LeBron James Gets "GOAT" Vote From Ex-Miami Heat Teammate

The GOAT (greatest of all-time) debate will never be solved in the NBA. 

Most say it's Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan. Many say it's LeBron James. And not even get into those who think it's Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or any other superstar. 

Everyone has reasoning for their choice, especially former Miami Heat player Shane Battier. He recently explained why he picked James as the best ever during an appearance on the Draymond Green podcast. 

“For as good as you think he [James] was, he was that much better," Battier told Green. "I’m biased, but when people say LeBron or MJ, I say LeBron did something twice, that I don’t think Jordan could ever do once. He won two NBA titles with Shane Battier as his starting power forward."

James and Battier were teammates during the Heat's Big Three era. They won two championships (2012 and 2013) in four straight trips to the NBA Finals. Jordan has the edge in championships at six to four. He also more MVPs, a higher scoring average and a Defensive Player of the Year award. 

Where James bests Jordan is longevity. He is the league's career all-time leading scorer and has totals numbers that are unmatched. James is also playing at a high level despite just finishing his 23rd season. 

And then there's Battier logic. Then again, Jordan won titles with Horace Grant at power forward during the Bulls' first three-peat in the early `90s.

"I love Mike, he's one of the greatest of all time but LeBron did it twice with me as his bum ass power forward and dragged me across the finish line. That speaks to how great LeBron is. The force, intelligence, he didn’t have a weakness when he was in his prime. There was no answer for him. He was like the Queen on the chess board. Could do everything and so it made my job certainly easier.”

Again, this is a debate no one expects to decide. It's just one of those things that will last forever. 

MORE HEAT NEWS 

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Is it Giannis Antetokounmpo or bust for Heat? 

Aside from Giannis, who else can the Heat target this summer? 

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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of HeatRoundtable. He can be reached at [email protected]