The NBA’s GOAT debate has birthed another take. Fans of both LeBron James and Michael Jordan are yet to agree on who’s better. However, a bold take from Celtics legend Paul Pierce appears to cause a stir.

Pierce, on a Friday episode of the “No Fouls Given Show,” added his voice to the debate, offering a striking perspective on how James deserves the title, saying, “I’m gonna tell you what LeBron has done. He’s made being the GOAT unattainable now, because when you look at he put a wall in front of Jordan.”

James making the GOAT title unattainable might seem easy to argue. Many MJ fans believe that the six titles he won with the Chicago Bulls trump LeBron’s four titles won across three franchises. Pierce, maybe, to clear that doubt, doubled down on how the Kid from Akron has shifted the debate towards himself.  “What I’m saying is, to be the GOAT, that means you have to be better than LeBron. Nobody’s gonna be better. It’s just hard to envision it.”

LeBron James is the league’s all-time leading scorer and in the top five in assists and total points. Furthermore, he is the only player in history with 40k points, 10k rebounds and 10k assists. Speaking of his longevity, the King has played 20+ seasons and is still averaging 25+ points per game in year 23. In addition to that, there’s the argument that he has played in multiple eras, the slow-paced era of the 2000s and the pace-and-space modern NBA, winning titles with the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and LA Lakers.

With the air of retirement swirling around James, fans have begun a quest for the next face of the league. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards and Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama are the constant names mentioned. Pierce went on to add that, “like if Wemby won six championships, you’re gonna be like, well, he’s not better than LeBron because LeBron statistically is just so much better than everybody.” Most optimistic fans will believe, as some people in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s era believed, that his scoring record will never be broken. 

The NBA GOAT debate is a never-ending conversation. Fans of Jordan tout his titles and dominance, while LeBron’s fans use his longevity and all-around excellence to defend their idol. However, some fans will be surprised to see Pierce, who once competed fiercely against James during his time in Cleveland, come out to acknowledge his greatness, an argument Jordan himself had to weigh in on after years of silence.

Michael Jordan opens up on NBA GOAT debate with LeBron James

While debate about the NBA’s GOAT may not give Michael Jordan nervous breakdowns, the endless conversation is something he hardly talks about. That was not the case when he spoke with NBC’s Mike Tirico on a March 9 episode of ‘NBC’s MJ: Insights to Excellence’ about the topic.

He spoke against the debate, asserting that “the ‘GOAT’ term is never gonna be something that I ever will get high or low about. It just doesn’t exist with me. I never played against Oscar Robertson or Jerry West. Would’ve loved to,” he told Tirico. “And I actually learned from them. And we paved the way for the Kobes and the LeBrons, right? And to me, that’s the beauty of the game of basketball that a player, after a previous player, has evolved the game further. But don’t then … now use that against the players that actually taught you the game or that you learned from. That’s why I have a tough time [with the GOAT talk]. Look, I would have loved to play against LeBron and Kobe in my prime. … But we’ll never be able to know that.”

Just as MJ said, the NBA’s GOAT debate will never stop. Fans of LeBron James and the late Kobe Bryant will keep on rooting for their idols. A new generation of fanbase rooting for Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, and Cade Cunningham has emerged and, in a not-so-distant future, will debate among themselves which of their idols is the NBA’s GOAT.