As he nears the end of his storied NBA career, LeBron James continues to stand as arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.
James was asked about the inevitable GOAT debate surrounding him and Michael Jordan during a recent interview with Time.
“I’m not taking nobody over me,” James told Time as part of a wide-ranging profile published Monday. “There’s no question.”
James acknowledged that the NBA’s other all-time greats, including Jordan, likely think that they are the GOAT.
“But I think Mike will say the same thing,” James said. “Rest his soul, Kobe will say the same thing. Magic will say the same thing. Bird will say the same thing. Shaq could say the same thing. The late great Wilt. Kareem. I don’t think none of us are going to take somebody else.”
James circled back to himself, however, at the end of his response.
“If there’s a general manager and he’s eyeballing all of us on a baseline, with the No. 1 pick, it’s gonna be hard not to take me, champ,” he said.
At a different point during the interview, James was asked whether he thinks he is a more influential athlete than Jordan.
“You ask somebody that grew up in the Jordan era, they’re gonna say Jordan,” James said. “You ask somebody who grew up in the LeBron era … they’re still gonna say Jordan.
“Listen, to each his own. I can tell you this. I never step my feet in another man’s shoes, saying, ‘OK, well, s—, I got to do better than him.’ My journey is my journey. I do what I do. I know what I’ve brought to the table. From a basketball standpoint, an inspiring standpoint, an influential standpoint, I know I can walk in any room.”
James’ journey in the NBA could be coming to an end as early as this summer, when he is set to become an unrestricted free agent. The four-time league MVP has said he is undecided whether he will retire or extend his career with an unprecedented 24th NBA season, with either the Los Angeles Lakers or another team
“It’s up to the mind,” James told Time. “Where the mind goes, the body will lay. When I’m not in love with getting to the arenas on game days five hours before to start my preparation, if I’m out of love with getting to practice 2½ hours beforehand, then I know I’ll be done. Because then I’m going to start cheating the game.”
James is a four-time NBA champion, a 22-time All-Star, and the league’s all-time leading scorer. He has played in more games, won more games, and taken more shots than anyone else who has ever put on an NBA uniform.
