As long as there are NBA fans and NBA analysts, there will be debates over the true greatest basketball player of all time.

Typically, the debate comes down to two players: Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Jordan is easily the most legendary player in NBA history, brining home six NBA championships for the Chicago Bulls. He is also a six-time NBA Finals MVP, five-time NBA MVP, 14-time NBA All-Star, and two-time Olympic gold medalist.

However, James has just as much of a claim to the GOAT title as Jordan and is still going strong. Holding onto the record for most points scored in an NBA career, James is also a four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA Finals MVP, four-time NBA MVP, 20-time All-Star, and three-time Olympic gold medalist.

Now, a former NBA champion and Coach of the Year is throwing his hat into the ring.

NBA Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant(L) and Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan(R) talk during a free-throw attempt during the fourth quarter 17 December at the United Center in Chicago. Bryant, who is 19 and bypassed… More VINCENT LAFORET / AFP/Getty Images
In an appearance on The Mark Jackson Show, Avery Johnson, a former guard known for his time playing with the San Antonio Spurs and coaching the Dallas Mavericks, weighed into the James-Jordan debate.
For Johnson, there’s really no question that His Airness is the greatest player of all time.

“We can really peel back all of the numbers,” Johnson said. “You can even go with the eye test, but everybody else is a distant second behind Mike. And there’s no disrespect on it.

“When you win six championships, you’re the MVP of all six, you never get to a game seven, and all the Defensive Player of the Years, first-team All-Defense, first-team All-NBA, regular season MVPs… and he did it with one team.”

Johnson continued, “He had to go through the Detroit Pistons, the Boston Celtics, the Lakers, the Phoenix Suns, and Clyde [Drexler] with that Portland team that could have easily won championships. And Karl Malone and [John] Stockton with Utah.

“The rules were different. There was a lot more restriction with freedom of movement and physicality. So, yeah, it’s Michael. The clutch shots, just a two-way player. Yeah, it’s just Michael.”
That being said, Johnson also believed that his Spurs team that won the NBA championship in 1999 was better than the Bulls with Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

“You know what, if I said, I believe it. I don’t remember saying it, but if I said it, I believe it,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day Michael is Michael. Scotty is Scotty. But then we start to get to the other three. … And then is it the first Bulls team or the second Bulls team?

“Really and truly, they would’ve had no answer for Tim Duncan. Who’s gonna guard Tim? Who’s gonna guard me? We can’t guard Michael. Nobody in this century of basketball can guard Michael.”