Hall of Famer and Houston Rockets’ legend Hakeem Olajuwon recently decided to weigh in on the ongoing debate about the greatest basketball player of all time. According to Olajuwon, there is no doubt that Michael Jordan should be considered the GOAT as “he was far more superior player” compared to the rest.
While being almost universally recognized as the greatest of all time in the past, Jordan has now received serious competition from Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar LeBron James. The debate especially intensified in recent weeks following James’ memorable NBA title win with the Lakers earlier this month.
But for Olajuwon, who played in the same era as Jordan, James’ latest ring didn’t do much to get him closer to the Chicago Bulls’ legend.
“When people start comparing him with Jordan, then that’s not a fair comparison. Jordan was a far more superior player in a very tough league, and he was very creative,” Olajuwon told CNBC when asked about his take on the debate. “That’s not taking away anything from LeBron because he is a great player, but it is not a fair comparison because Jordan is a far superior player.”
Hakeem Olajuwon backing Michael Jordan isn’t surprising as the older players tend to believe that today’s basketball softer than the one that was played in the ’80s and ’90s. Also, most of them competed against Jordan and saying that you played against the best has a certain weight to it.
But there is no doubt that James is slowly winning over doubters with an impressive level of excellence through a prolonged period of time. The fact that he’s still considered the best in the game at the age of 35 is especially telling.
The fact is, however, that we’ll hardly get a consensus GOAT anytime soon. So, why not enjoy the debate and have some fun with it.
