Basketball GOAT: Jordan or James?

I've thinking about GOATs – Greatest Of All Time – in response to Tyler Cowen's book, GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter? I was looking over the NYTimes yesterday, as I a wont to do, and came across this article in The Athletic, their sports affiliate: Who is the NBA GOAT: LeBron or Jordan? For current players, longevity is narrowing the gap (by Sam Amick and Josh Robbins, Apr. 23, 2024). So I thought I'd quote some passages just to see how NBA players think about the issue:

While Michael Jordan won the “Greatest of All Time” category for the third consecutive time, his once-massive lead over LeBron James has shrunk significantly with every passing poll. This time around, James almost took the mantle. The data speaks loud and clear...

• 2019 (the first time The Athletic conducted the poll): Jordan earned 73 percent of the votes, with James second at 11.9 percent (a gap of 61.1 percentage points)
  
• 2023: Jordan earned 58.3 percent of the votes, with James second at 33 percent (a gap of 25.3 percent)
  
• 2024: Jordan earned 45.9 percent of the votes, with James second at 42.1 percent (a gap of just 3.8 percent)

But why has Jordan’s lead shrunk so much? We wanted to let the players themselves explain.

The consistent rationale among LeBron voters, both old and new, is that his longevity is the ultimate difference-maker between the two. He’ll be 40 years old on Dec. 30, yet is still great enough to be widely considered one of the best players in today’s game. While Jordan was epic in his 14- year career, from his 6-0 record in the NBA Finals to his five Most Valuable Player awards and his incredible two-way play, many players shared the view that James’ ability to remain elite for more than two decades puts him over the top.

Jordan, to review, retired twice (in 1993 and 1998) during his storied career and played 14 seasons in a 19-year span. When he was James’ age, in the last of his two forgettable seasons in Washington, he was putting up good numbers on a bad Wizards team that went 37-45 in both of his postseason-less campaigns. James, meanwhile, has saved some of his best work for last:

• He broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record on Feb. 7, 2023
• He became the first player to be named to a 20th All-Star team in February
• He was one of three players to average at least 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds this season (the others were Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić)

Out of respect for the GOAT incumbent, we’ll begin by highlighting this nuanced opinion from a Jordan voter who believes MJ’s influence on the entire sports world — not just basketball — is a deciding X-factor.

“The greatest ever is LeBron James, (but) the greatest of all time is Michael Jordan,” the player said. “The difference is stats. When you talk about impact, Michael Jordan. When you talk about stats and numbers, LeBron. Mike has the most impact, so that makes him the greatest ever in all aspects because he doesn’t just impact basketball. He impacts people who look up to him in tennis and football. But you won’t hear that about LeBron. ... LeBron changed the game, but more so how it’s played. Jordan changed how it’s viewed. And that’s a big difference.”

I find that last remark particularly interesting. One of Cowen's criteria for economic greatness was influencing the world of thinking beyond economics. Preferring Jordan because of his influence on sports in general is the same kind of consideration, no? 

There's more at the link.