Lakers: LeBron James’ Former Miami Teammate Does Not Give Him GOAT Status
LeBron James, who played with Ray Allen during his time with the Miami Heat, can't escape the GOAT conversation even after getting signed by the Lakers. Allen won a championship with James and delivered one of the most clutch shots in finals history, but has reasons to not consider his former teammate the GOAT (quotes via theScore)
"Is he a great free throw shooter? Is he a great 3-point shooter? Is he a great dribbler? So you're saying he's the GOAT but he isn't even the greatest in all of those categories? Think about that."
James has been linked to who many consider the greatest player of all-time, Michael Jordan, since arriving into the league. James went on to surpass Jordan in every single major statistical category except for steals (2,514 to 2,136), but some would argue it's because he's played almost 250 more games.
Throughout their careers, Jordan has averaged more points (30.1 to 27.1), but James has averaged more assists (7.4 to 5.3) and rebounds (7.5 to 6.2). James shoots a higher career field goal percentage and 3-point percentage, but Jordan has a higher free-throw percentage.
For most, the big separator is Michael Jordan's six rings, and as Miami LeBron James would say, not one, but two three-peats. Jordan loyalists also frequently point to the fact that MJ's Bulls teams never played in a Game 7 in the Finals as a sign of his singular greatness.
Other NBA players were unafraid to come out in the debate too, most recently Damian Lillard claiming that Jordan is his GOAT, but James should definitely be in the conversation.
It's really a pick-your-poison between these two all-time athletes, but one thing remains certain. Once James career is all said and done, he will still be in conversation about who is the true GOAT.
