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LeBron James and Michael Jordan will forever be linked because of the GOAT debate, but the former says becoming better than the latter was never his goal. James was asked on an episode of The Shop at Fanatics Fest when he knew he could be better than his idol, and he had an interesting response.
“I think my idol was my inspiration, was my drive,” James said. “But it was never like my defining force on I want to be better than him. It was always my competition. So I didn’t get an opportunity to play against my idol… MJ retired in ’03 with the Wizards, so I didn’t get an opportunity to go against him. But he was definitely my biggest inspiration as far as the sport itself.
“But it was like my competition when I came into the league, you know?” James stated. “Allen Iverson and Kobe [Bryant] and [Tracy McGrady] and Vince Carter… Paul Pierce. Obviously, me and [Dwyane Wade] came in, and me and [Carmelo Anthony] came in at the same time. So like Baron Davis was a beast at that time when I came in.
“It was like my competition every night that I went against those guys every night,” James continued. “I was like, how can I be better than them at some point? And I knew I belonged, but I knew it was going to take time. I was a No. 1 player in the world as a high school junior and as a high school senior, but I knew when I got drafted, I had to start from scratch. I had to go back to ground level, and I had to build myself up.
“So I knew that I belonged,” James added. “I knew I was special. I knew I was born with a God-given talent. And then it was up to me to put the damn work in. And I knew if I just kept working on my craft, I could be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, that ever played the game of basketball.”
James says his focus was always on the competition. It’s often been said that he has been chasing the ghost of Jordan, but he claims here that he wanted to get better to take down those he was competing against.
James also knew that he had the talent to where if he worked his socks off, he could go down as one of the greatest players of all time. That he certainly has. James has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, one scoring title, and one assists title. The 41-year-old has made 22 All-Star, 21 All-NBA, and six All-Defensive teams, and is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Now, despite all of this, Jordan remains the more popular GOAT pick. James has claimed on numerous occasions by now, though, that he believes he is the greatest. He isn’t going to take anybody over him. James thinks Jordan and the other greats wouldn’t as well. His idol believes there is no such thing as a GOAT in basketball, however. These two have taken very different approaches to this subject.
While James has spoken a lot about being the greatest, he has never compared himself to Jordan. The reason? Their games are totally different. James did acknowledge there were things Jordan did better than him, but he also believes there are things he does better.
