Rich Paul Explains 1 Key Difference Between LeBron James, Michael Jordan

The GOAT debate in the NBA has gotten interesting over the last few years, with LeBron James starting to get to a point in his career where he’s breaking seemingly unbreakable records and setting the bar high for any player in the future who wants to contend with the superstar’s legacy.

Ever since James came into the league in 2003, the Cleveland icon has been directly compared with Michael Jordan in terms of having what it takes to become the greatest player of all time.

Although Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant came the closest to being a carbon copy of Jordan on the basketball court while also coming one title shy of matching his six rings won, James recently became the league’s all-time leading scorer, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which has started to change the narrative.

The GOAT debate seems to have come down to two players, in most people’s opinions, with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports believing that James gets the edge because of what he’s had to deal with in his era of sports, via Gil’s Arena.

“LeBron is the first player to have to deal with a 24/7 365 news cycle of sports and opinions.”

Rich Paul speaks to how the coverage of LeBron is different from the other greats. pic.twitter.com/aL4scR4l4b

— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) September 4, 2023

Paul does have a point, as James has had to deal with the social media age throughout the majority of his career, which has taken a toll on a superstar like James as it would’ve if Jordan were playing in this era.

However, Jordan’s era was much more physical without all the medical benefits of today, as in his time, a torn ACL could result in an NBA career ending.

So, an argument can be made for both sides, with players making a lot more money these days and being able to take care of their bodies on another level, resulting in careers that can span two decades.

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