“Not close to Jordan”: Fans react to Gilbert Arenas calling out the bias in LeBron James and Michael Jordan's goat debate

Gilbert Arenas, on the latest episode of his podcast, Gil’s Arena, addressed the never-ending goat debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan and called out the favoritism towards MJ. He feels that the people are critiquing James with inconsistent benchmarks.

The NBA is currently treading in uncharted territory as LeBron James has defied all the stereotypes coming into his 23rd NBA season. At 41 years old, James is no longer just competing against the current generation of superstars, but also with players from the previous generation. The 4-time MVP has played in 19 games this season and is currently averaging 21.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.9 assists while shooting 51% from the field. But despite maintaining a stat line that would be a career-best for most All-Stars, the GOAT discussion around him remains relatively bifurcated. This friction suggests that the criticism directed at James is rarely about his declining athleticism, but a retaliation from MJ fans over who deserves the goat throne.

For Gilbert Areas, both LeBron James and Michael Jordan are great, but fans disagree

The latest episode of Gil’s Arena podcast is here to settle the debate. The 3-time NBA All-Star expressed frustration about how people undermine LeBron James when his name comes up in the ultimate Goat discussion with MJ. Arenas said, “LeBron James, the name itself generates so many different mixed emotions, and it seems to stem from so much hatred that gets because he’s so close to Jordan. If you have him in front of Jordan or behind Jordan, who gives a f***? Stop trying to minimise how great these two players are.”

Continuing, he said, “I think the only people who seems to know LeBron is 41 is LeBron. I think the name itself generates so many mixed emotions and it seems to stem from so much hatred that he gets because he’s so close to Jordan… Stop trying to minimize how great these two players are. The man is 41 years old. The fact that he’s walking still, let alone averaging 25, is crazy."


But the fans weren't aligned with Gilbert's opinion. One fan commented, “He is not close to Jordan in any way whatsoever.” “If he was .500 in the finals he would be close to jordan. But the fact he's never been over .500 on the finals at any point in his career. Makes him not close to being jordan. He's barley Jerry west lmao,” posted the second fan. While a third fan said, “Somehow doubt he'd be averaging if the rules weren't so easy to score.”

A fan wrote, “He is averaging 21.9, just saying, still good as a 3rd option.” Another fan commented, “It's not worth our energy. Nobody is going to switch to the other side.”

Arenas thinks that people are watching LeBron James like a hawk and every missed free throw or defensive lapse is seen as proof of his inferiority to Jordan’s perfect 6-0 Finals record. In fact, James' off-court comments and life also get dragged into this. NBA legend, Isiah Thomas, recently talked about the numbers that LeBron is putting far exceed the ones put by MJ, yet people do not realise his greatness and treat him like “nothing.” Legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone saw a dip in their PPG by 40, but James is refining the league in his own way at 41. Fans have and will continue to fight over the Goat debate, but in the end, it’s the sport that everyone cherishes.


Also read: “He set a standard for NBA players”: Kevin Durant’s reaction after surpassing Wilt Chamberlain on NBA all-time scoring list




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