Celtics' Derrick White holding the "goat" emoji between LeBron James and Michael Jordan

The GOAT debate in basketball has pretty much only revolved around two names: Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Moreover, the debate itself is interesting because of LeBron’s overlap with two generations of players, many of whom grew up watching Bron rather than MJ. Maybe this is the case for Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, who seems to have picked LeBron James over Michael Jordan in his personal GOAT estimation.
In a video uploaded on social media, a few people saw White at a golf course and asked him if LeBron was his GOAT, and he replied with a series of nods, prompting the uploader to remark, “LeGOAT, my king.”

Derrick White’s GOAT choice
United States guard Anthony Edwards (5) and guard LeBron James (6) and guard Kevin Durant (7) and guard Derrick White (8) celebrate with their gold medals on the podium after defeating France in the men's basketball gold medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena.© Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Whether or not you agree with Derrick White, let’s look at the numbers. Of course, statistics can never answer the GOAT debate conclusively, but it would give the Celtics’ guard’s choice a little context.

For one, longevity alone might put LeBron James over Michael Jordan. In 2003, the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted James No.1 overall when he was only 18, making him one of the youngest players in the league at the time. Twenty-one seasons later, LeBron is still playing on the Los Angeles Lakers, and he is now the oldest player in the NBA at 39, the only active player born before 1985.

During his 21 seasons, LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, with 40,474 total points, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387, a record nobody thought an active player could break. Likewise, in 2016, James led the only team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 hole in the NBA Finals and win.

King James is also the only player to lead his team in all five statistical categories–points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks–in the Finals. For his career, LeBron averages 28.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, many fans believe that Michael Jordan’s edge over Bron is his six rings. James only has a Finals record of 4-6, whereas MJ won all six of his Finals appearances, without ever needing a Game 7. Likewise, His Airness also three-peated twice, establishing his dominance over the 1990s and helping grow the game of basketball overseas.

Moreover, Jordan won his rings under only one coach, Phil Jackson, while LeBron keeps changing coaches almost every few years.

The Celtics guard makes his decision
Beyond the numbers, though, another point of contention is that you would trust MJ over LeBron to take the last shot when the game is on the line. The reasoning is that James would rather pass the ball than shoot the ball himself. Still, basketball is a team sport, and LeBron is ultimately an unselfish player who’ll make the correct play every time, even if it results in a miss. If intangibles like this matter in the debate, then perhaps White made the right choice.