Why the GOAT Debate is an Imperfect Science

Who’s the greatest of all time, the GOAT?

It’s a question the basketball community has debated since Dr. James Naismith nailed a peach basket to a balcony rail. But the better question to find an answer to might be: What can undeniably separate one player from all of his NBA peers?

We must first classify the standards for reaching GOAT status. Today, the term GOAT is thrown around so much that it’s become a banal platitude.  Arguments for one player get completely thrown out the window for others. Anyone who has debated their friend or uncle on either side of the LeBron-MJ debate knows how frustrating double standards can be. So, it is more important than ever to approach this debate objectively.

 Stats and Individual Accolades

The simplest (but not easiest) thing to evaluate when it comes to the GOAT debate is statistics.

LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are first and second all-time in points scored, respectively. In some people’s minds, this places them in a tier of their own.

Another often recognized accolade is a player’s MVP awards. It cannot be ignored that Kareem has the most MVPs in league history (six). Statistics over a player’s career can make or break their GOAT case. But, there will always be an argument against just using stats without context. The graphic below is a hilarious example of how cherry-picking statistics can not only be misleading but lack any kind of nuance. 

Whether old heads like it or not, era matters in contextualizing stats. Wilt Chamberlain dropped 100 points in a game and averaged 50.4 points per game at one point in his career. Hardly anybody considers Wilt the GOAT, though. He was a phenomenal player and an all-time legend, sure. But not the GOAT.

Numbers certainly help boost one’s resume, but cannot be the sole factor in one’s GOAT argument.

Championships

Winning the NBA Finals is the hallmark of success as a professional basketball player. It cements your name and your team into NBA history forever. Therefore, whenever the GOAT debate comes up, NBA championships are always a core piece of the puzzle.

One of the biggest arguments in favor of Michael Jordan being the GOAT is that he was undefeated in the Finals at 6-0. This feat is undeniably impressive. That being said, Tim Duncan went 5-1 in the Finals and his name is seldom mentioned in any GOAT discussion. And don’t get me started on Bill Russell.

There appears to be a double standard when it comes to arguing who the GOAT is. Supporters have been cherry-picking statistics that support their guy, but ignore what those numbers mean contextually.

This begs the question: What makes the greatest so great if not numbers and championships?

The X-Factor

In the end, the GOAT is a matter of opinion.

As of today, it may come down to how one player made you FEEL. The sound of the crowd when your dad took you to your first game. The eruption in your parent’s living room after your favorite player hits a game-winner.  Those who grew up watching the Jordan-era Bulls run over the league will always feel a connection to his game. The same could be said for the kids who first saw LeBron and Curry battling head-to-head for years on end.

In such an opinion-based subject matter, it may just come down to the player who made you fall in love with basketball. Recently, young Hornets star Brandon Miller said that Paul George was his GOAT. This debate is so subjective it’s almost impossible to select one player based only on objective accomplishments.

The Individual vs. The Team

Sure, a select few of the NBA’s elite have managed to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

But unlike swimming (Michael Phelps), gymnastics (Simone Biles), and golf (Tiger Woods), there is no unanimous GOAT pick. A lot of this just has to do with the nature of the sport. In an individual sport, it’s relatively easy to compare wins, strokes, and gold medals across the board and see who has the most.

But in a team sport like basketball or soccer, even the best of the best can only do so much to influence the outcome of the game. If GOAT is an individual title, how much weight should we put on team success? Can the best just WILL their team to victory in a 5-man game, or do health, roster construction, coaching, strategy, and even luck play a bigger role than we’d like to admit?

These questions right here are the reason why you can turn on your TV on any given day and see talking heads duel it out over Messi/Ronaldo, Jordan/LeBron, and Ruth/Mays.

Unfortunately, this only leads the NBA community back to where it started: wondering who the greatest of all time is.

The GOAT Lives in the Future

Someone has yet to separate themselves from the pack. This begs the question, what does one need to do to attain that universal GOAT status?

For one, he needs the individual accolades and championships mentioned before. If he cannot even be on par with legends of eras past, he won’t even enter the conversation. But to be the GOAT means to stand alone. Whoever it will be will need to surpass all those who came before to an undeniable level. The same way Jordan surpassed all his predecessors.

Whoever it will be needs to do something unheard of. Maybe they’ll average more points in a season than Wilt– or even eclipse his 100-point game. Maybe they’ll win on a level that nobody has seen before. It sounds impossible –but isn’t that what everyone should expect out of someone labeled as the Greatest of All Time?

The talent in the NBA has been steadily increasing year after year. The skills of players like Kobe and LeBron have warranted discussions compared to those of legends past. But, to become the greatest, whoever it is needs to separate himself from the luminaries of NBA history.

This could lead to the conclusion that NBA fans are chasing a ghost. They are waiting for someone who may never come. There may never be someone who can fulfill those lofty expectations. In recent years, however, the individual success of Luka Doncic, and the sensation of Victor Wembanyama, have given NBA fans hope that the GOAT could still lie ahead.

So who is the GOAT?

Some people will always have a connection to watching Jordan or LeBron dominate the league for years on end. Others may enjoy the extraordinary clutch shot-making ability, and killer mentality, of Kobe. Some may even value Curry’s three-point artistry above all else.

In the end, all of these players have accomplished great feats. Every NBA player has. The GOAT debate will never end as long as people hold on to those feelings that those players gave them.

The GOAT cannot be categorized into a simple rubric like it’s a test you pass in school. You can’t use some kind of decision matrix that equally weighs stats, accomplishments, and longevity. These reductionist calculations deprive us of things like Jordan’s Flu Game, LeBron’s “The Block” in the 2016 NBA Finals, and Kareem’s Skyhook.

It’s these stories and moments that make a player feel almost larger than life. It’s the mythology that surrounds a player and his accomplishments. Ultimately, the GOAT to you may be the player that made you fall in love with the game. Until one player can objectively wipe away the rest of the competition, the NBA GOAT will only exist in the eye of the beholder.