The eternal debate about who is the greatest basketball player of all time has long gone beyond the court. Statistics, titles, records, social impact — all of this becomes ammunition in the endless "Jordan or LeBron" discussion. But former NBA star point guard Gilbert Arenas is convinced that, no matter how unique LeBron James's path has been, he has almost no chance of knocking Michael Jordan off the notional throne. And, he says, the reason is not LeBron himself.
LeBron Is Fine. The Problem Is Not Him
— Gilbert, let's be honest: Can LeBron still become number one in history?
— No. And that is not a question of his skills at all, — Arenas begins. — LeBron is one of the most versatile players in history. He has already inscribed his name in the pantheon. But they will not make him the greatest in the public consciousness. Not because he fell short somewhere, but because the system has long been tuned for another man.
Arenas stresses that the conversation about the "GOAT" status is not only about numbers and championship rings:
— We live in an era where the narrative is sometimes more important than the facts. Greatness in the eyes of the public is shaped by those who control the story: journalists, experts, league veterans, the media. And these people grew up in the Jordan era.
Jumpman as a Symbol of Power over the Narrative
— You said that "Jumpman has settled in the souls of those who shape the narrative." What did you mean by that?
— Since the 90s, and especially from around 1996, Michael stopped being just a player and became a cultural code. Those who today sit in studios, write columns and vote in polls about the greatest of all time once wore jerseys with number 23 and the Jumpman logo as kids. For them, Jordan is not just a basketball player, he is almost a myth, — Arenas explains.
According to him, the Jordan Brand logo has turned into a kind of "sign of faith":
— When you see the same hero for decades on posters, sneakers and billboards, he settles firmly in your mind. And when these people are asked to choose between Jordan and someone else, even someone as phenomenal as LeBron, their subconscious has already made the choice.
Old Fans, Old Voters
— So LeBron is bumping up not against a ceiling of talent, but against a ceiling of perception?
— Exactly, — Arenas nods. — As long as the decisions are made by people who cried when Michael first announced his retirement, their nostalgia will be stronger than any new achievements. For them, Jordan is their first love in basketball, and you do not rewrite your first love with statistics.
Arenas insists that this is not about hate toward LeBron:
— No one is trying to diminish his greatness. But these old-school fans already have a fixed scale: Jordan is the benchmark, everyone else comes after. And no matter how long LeBron plays or how many records he breaks, in their personal rankings it will at best close the gap a little, but it will not flip the table.
When the Generation of Judges Changes: Chance or Illusion?
— So in the end everything will be decided by a generational change?
— Theoretically, yes, — Arenas reflects. — New voters have to come in, people who never saw Jordan live on TV, who did not experience his retirement as a personal trauma. Kids for whom LeBron is the main hero of their childhood. Only then can the list of the greatest really start to move.
However, even here he does not give LeBron any guarantees:
— By that time, new superstars will already have appeared. And the new generation of fans will defend their own idol just as fiercely as today's Jordan loyalists defend him. That is why I say: LeBron will most likely never become the undisputed number one. He is already a legend, already part of the very top of the basketball pyramid. But the throne on which Jordan sits in the collective consciousness has long been firmly occupied.
Basketball, Memory and the Myth of the Greatest
In the end, as Arenas sees it, the debate about who is the greatest is not only about sport, but also about memory. And as long as the souls of those who write basketball history are adorned with an invisible Jumpman logo, LeBron James will remain the genius who came a little too late to rewrite the myth of his predecessor.
