lanny]

I never said he didnt.

And if Pippen is a heavy drinker, his liver may indeed be chopped.

1. You implied that Jordan was the most significant reason for their winning by far;
2. I have never heard that Scottie was a heavy drinker.

 

[Orion Bailey]

1. You implied that Jordan was the most significant reason for their winning by far;
2. I have never heard that Scottie was a heavy drinker.

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[MARIS61]