Boris Becker Disagrees with Steve Kerr Calling LeBron James ‘Greatest Athlete in Human History’ over Michael Jordan

Six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker doesn't think LeBron James is the greatest sportsman on the planet.

Boris Becker Disagrees with Steve Kerr Calling LeBron James ‘Greatest Athlete in Human History’ over Michael Jordan

L-R: LeBron James, Boris Becker and Michael Jordan (Image via BBC, ABC News, NBA)

In Short
  • Steve Kerr called LeBron James the greatest sportsman in history, sparking debate in the NBA community.
  • Boris Becker disagreed, asserting Michael Jordan is the GOAT in basketball and highlighting emotional dominance.
  • Becker emphasized the need to consider achievements of other sports legends before labeling James as the greatest.

Steve Kerr, the Golden State Warriors’ head coach, gave his cents on the never ending GOAT (Greatest of All Time) debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Kerr, who won three championship rings while playing alongside Jordan with the Chicago Bulls from 1996 to 1998, called James the greatest sportsman in human history.

As expected, Kerr’s remark sparked debate in the NBA community. When tennis’s six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker read about Kerr’s statement, he straightaway disagreed with it.

Yeah, incidentally. Some of that is longevity: he’s a machine. I mean, I think he’s literally the greatest athlete on the face of the planet and in the course of human history. Playing with Michael, I saw the killer instinct, the emotional dominance he had over not only the other team but the officials, the entire arena. I don’t see that with LeBron. So they’re different, as far as the emotional part of it.

Steve Kerr said (via The New Yorker)

For Becker, Jordan is the GOAT in basketball. But he also told Kerr that before calling James the greatest sportsman on the planet, he must not ignore the athletes from other sports, such as Novak Djokovic, Usain Bolt, Tom Brady, Lionel Messi, Muhammad Ali, and Tiger Woods.

I know you played with MJ and didn’t see eye to eye sometimes but come on ..,MJ is the goat in basketball ( and I love LeBron ) , don’t talk about other sportsman and their accomplishments…( Djokovic, Bolt, Brady, Messi , Ali,Woods…)

Boris Becker wrote on X

Check out his post here:

Jordan won six NBA titles while playing with the Chicago Bulls (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998). While James has won four titles (two with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, and one with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020).

Boris Becker sends a message to Stefanos Tsitsipas after his win over Alexander Bublik

Stefanos Tsitsipas, after two consecutive first-round defeats, finally registered two consecutive wins in a tournament. Tsitsipas, who is trying to rediscover his form, battled past Patrick Kypson in the first round of the ongoing Madrid Open and was expected to suffer defeat in the second round.

Stefanos Tsitsipas 1
Stefanos Tsitsipas (Image via X/ESPN)

But he eliminated eighth seed Alexander Bublik to schedule his third-round match against Daniel Merida Aguilar. The win helped Tsitsipas improve his head-to-head over Bublik to a perfect 3-0. Following his win over the Kazakh ace, he received praise from Boris Becker.

Let’s keep going….1 match doesn’t give you the trophy you deserve eventually. Upwards & onwards.

Boris Becker wrote on X

Check out his post here:

Tsitsipas has yet to reach a final since winning his 12th singles title at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships by defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime. In Madrid, the 27-year-old is a former finalist, reaching the title clash in 2019 and losing the match to Novak Djokovic.

Tsitsipas has so far lifted three Masters 1000 titles, all at the Monte-Carlo Masters. After defeating Andrey Rublev in 2021, he defended his crown against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina the following year. He suffered a quarterfinal exit in 2023, but the following year, he beat three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud to win his third title in The Principality.

Tsitsipas made the third round of a Masters 1000 tournament for the second time this year, following the Miami Open, where Arthur Fils dismantled him. He has won five of his 12 singles titles on clay.

Before arriving in the Spanish capital, Tsitsipas lost to Fabian Marozsan in three sets in the Barcelona Open first round. Because of his poor performance, the former World No.3 has dropped to the No. 80th spot in the rankings table.

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