Of GOATs and Fruitless Debates

We’ve entered the legacy-building portion of the professional spring sports calendar, when reputations are burnished and tarnished, and legions of humans who might have trouble locating their ass with both hands piously weigh in. No accomplishment or disappointment is judged strictly on its own merit, that someone or some team simply had a great season or a bad week. All of it must be inserted into a larger context. It must *mean* something, even if the meaning varies from one cerebral cortex to the next. 

Sporting debate is both pointless and vital, mostly unanswerable yet critical for engagement. Results temper some discussion because they provide actual winners and losers and accompanying statistics, rather than aesthetic taffy pulls related to topics such as beauty, music and Scotch whisky. But sports also launch conversations among those who are invested, psychically if not financially, about legacy and history and comparison. 

If sports weren’t consuming to so many, people might devote their energies to improving themselves and society, and where’s the jollies in that? Debates about Greatest This and Best That frequently involve baseball, but other sports figure in the mix. Which brings us to today’s chew toy: LeBron James. James and his band of Angelenos are in the Western Conference finals as he pursues his fifth championship. [We posted about a version of this narrative more than a decade ago.]

Did someone mention my pal LeBron?

A fifth ring may or may not tweak the narrative surrounding where he stands among the pantheon of GOAT-ness. It seems that most folks tilted toward Greatest Ever discussions are comfortably in Michael Jordan or LeBron camps already. One more piece of jewelry or a couple more productive seasons are unlikely to sway opinions. Inarguable is James’s sustained excellence. At age 38, in his 20th season, he became the NBA’s career leading scorer. He is averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. He’s averaged at least 25 points per game every year since his rookie season. He’s 6-9 and 270 pounds and effectively banging away against guys 10 and 15 years younger. He isn’t the defender he once was and may have lost a half-tick, but you still wouldn’t bet against him. 

The case for Jordan over LeBron usually comes down to championships and Jordan’s killer instinct. Jordan went to six finals and won six rings. LeBron has been to 10 finals and won four titles. Though if rings are the criteria, then Bill Russell should be the GOAT, or at least in the discussion. I’d also point out that if the Miami Heat don’t grab a late offensive rebound and subsequently Ray Allen doesn’t hit an immense 3-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals versus the Spurs, or if Draymond Green wasn’t suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 Finals with the Warriors up 3-1, LeBron likely has two fewer championships and *still* should be in the conversation. 

For what it’s worth (negligible), I think the debate should include Jordan, LeBron, Kareem and Russell. Compelling cases could be made for all four, and I wouldn’t argue with any of them. Pushback against LeBron as GOAT also carries a whiff of nostalgia that’s most commonly found in regards to baseball. For example, no one credibly argues that Jesse Owens was faster than Usain Bolt, that Sammy Baugh was better than Aaron Rodgers, that Olga Korbut was superior to Simone Biles, that Mark Spitz was more accomplished than Michael Phelps, that Maurice Richard was a greater talent than Sidney Crosby, that George Best was a more gifted footballer than Leo Messi. 

Yet if one were to suggest that, say, Mookie Betts is better than Stan Musial, or that Max Scherzer is better than Lefty Grove or Bob Feller, the Guardians of Baseball descend on that notion with the weight of a dozen planets and summarily dismiss it as absurd, bolstered by favorable numbers and the sparkle of fairy dust. We’re supposed to believe that athletic evolution applies to every sport *except* baseball and that Mike Trout cannot possibly be better than Ruth and Mays. A questionable construct, to say the least. 

There’s a bit of that with Jordan and LeBron, though Jordan’s career is just recent enough that a sizeable chunk of the populace saw and grew up with it and are willing to champion it over the current wave. Not saying they’re wrong, only that the games and their participants change and evolve. Enjoy and marvel at them all, whenever they compete. Rank them if you must, you grouchy bastards, and if your criteria is cold statistics or the tug of your heart or some combination thereof, well, good luck and Godspeed. 

Let a thousand arguments bloom.