Back In The Day NBA

Former No. 1 Pick Says LeBron James In GOAT Discussion Is Media Created

Shandel Richardson

Feb 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Lebron James and Michael Jordan on court during halftime during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Feb 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Lebron James and Michael Jordan on court during halftime during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

Former No. 1 pick Kwame Brown is hardly the biggest fan of LeBron James.

He recently went far as saying James being placed in the GOAT discussion is created by the media. Brown says Michael Jordan is the greatest player in NBA history.

"LeBron is the GOAT because LeBron controls the media," Brown said on a podcast interview posted online. "No NBA player thinks LeBron is the GOAT. I don't give a damn how much you slice it, how much you dice it. He has great numbers. He has great whatever. He has the best whatever."

Brown, who was the No. 1 pick in 2001 when Jordan owned the Washington Wizards, is an often critic of James. He's said James throws his teammates under the bus at times. Brown played 11 seasons but some call him one of the biggest busts in league history.

But Brown said the LeBron-Jordan comparison is mostly for pageviews.

"No NBA players believe that with the heart of hearts," Brown said. "The only ones that believe that is the ones that want a job. The ones that want a job is going to say that. Then half of the other sports commentators, if you ever notice, one minute they say LeBron's the GOAT and the next minute they'll MJ is the GOAT. And the next minute, they'll say LeBron is the GOAT. It's just for clicks."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com