“I hate that people acknowledge Michael Jordan, but don’t acknowledge Kareem or Wilt” - Channing Frye on the GOAT conversation, says MJ is ‘1A’ and LeBron is ‘1B’

Michael Jordan and LeBron James are the top-two contenders in the GOAT debate and but former NBA player Channing Frye does not like the idea of a few other big names being excluded.

Although both players have had incredible careers, with James still blazing in his 19th year, Frye believes there are several other talents are worth considering. The gold standard in the NBA is championship, as Jordan fans base most of their argument on his perfect six runs in the NBA Finals. Surprisingly, Bill Russell, who won 11 championships in his 13-year career, barely makes the top-five all-time list for most.

On the Road Trippin' show with Richard Jefferson and Frye, the latter was asked about his story about MJ, and he said:

(From 6:50)

"I hate that people acknowledge Michael Jordan, but don't acknowledge Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) or Wilt (Chamberlain) or any of the other greats. They are just like it's Michael Jordan or it's LeBron (James), and it's not that."

"If we are going to say the greatest basketball player from high school, college, pros on, it's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and it's not even close," said Frye.

"In my world, Jordan is 1A and LeBron is 1B. It just depends on where you grew up, how you grew up, the evolution of basketball. For me, I don't like barbershop arguments, like, at least have informational stats and give credit to everyone you're supposed to give credit to. If Tim Duncan is not in your top 5 players of all time, you're not watching basketball, and that's a fact," he added.

That sparked another debate on the show, with Jermaine aka "The OG" dropping his top-five list, which did not include Tim Duncan. Nonetheless, Jordan and James were his top-two players.

It is worth saying that although these other superstars do not get mentioned enough, especially in the GOAT conversation, the NBA community surely recognizes their contributions to the game.

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Michael Jordan made the NBA global

Basketball was not altogether popular back in the day, until the Jordan era. Everyone wanted to be like "MJ", as they had not seen anyone play the way he did.

Jordan became a global phenom early in his career, and he successfully remained relevant throughout. "His Airness" had a 13-year stint with the Chicago Bulls with breaks in between.

In that time, Jordan led the Bulls to six championships from 1991 to 1998. His perfect record in the NBA Finals will always be referenced as one of his noteworthy achievements.

The NBA needed a face, and Jordan was on-hand to represent. Although he has long passed the torch to LeBron James, the basketball legend has remained close to the sport and is looking for his first win as an executive with the Charlotte Hornets.

Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 steals in his career. Although his last two seasons with the Washington Wizards were not exactly stellar, he never averaged below 20 points in a season.