There has been a hot debate over the last few years about whether LeBron James or Michael Jordan is the greatest player in NBA history. While more people still favor Jordan, who retired in 2003, in this debate, an increasing number of people are backing James as the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T.).
Those who back James in this debate may point out that he never played for an all-time great coach such as Phil Jackson, who was Jordan’s coach on the Chicago Bulls. Former NBA star Tracy McGrady feels that not playing for Jackson may have held the four-time MVP back just a little.
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While on “Gil’s Arena” podcast, McGrady said that if James had the good fortune of playing in the triangle offense that Jackson used, James would be the clear greatest player of all time.
“If Bron got introduced to the triangle at an early age, Bron would have expanded his game tremendously. … If we take Bron who he is now with the athleticism, speed and everything — agility — and put him in that triangle… I don’t think there’s a question who the greatest player would be.”
The triangle offense used ball movement and player movement based on real-time reads, rather than pre-arranged patterns or plays, and it benefited non-stars more than it benefited Jordan, Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal. But it did give those three all-time greats more good looks than they may have gotten otherwise in a halfcourt setting.
James, however, has never had the mid-range game that Jordan and Bryant were known for. While he can post up and hit the fadeaway jumper, he never quite perfected that type of shot the way that Jordan and Bryant did back in the day.
It is an open question whether the triangle offense, engineered by Jackson’s longtime assistant Tex Winter, would’ve helped or possibly hindered James’ game, given James’ skill set and style of play.
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This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Tracy McGrady: LeBron James would’ve been G.O.A.T. in triangle offense