Rasheed Wallace Picks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Over Michael Jordan As His G.O.A.T
Michael Jordan often receives most of the votes when it comes to choosing the greatest player in NBA history.
LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Bill Russell all receive consideration, but former All-Star Rasheed Wallace recently weighed in on the discussion. During an appearance on FYF Sports Debates podcast, Wallace said the honor should go to Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
He claims Abdul-Jabbar is far deserving than Jordan.
"What makes him the GOAT?" Wallace said of Jordan. "He's No. 1 in one category. I give it to him. Tip my hat, 6 and 0 in the Finals. Now, that's impressive."
Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA's leading scorer before being surpassed by James last season. Wallace said Jordan's greatness was only determined by his scoring and his undefeated record in the NBA Finals.
"Who's better than Kareem? What makes them better than Kareem?," Wallace said. "To me, he wasn't the greatest. Jabbar is the greatest of all time. This man been retired for damn near like 30 years or more dawg and his numbers are still sitting up there."
Wallace questioned Jordan's all-around game. In Jordan's defense, he was once named Defensive Player of the Year and made the All-Defensive team a record nine times.
"If you want to say Michael Jordan's the GOAT of being one of the greatest competitors to play this game, I could give you that," he added. "… He ain't number one in no offensive category. He ain't number one in no defensive category. How?"
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
