Jeff Teague Once Highlighted How Michael Jordan Clears LeBron James in GOAT Debate Culturally

Jeff Teague pithily laid out how Michael Jordan completely outclasses LeBron James in this aspect of the GOAT debate.

Jeff Teague Once Highlighted How Michael Jordan Clears LeBron James in GOAT Debate Culturally

Michael Jordan and LeBron James (Image via FirstSportz)

There isn’t much that has been left unsaid in the basketball GOAT debate. As such, GOAT debates have only become a part of the cultural zeitgeist in the 21st century. People weren’t ranking top-10s on the rabid level that they do in this era of internet connectivity. Yet, Michael Jordan has held a clear lead over LeBron James in this debate, despite the rise of young people who haven’t see the Bulls legend in action.

There are many reasons why there’s still a certain mystique about Jordan. He retired in 2003 for the final time – a few months before MySpace, Orkut and Facebook revolutionized social media. Jordan then consciously stepped back from the limelight to take some time off after 20 years of constant exposure. He has been functioning on a much more low-profile plane then, giving Kobe Bryant and James the shine.

However, there are still a lot of people alive who saw Michael Jordan win six championships and establish the most dominant brand in sports in Chicago. What he did for basketball, for the NBA and sportspersons will not be replicated or matched any time soon. Jordan made sports stars fashion icons, shoes streetwear staples, and basketball a game played by multimillionaires. Jordan Brand has outsold LeBron every single year.

It’s his irreplaceable impact on the culture that many people point to as the best proof of his GOAT stature. Jeff Teague is one of those people. Teague was an All-Star and was looked at as a valuable point guard in the league during James’ best years. He know what it’s like to go up against the four-time champion. But for him, there’s no higher status in basketball than what Michael Jordan has enjoyed.

Speaking to rapper Gillie da Kid in a podcast some time ago, Teague laid down what he feels was the biggest differentiator between James and Jordan when it comes to judging the GOAT debate:

I’mma go Mike. Just ‘cuz of how much he dominated his era. And then he made the game where (what) we wanted it to be, where everybody wanted to be ‘like Mike’. I ain’t never really heard nobody say ‘they wanna be like LeBron’.

Does LeBron James have a prayer of being the gold standard for excellence like Michael Jordan has been?

LeBron James is primed to play the 23rd season of the longest world-class career that basketball has seen at the pro level. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Vince Carter played high-level organized basketball for longer, but they didn’t become pro at 18 despite being ready for this level of play due to various reasons. This already gives James an edge in many of the things that define sporting excellence in historical talks.

LeBron James and Michael Jordan
LeBron James and Michael Jordan (Facebook/NBA and TV Tropes)

However, there are many aspects of this cultural cache that James has failed to match Jordan in. One of these is that his legacy will always be split across multiple NBA teams. Though he likely will be remembered for his Miami and Cleveland tenures, the allure that one-team athletes carry is always higher. Though Jordan unretired to play for Washington, his image is forever associated with the Chicago Bulls.

It’s almost time for LeBron James to call time on his storybook NBA career. Even though much of his career has been viewed in a comparative light with Michael Jordan, the fact that he lived up to all the hype and exceeded it will always allow James to be viewed favorably in the history books.

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