Michael Jordan Explains Why He Hates The GOAT Debate

The NBA goat conversation has spread across social media over the past decade, with fans unable to unanimously agree on the honor going to the likes of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, or more recent legends like Kobe Bryant or LeBron James.

But now Jordan has broken his silence on the matter, in yet another clip from his Insights to Excellence series with Mike Tirico that’s been sprinkled out throughout the entire season.

Despite his love for trash-talking, MJ’s keeping it humble when it comes to the GOAT term.

“The whole GOAT term is never going to be something that I ever will get high or low about. It just doesn’t exist to me,” Jordan said. “I never played against Oscar Robertson or Jerry West. I would have loved to, absolutely loved to. Just the competitor that I am. And I actually learned from them, and we paved the road to the Kobes and the LeBrons.”

Jordan thinks it’s impossible to clearly determine who’s better, given the generation they played in and how they each pushed the game further in their respective eras.

“To me, that’s the beauty of the game of basketball: That a player, after a previous player, has evolved the game further,” he adds. “But, this is the way I look at it, don’t then use that against the player that actually taught you the game or that you learned from. That’s why I have a tough time. I would have loved to play against LeBron and Kobe in my prime. I would have loved to play against those guys, but we’ll never be able to know that.”

Jordan believes that marketing hype that tries to compare generations doesn’t create healthy competition, but fuels animosity.

Instead, he salutes all of this generation’s stars like Kevin Durant, who have elevated the game in their own way but doesn’t want people to forget about people like 11-time champion Bill Russell.

See social media’s reaction to Jordan joining the GOAT debate below.