Kobe Bryant’s Ex-Teammate Crowns LeBron James the GOAT over Michael Jordan

Josh Powell did not let his feelings come into play while naming the GOAT in the NBA involving LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Kobe Bryant’s Ex-Teammate Crowns LeBron James the GOAT over Michael Jordan

LeBron James and Michael Jordan (Image by FirstSportz)

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Each passing day, one would surely come across a fan, analyst, or ex-player talking about none other than the ever-debatable GOAT topic in the NBA, involving the legendary players like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and the late Kobe Bryant. While many can put forward their takes on this, there will never be a definitive answer as to who the real GOAT is.

But fans and players still decide to talk about this, as it gains immense attention from the NBA community as a whole. Former NBA player and 2-time champion Josh Powell touched on this matter lately. Without wasting any time, Powell claimed that LeBron James is the ‘GOAT.’ He had an intriguing case as to why James is the actual GOAT over the likes of Jordan and Bryant.

I really do feel in my heart of hearts, LeBron James at the end of the day, that’s top dog. We ain’t seen nothing like that. They just put a stat up for people that have played 20 years. And it was a list of who? Jamal [Crawford], Dirk [Nowitzki], [Kevin Garnett]… I think KG might have been the closest with nine points.

Josh Powell said on the Scorer’s society

It’s important to note that Powell was Kobe Bryant’s teammate as well. He played alongside the Black Mamba for many years, saw his vigorous mentality and a will to win throughout his career. But despite all of this, the NBA champ chose James as the GOAT. This speaks volumes regarding King James’ value in the NBA.

In 70 games during 2024–25, James averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds. He was chosen to participate in his 21st All-Star game. When the likes of Jordan (20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists) and Bryant (17.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) came towards the end of their careers, they weren’t putting up those numbers that James is currently producing.

Powell was not the only one who spoke about this particular topic; James’ former teammate Jeff Teague also agreed to this a few weeks ago on a recent podcast appearance. But Teague is known to have a switch-on-switch-off personality, where he again claimed that Michael Jordan is the GOAT, leaving fans confused regarding his decision-making.

Bulls legend Dennis Rodman gave his final verdict on the Michael Jordan-LeBron James GOAT debate

As Josh Powell claimed that LeBron James is the GOAT, he surely would get a response from Jordan fans as well. But this response was not from any fan. It was from his ‘His Airness’s’ former teammate, Dennis Rodman. The Bulls legend recently appeared on famous streamer N3ON’s YouTube channel and dropped the hammer on the GOAT debate.

We know who that is. Jordan all day long.

When asked by NEON regarding who the GOAT of the NBA is, Dennis Rodman said
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan (Credits: MARCA)

Between 1991 and 1998, Jordan guided the Bulls to six NBA Finals during his illustrious career, and each time the team won. Jordan also received five league MVP awards, fourteen All-Star team selections, ten All-NBA First Team selections, and other honors.

LeBron James recently made a bold claim regarding the GOAT debate

Over the last few years, the NBA media have been gushing and obsessing over the GOAT debate. Given that LeBron James did not waste time and recently chimed in on this matter. ‘King’ James claimed that his title win against the Golden State Warriors back in 2016, especially the way he won it, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win the title, makes him the GOAT in the NBA, at least for him. He also added that ending the 52-year-old drought for the Cavs was a huge achievement in his legacy.

That one right there made me the greatest player of all time. That’s what I felt. I was super, super ecstatic to win one for Cleveland because of the 52-year drought.

LeBron James told ESPN

Many people consider the 2016 NBA Finals clash to be among the greatest championship matches in sports history. But Jordan going 6 out of 6 in every NBA Finals he has played is also a feat that no one has matched to date.

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