The debate over who’s the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan or LeBron James, is heating up. Recently, The Athletic surveyed players who they think are the GOAT. Jordan used to win by a lot, but now James is catching up. In The Athletic’s survey, Jordan got 45.9% of the votes, and James got 42.1%. Another study by HoopsHype gave Jordan 49% of the votes and James 37%.
But when they looked at non-American players, Jordan was way ahead with 65.2% compared to James’ 26.1%. This might help Jordan keep his lead because basketball is becoming more popular worldwide.
Hoops Hype conducted a poll of 100 players to determine who they consider the greatest basketball player of all time
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Older players tend to vote more for Jordan. People born before 1995 chose Jordan by a lot, while those born after 2000 tend to pick James. This shows that younger players prefer James, probably because they grew up watching him.
It’s not surprising that James is catching up, especially since Jordan retired over 23 years ago. Some players in the NBA today weren’t even born when Jordan played. People usually like the players they watched growing up.
Overall, the gap between Jordan and James is getting smaller, especially among NBA players. But it’s interesting to see how different groups of people vote. If you’re curious about more details, you can check out the breakdown of the results on HoopsHype’s website. They even show how players who used to play with James voted.
