My conclusion is, in terms of legacy, Lebron is currently about 65% that of Jordan’s in the eyes of the general public. Lebron will likely have a over 50% probability of surpassing Jordan as the GOAT if he achieves some of the following: play with both of his two sons in the NBA, reach 50,000 points, tie with Vince Carter as the only two NBA players to play in four different decades, win a championship with his two sons, own an NBA team, be more involved in media after he retires and coach in the NBA. Lebron breaking almost single major NBA career individual record, first NBA player to play with his son in the NBA and becoming the first active player to be the first NBA billionaire are already GOATesque achievements. Lebron will likely not be in Jordan’s shadows as he never played in the same error as Jordan. Jordan was not particularly political, did not appear to take a political stand on many things, retired multiple times and played on a Wizards for two seasons that did not make the playoffs during that period of time. Yes, Jordan had a high career average, many sensational highlights, legendary storylines, two more championships than Lebron winning three consecutive championships two times, amazing athleticism, NASCAR involvement, the shoes, Dream Team etc.
In my opinion, out of the major professional sports, Jordan is the weakest of the major sports GOATs due to some of the decisions he may have made. Those decisions may seem legendary at first due to the emotional piece, however, in the long-run as the NBA become a century old league and beyond, Jordan’s legacy may be easily surpassed by other greats, I believe Lebron is in the best position to become the new GOAT. Lebron’s social impacts in the age of social media is one of a kind. Lebron in my opinion is a model parent. Lebron is also one of the most transparent people in the world due to his career is fully covered by the social media era. You will never be able to realistically compare Lebron and Jordan’s legacy against each other because they did not play in the same era. Lebron played in the era of wide spread internet global usage, social media, cryptocurrency, electrification, global warming, international players dominating the games, big men and small-ball and now the AI whiling playing on a huge global stage with geopolitical impacts. I dare to say Lebron is literally a combination of Babe Ruth as a sports pioneer, Jackie Robinson as a social justice trailblazer and Hank Aaron for withstanding record breaking pressures in baseball terms. Basketball as a sport did not become the success it is now until a couple of decades ago even in America nevermind internationally. Many of the legendary storylines sometimes may feel artificially forced due to economic necessity rather than genuine reality.
In 20 years or so, I believe Lebron’s image may likely be rehabilitated in the eyes of his naysayers when the world becomes a much more polarizing and realpolitik place. When people in the West realize just how evil and cruel certain unnamed places can be and wakes up to actively revolve its internal and external issues. Likely by keeping parts of neoliberalism at bay by first heal itself and mitigate the affects from some of its ills such as the various groups of potential leeches that sucks its blood, demotivates societal progress, spreading ideological viruses/potentially non-ideological viruses and bringing social upheaval by working with external nemeses through taking advantage of its magnanimity and guilt. The reality is America is the most powerful country in the history of the universe. It appears to be ideologically emasculated by various non-natural evolutionary behavior contrary to the natural evolutionary process. American likely can single-handedly attract almost any talent and affect changes for a reason. It likely maintain its way of life and values regardless of what others do. However, it may need to standup for itself powerfully against all enemies domestic and abroad in order to allow its people to live the greatest and most balanced lives ever. If you ever lived in other countries besides America, you probably know what I am talking about. If corporation have performance plans that evaluate the contributions of its employees, why shouldn’t society. From a MEI versus DEI standpoint, I believe society may no longer have the ample resources it use to have in order to subsidize below average-contribution providers. Yes, there may need to be social safety nets and exceptions to be made for extraordinary circumstances. Generosity frequently require economic resources. Lebron likely should be an inspiration for many groups of people to possibly emulate from a societal contribution standpoint. I live in America which means I have the rights to exercise reasonable free speech as permitted by the law. All posted content(s) on this website are my opinions only which means they should not be taken as advice of any kind. I am a non-celebrity, non-public figure posting anonymously for my own entertainment on a website that is not affiliated with any individual(s), organization(s) and/or any entity/entities.
Here is what I wrote previous on this and similar topics:
“Everyday that Bronny and Lebron play NBA basketball, they may be breaking records. Many of these records will likely be long standing records that will not be broken for ages if they are ever broken at all. That’s legendary and folklore level tales on its own. I now have a very sizable Bronny James cards collection including many chase cards. To me, the Lebron and Bronny James combination are not just historical sports figures but role models who inspire groups of people and impact their lives for the better that ultimately benefit the entire society. For that, regardless of the potential polarization of opinions regarding these two athletes, I believe history will see them playing together in the NBA as a watershed moment that ultimately integrated the ethos for entire groups and entire generation off people into the greater liberal order of Western societies. For that, I believe Lebron and Bronny James should be at least nominated for a Nobel Prize for their endeavors. In sports cards history, there are a number of cards of current non-GOAT and non-hall of fame/non-high probability hall of fame trajectory players that have certain value. Examples include certain Bo Jackson, Mark Jackson, Billy Ripken and Ja Morant cards and numerous other cards that were likely not on most collectors’ radar when those cards first came out.
I believe one of Lebron’s many admirable traits as a leader is that my perception of him voicing his opinions loudly and proudly despite what others think about them. I actually do not agree with some of his opinions, however, when I compare him against the supposed “GOAT” who rarely voice opinions in certain genre, I respect Lebron even more. Yes, likely no one is perfect in the eyes of everyone. I think some of the things Lebron does are quite admirable despite of his wealth and fame which is directly contrary to the potential actions of certain potential “GOAT.” One fact that will low key win Lebron’s GOAT status in the future is the fact that there was no one who is overall even close to Lebron’s level that played in the NBA during Lebron’s tenure in the NBA. Lebron was literally the greatest overall basketball player for 20 plus years. During that 20 years, the world probably changed faster than any period in the history of humanity. Lebron may have had to deal with more scrutiny due to prevalence of social media yet I think for the most part, Lebron handled it quite well without having three retirements and whatever possible else.
I think when people’s opinions become more rational and nuanced on Lebron, Lebron’s reputation will be greatly rehabilitated among his biggest critics after his retirement. Remember many definitions of concepts are subjective within a reasonable range/level. Lebron is GOATesque at the very least. This makes him GOATable and have a realistic opportunity to become the GOAT. I think Lebron will likely play another three to five years. That means Lebron may play in the NBA for nearly three decades. That means at least three generations of people with strong disposable wealth at some point in the next 80 years will have watched him play and may have the intend to transacting his cards. That is likely a longer time period than most S&P 500 companies on average will be in existence regardless of era.
Why don’t I just invest in Lebron’s cards instead of talking about Bronny’s cards? Lebron’s rookie cards were one of those rookie cards I considered “overhyped” so I completely skipped on. Lebron had been in the league for over two decades, during that time the S&P 500 went through the roof at the very least 10X when all dividends are reinvested, yet most of Lebron’s rookie cards’ appreciation percentage have not even come close to S&P 500’s appreciation in the same period even when S&P 500 stocks on average are significantly more liquid and the index is much better diversified than buying a single class of sports cards. That doesn’t mean I don’t think Lebron is potentially GOATable in the future. I am investing in Bronny James cards as a derivative of their combined future NBA performances and their legac(ies).
It is my hope that organizations that are engaged in social cohesion programs properly promote this event for the prosperity of the American society that may trickle down its benefits as a byproduct to the rest of the Western world and to others in this world who may deserve such godsend from the benevolence of American kindness. At the end of the day, my assets won’t appreciate as much without the nurture from a stable and free society. As a globetrotter who have seen the world in its many faces, I am immensely grateful for being associated with the greatest country in the history of all known universes and anything that resembles a universe regardless of time and space.”