When Michael Jordan revoked his GOAT status & named his GOAT: “That’s how they do s**t, they want to sell sneakers”

Many people regard Michael Jordan as the greatest player to ever play basketball, including former and current players of the league. Jordan's former teammate, John Salley, recalled MJ not acknowledging his GOAT status and instead picking a different player as the GOAT.

Salley believes that Jordan is the best player ever. However, when he brought it up to His Airness himself, he was surprised that Jordan doesn't think of himself as the GOAT. In an interview with VLAD TV in 2020, he said MJ dismissed the idea of him being the GOAT of basketball.

"He started getting more and more popular," Salley said. "Then I was like, 'Yo, dawg, they're saying you're the greatest player to ever play.' He goes, 'Come on, Sal. Stop.' I said, 'No, people are saying you're the greatest player to ever play, ever. Forget everybody else, MJ. They're saying you. They've only watched you play for four years. You're the greatest to play ever.' I said this to him.

"He was like, 'Man, that's how they do s**t, man. They put things together, they want to sell sneakers, they want to sell the league.' He don't believe he's the greatest player to ever play to this day. He would say Oscar Robertson. But then he would say what I said: 'In Oscar's time, he was the s**t.'"

The discussion as to who is the greatest player of all time is never-ending.

MJ always gives credit to the players before him. This is why he chose Robertson as the greatest player to ever play. Similarly, players who went after Jordan chose him as their GOAT. His influence in the NBA is still felt to this day, from the iconic No. 23 to the famed shoeline that has separated him from other players.

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Stephen A. Smith still chooses Michael Jordan over LeBron James as his GOAT

2022 NBA All-Star Game

Since the beginning of LeBron James' career, he's always been compared to Michael Jordan. They're always at the center of discussion when the GOAT debate gets brought up. Both are great all-time talents, incredibly accomplished stars and revolutionary athletes.

However, even with James' journey to becoming the league's all-time leading scorer, there are those who still choose Jordan as their GOAT. This is how ESPN's Stephen A. Smith feels when the GOAT topic is brought up:

"(LeBron James) never was, he never has been, nor will he ever be greater than Michael Jordan. It will not happen. ... There's nothing to discuss here."