It is safe to say that the conversation about the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) in basketball predominantly revolves around Chicago Bulls’ legend Michael Jordan and Los Angeles Lakers’ star LeBron James. There are often new takes on this never-ending debate, and a particularly interesting one recently came from retired NBA player Charles Oakley.
Oakley recently made an appearance on the KG Certified podcast, hosted by Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett. At one point, he was asked about how he sees the GOAT conversation and which player has the edge, in his opinion.
Not wanting to get dragged into the debate, Oakley decided to offer a different take. He simply stated that if he could choose, he would rather play with James since he would get the ball more often.
“They ask me, who would you rather play with LeBron or Mike?” Oakley said. “I said LeBron but Mike is my best friend. Mike ain’t passing me the ball. He don’t care if I get a shot today or tomorrow. But, you know, he’s got to be Mike.”
This makes sense, considering that Jordan and James are two different players. Jordan was more of a pure scorer who preferred to take the opponents himself. James, on the other hand, looks to involve his teammates more.
Of course, Oakley knows what he is talking about as he played with Jordan over the course of his 19 years in the NBA. The two were teammates during Jordan’s early days with the Bulls and later reunited with the Washington Wizards.
