Paul Pierce: If Lakers win title LeBron will be the ‘undisputed GOAT’ over Jordan | NBA | UNDISPUTED

I'm probably one of Lebron's biggest critics, and I

will

say this

will

be his greatest feat. I mean, we saw him come back from 3-1 on a 73-win Warriors team, but come on, he's 39 years old, the Lakers are a 9th seed, unseeded, let me tell you what the six seed rockets were in 94 95 who won a

title

, so if that's the case, he will have two of the greatest achievements ever achieved in NBA history, which is coming back from a 3.-1 deficit in the finals that has never been done and also a team below sixth place winning a championship now that doesn't tell you the

goat

of all the

goat

s, so I don't know what he does despite what Jordan has done and then If you look at the numbers across the board, he has broken all the records of Allstar regular season minute points.

I mean, at some point you just have to say, "Oh my God, what else does this guy have to do?" I'm one of those guys, so even you would give I give up and give up. I would give up and get to that point. This is a 39 year old man. He is on the level of Tom Brady and the 40 years of him winning Super Bowls. I mean, I just have to say: forget it, you're not. He had never called him king before. You are the king. Wow, you are the king. See you, you may go back almost 20 years.

The only people these days who could draw me into a debate about Michael Jordan and LeBron. Thank you very much, Paul Pierce. I will say this and I can't believe I agree with Paul on this, but I will say that if at age 39 he wins his fifth

title

and holds the all-time scoring record, he will have played more time at a higher level than anyone else. person in the world. history of the game, he will have done it without being coached by one of the greatest coaches of all time, without having one of the other 50 greatest players of all time by his side for every Finals appearance, if you're going to count the finals that lost to him, you can't tell me that Scotti Pippen and J.R Smith in the last Cleveland finals were the same caliber, so he will have done without that kind of thing and, by the way, I'm also going to add his impact outside the pitch alone in this, when we talk about Muhammad Ali being the greatest of all time, we don't separate that from the aura of him and what he was, well, it's part of it, it's not the thing, but it's part of it.

I would say he would have to be up there because the other argument is yes. I'm just asking you. I mean, how do you fit in with that? He's fine, by the way, off the court. I don't even want to start because if we do LeBron versus Michael off the court it's like embarrassingly having an advantage for LeBron on that. I'll give you that, but I'm not going there, I understand. I'm just saying something. I'm going to do it. To start here with Mr. Pierce in front of me, okay, a week ago you pretty much wrote off the Lakers and said there was no way they were going to get out of the play right now, so now this feels a little like If I can say Cy as if to cover you, you know what, in case they get on a roll, you can say oh, no, I can't believe this, right?

Then you also said just two or three days ago that Anthony Davis What I saw in the court in Milwaukee he was the best player in the league, at least he was there that night because you think he has the nuclear ability to be that guy on any given night, okay, so LeBron already has that and I love this team. I liked it from the beginning. I wish they had all these players injured. Gabe V. I still don't know what happened to Gabe Vincent, but if maybe Jared Vanderbilt could come back, maybe Christian Wood probably not.

I don't know, but if they had all of them. three of those then I would really love this team, but I still really like it because I watched it against Denver last year and I have four straight chances to win four close games and by the way, just because of the record in those four games, LeBron. He was just pathetic in the last four quarters and I'm a critic or at least I'm honest about him, but even I couldn't believe how bad he was against Denver last year and then all I heard was that he ran well.

Well, it's the same thing I heard in 5 when I thought he had a chance to achieve his greatest achievement, which was the first time against Golden State when he played his career-best three games in a row. The first three because they didn't have Kevin Love, then they lost Kyrie in overtime of the first game and LeBron was just extraordinary, he put what was left of that team on his back and look at the numbers from those three games, so we got to The fourth game is at home. You're two games up to win and I'm thinking about heading into the game.

Wait a second if they win this game tonight at home and are up three games to one. It's going to be all the time, now the Warriors weren't exactly the Warriors, but they were coming off an incredible season, so he disappeared in four, five and six and somehow Andre Iguodala wins the MVP and it was largely because he took LeBron. and then he took him to the rack on defense and scored a lot of points on him, okay, so when I look at the entirety of your point, Rachel, I give you a lot better because Michael really only played 13 seasons because he was pretty much done. in 1998 in Chicago, right, I know he had these two types of ceremonial seasons in Washington.

