SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan or LeBron James? NBA All-Star Weekend was a great opportunity to revive the age-old debate to identify the best basketball player of all time.
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“I’ve often said that LeBron James was the role model,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks star and other captain for this all-star game. Those who do not follow this path are left behind. It’s been so consistent for 20 years and it will be for possibly another five years.”
“He always does what he can for his team to win,” added Antetokounmpo. I don’t think he himself imagined that he would be the all-time leading scorer. I don’t think that was one of his goals. It was by competing to win that he found himself in this position.
James, 38, effectively became the NBA’s all-time leading regular-season scorer when he surpassed Abdul-Jabbar’s previous record of 38,387 on Feb. 7. He also easily holds the mark in the playoffs, with 7,631 points, ahead of Jordan (5,987).
Remarkable consistency
Crossed in Salt Lake City, on the sidelines of the celebrity game, Richard Jefferson, champion in 2016 with LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers, also believes that it is the consistency that allows his former teammate to stand out.
“I was very surprised that LeBron was able to beat Kareem’s record,” Jefferson said. It took 20 years of career with annual averages of 25 or more points per game. We couldn’t imagine seeing that and I don’t think we will ever see it again.
“I don’t think there’s a definitive way to resolve the debate about the GOAT (Editor’s note: Greatest of All Time), continued the now 42-year-old. Personally I don’t believe anyone has had such a great basketball career as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and then you have Michael Jordan who has been amazing with his six championships [entre 1991 et 1998]. Nobody has been so dominant during such a period. And here is LeBron James who has dominated consistently for 20 years. Everyone has their opinion, but mine is that it’s too difficult to decide. That being said, the best player I’ve personally seen in my life is LeBron James.
A good teammate
Montreal is also counting on a former James teammate, Joel Anthony. The two were crowned together, with the Miami Heat, in 2012 and 2013.
“I think we have to wait until LeBron has finished his career, answered Anthony, as a good politician, thus avoiding to decide between James and Jordan as the best player of all time. Maybe after that, we can have a debate. This is what is particularly incredible in the case of LeBron James: he is not finished yet. For sure, he’s the greatest NBA player I’ve ever played with.”
Now general manager of the Montreal Alliance, in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, Anthony also underlined how James was a good teammate.
“He wants to play basketball properly, not based on him,” he said. With the Heat, we had the impression that he sometimes had to throw more often (…) He wanted everyone to be together. For him, it was always for the team. Both on and off the pitch.”
