The GOAT debate has finally been settled, and there’s a clear winner.
An anonymous vote involving NBA players has determined which of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant is the GOAT.
For decades, basketball fans have been locked into a fierce debate over which of several of the top players should be considered the greatest NBA player of all time.
Having won an impressive six championships, Jordan has no doubt earned a place in the GOAT debate, with current great James and NBA legend Bryant also at the forefront of the discussion.
But the debate may have finally been settled once and for all, as an anonymous vote with current NBA players has revealed a clear winner.
Back in 2023, The Athletic carried out a study involving 108 NBA players that included an anonymous player poll asking who the greatest player ever to play in the competition was.
With an incredible 58.3 per cent backing him, Jordan came out on top, putting him comfortably ahead of Los Angeles Lakers star James, who finished second in the poll.
Speaking on Jordan, one player said: “M.J., for sure. Definitely 6-for-6 [in the Finals] is a big thing for me.
“But the way I look at basketball is [it’s] about the winning, and if I feel like I need [somebody] to go win me a game, I’m picking M.J. over everybody.
“[I’d pick] whoever is going to carry me through a series, carry me through the playoffs, and is setting the tone. I think M.J. checks all those boxes.”
At 40 years old, James is still competing right at the very top of the NBA and has won the championship on four occasions, while being named NBA Finals MVP and NBA Most Valuable Player four times.
However, the Lakers star secured just 33 per cent of the vote while third-place Bryant collected 6.8 per cent of the vote from the player poll.
Explaining why he opted for James over either Jordan or Bryant, one player simply said: “I grew up in the 2000s.”
Perhaps surprisingly, legendary player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was not selected by even one of the NBA players polled, with Tracy McGrady and Bill Russell the only other players who received mentions in the study.
