Brendan Haywood is one of the few former NBA players who are often asked about their thoughts on the Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James GOAT debate. He played with an aging Jordan in Washington and prime James in Cleveland. However, he’s convinced that MJ is still the one and only GOAT.
As a former teammate of both legends, Haywood always tries his best to be as fair as he could possibly be when discussing the subject. So far, he believes he has been doing a good job in it, as he revealed that his take on the GOAT debate is based on facts and stats.
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According to Haywood, James is, without a doubt, an all-time great. However, he argued that it’s hard to deny that MJ’s achievements are more impressive than Bron’s. For the retired big man, there’s no way LeBron or any player, for that matter, is reaching Jordan’s level and GOAT status.
“For me, nobody touches Mike,” Haywood told The Ringer in 2018. “If somebody can touch Mike, he’s not in the NBA right now. I can’t say what’s going to come down the pike 10 or 15 years from now. But like right now, I don’t see anyone that touches Mike. LeBron is in the top five. Mike is obviously number one, because he combines the great stats with all the individual accolades as far as MVPs, Finals MVPs, All-Star appearances, All-NBA appearances, and he’s 6-for-6, never went to a Game 7 in the NBA Finals. That tells you how dominant he was on his run. No one else really comes close to that.”
“Maybe Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but besides that it’s Mike,” he continued. “The guy was MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same year. A lot of people forgot that. You’re probably not going to see that again. That’s why Mike is the greatest of all time. LeBron is in the top five, but Mike is the greatest.”
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LeBron’s teammates always talk about him and MJ
As it turns out, Haywood doesn’t only engage in GOAT discussion during interviews. He divulged that he often talked about it with some of his and LeBron‘s former teammates.
As expected, Haywood said he found himself having to defend his GOAT of choice against them. For instance, he recalled one of his conversations with former Miami Heat forward Mike Miller, who has always believed that James is the greatest player the world has ever seen.
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To counter Miller’s assessment, Haywood noted that he highlighted Jordan’s remarkable two-way game and accomplishments as well as his exceptional championship performances.
“Everyone talks about it,” Haywood revealed. “Me and Mike Miller, my last year on the [Cavs], we were talking about it. Of course, he played with LeBron in Miami and won championships.”
“I’m a Carolina guy,” he continued. “I grew up on Jordan. I was like, listen. Look at what Jordan did in the NBA Finals before you make these comparisons. He went out there and he was averaging, like, 40 in the NBA Finals [against the Suns in 1993]. He had a year where he was averaging like 36 points and 11 assists [in the Finals]. It was crazy. [Note: He averaged 31.2 points and 11.4 assists against the Lakers in the 1991 Finals.] And he shot great percentages. And he was a great defensive player.”
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Some believe LeBron has already passed Jordan
It has been a decade since Haywood played alongside James in Cleveland. In recent years, LBJ has accomplished a lot, most notably becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in 2023.
That being said, some are convinced that James has already exceeded Jordan in terms of being a GOAT candidate. Others, meanwhile, are like Haywood. For them, there is no one who could possibly reach the levels of the Chicago Bulls icon. It remains to be seen whether there will ever be someone.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.