Why LeBron James may be the GOAT of our Time

Ever since the Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA championship, most of the conversation has been centered on their growing player, LeBron James. Everybody wants to know where his place in history is. If you are one to listen to sports talk radio or opinion based shows where members of the media give hot takes, then you know there is a lot of debate on this topic, with some even calling LeBron the greatest of all time. It is crazy to think that because he is just 31 years old with plenty of basketball left. Weeks ago, calling LeBron James the GOAT would have been considered blasphemy to Michael Jordan (the man most consider to be the GOAT) and a few other former players who are worthy to be in that discussion, as well. When talking about a basketball Mt. Rushmore, the one name that everybody mentions (and would be delusional not to) is that of Michael Jeffrey Jordan. With that said, a lot of this article is a comparison to Jordan, but we will also take a look at the big picture of basketball in a historical context to see if LeBron’s greatness is worthy of being considered the GOAT. A big thing to remember is LeBron is far from done, but this argument is based off what he has already accomplished, and not off of projections.

Lebron clearly is on his way to surpassing the legend. He's 35 and he plays in a game where there are more players who could've competed at the level of Michael Jordan. Today, we have Steph Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and a plethora of other modern players able to play with or at the level of Michael Jordan. Remember, professional basketball is still in the making so the actual "greatest" is yet to come. But based on the differentiation between physicality, age, and statistics. Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Warriors and Cavs begins tonight at 9 PM Eastern Time on ABC. So in the spirit of this holiday season, go forth and watch Lebron, he's the GOAT now

LeBron will keep moving up the NBA’s scoring list, ultimately, probably overtaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s reigning all-time scorer with 38,387 points. Abdul-Jabbar is 6,076 points ahead of LeBron after he scored 31 points during the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Denver Nuggets at the Staples Center.

By other criteria, LeBron simply cannot overtake Jordan. Criteria that is hard to quantify but must be considered.

As Scottie Pippen, recently put it: “When I look at LeBron, he’s not what Michael was as a player. He’s not even what Kobe Bryant was as a player. So, when you talk about trying to compare Michael’s instinct, his ability to take over games, his ability to want to have the last shot, LeBron doesn’t have that gene. That’s not in him.’’

LeBron has etched a special place in NBA history by, among other things, leading the Cleveland Cavs in 2016 to their first NBA title — Cleveland’s first major pro sports title in 52 years.

Off the court, he’s been just as impressive, opening an $8 million public school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio; pledging up to $42 million to provide four-year scholarships for underserved students in Akron; and overseeing a business empire that will be responsible for the sequel of Space Jam — or better titled, Space Jam 2.

Because Jordan will always be No. 1, for these reasons:

—His unblemished record in the NBA Finals: Six appearances, six titles. (Lest you forget, LeBron is 3-6.)