Stephen A. Smith slightly relaxed his stance on the infamous GOAT debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. The entire basketball world should, of course, be aware of this never-ending debate regarding who should be considered the best player of all time.
Although Jordan and James have different playstyles and found success in different eras, the media generally takes one side and sticks to it no matter what. However, James’ most recent accomplishment forced Smith to reconsider his stance.
Stephen A. Smith Credits LeBron James for Reaching 50,000 Career Points
On Feb. 7, 2023, James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 points to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He stunned the basketball community, showing no signs of slowing down and adding more than 11,000 points to his career total since then.
After James crossed 50,000 points, Smith went on air and could not help but slightly alter his stance on the GOAT debate.
“There’s been nobody as good for as long, meaning longevity. A sustained level of pristine excellence. LeBron James is the GOAT in that category … In other words. Nobody has been this good for this long and I’m saying to you because that’s the reality.”
“Jordan at his best is the greatest that I have ever seen. But Jordan wasn’t that good for that long.”
Stephen A. Smith weighs in on the GOAT conversation between Michael Jordan and LeBron James 🗣️
(via @FirstTake)pic.twitter.com/XImabyVfNs
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 5, 2025
Smith continued, “But Jordan wasn’t that good for that long … I actually think it’s time to not even have the debate anymore because that’s how great LeBron James has been … I can stand down and acknowledge that.”
Although Smith prefaced his statements by claiming that Jordan’s peak surpassed James’ peak, fans were stunned to hear him give James as much credit as he did and even attempt to shut down the GOAT debate out of respect for James.
Since Jordan is no longer in the league and James’ past mistakes cannot be erased, the GOAT debate may never end. However, fans should credit and acknowledge the greatness they witness whenever James steps on the court. There is simply no way to tell when his career in the league will end.