I say that if you enter the field and expose yourself there, that counts, but he took it. I lived in DC for several years during that time he was there. I promise he was in the building with me, he was on the court, okay, but he took three years off the time of his life because they pushed his coach out the back door, that's a decision, okay, and then he comes back not in very good shape. the great Tim Grover couldn't flip that switch for him when they got to Washington and it was a little hard on the eyes, it was hard to watch, so I'll give you more time, but just because you play longer at a higher level you won't.

It does better because it is difficult to compete with six finals, six and six MVPs. It's hard to compete with 10 scoring titles to just one for LeBron. It's hard to compete with Michael Jordan. In fact, he won the defensive player of the year award. and it is difficult to compete with a Michael Jordan who did not have any epic failure in his career in the playoffs, there is no epic failure and I look at LeBron against you in 2010, he heard that third game in his building and that was all. It was sensational I said Oh my God and then I remember what started happening in game four, five and six, it got so bad that his owner Dan Gilbert accused him of quitting the series.

Well, has anyone ever accused Michael Jeffrey Jordan of quitting? Well, no, they didn't. then we turn around, he goes to Miami in 2011 and in games four, five and six it was a fusion of all-time superstars. I've never seen anything like it before, he just missed it, he wasn't ready for the brighter lights with the heedles and then we go to game six of 2013, he misses the tying three and there's a long rebound Chris Bosch goes and recovers it and kicks it to his man Ray Allen in the corner, it's the best clutch shot I've ever seen anyone make. those circumstances and they saved LeBron's legacy because they saved him from a loss in the finals.

I mean, Heat fans are fleeing into the night, okay? and then we turn around in 2014 and LeBron disappears at home in games three and four and they go broke. I walked off the court in the finals against my San Antonio Spurs by a record margin in the finals, well that never happened to Michael Jordan and then we kept going to the Meltdown in the first overtime game in 2016 and it's like I I don't know, Michael doesn't have any of these stains on his legacy and now you're just going to wipe the slate clean because the last championship he won was the bubble championship and to me it felt like Mickey Mousic, it felt like Bubblicious.

There, Rachel, you were caught in that bubble too, I would argue that too, and we've had this discussion before any title. To me, the W on the bubble is more impressive for me to have been there than the L, but I get it, but several teams started the Clippers briefly. They couldn't stand it, they just wanted to come home strong when you achieve something that seems as unattainable as coming back from '31. And no one has ever done that. They are arguably the best team at that time, at that time, yes, in history. in league history 73 wins team you're up you're down 31 73 wins think about that this is equivalent to Buster Douglas beating Mike Tyson I mean Jesus what are the odds of that happening?

I'm not sure this is the L Lewis, I mean the odds of that, okay, but Rachel yesterday sang the praises of Draymond and how much he means to Steph and the chemistry, the rare chemistry they have on the court, Obviously, they suspended it. Okay, more seemed to change, okay, but they changed their script, they lost momentum and couldn't get it back, but there was something about that, you had two more, you had two more, two more, by the way, shot of shots, yeah, not that should be, Draymond missed one. I understood that you missed the rest of the series you missed a game now you have your Voltron in place your superhuman powers everyone is together the five of you have two more chances, okay? and they don't do it well now if they come from eth seed at 39 years old it replaces anyone once again a monumental achievement this is monumental this is almost impossible like no one is thinking this could happen and if it does what else can you say?

That's all I'm saying and you know. I'm one of his biggest critics, so I take my hat off to him because I don't think they can do it in the first place, which is why I said it. This is my favorite part here. I don't make strategies. I think this will ever happen to Happ if this happens and then if it fails, then if this happens, then I'm going to get on my knees and say LeBron, you're the goat, okay, I just don't think it's going to happen, but but deep down In your heart you know it's probably not going to happen so it's okay.

Don't know. I still give them a really good chance and you give them a chance, oh, except you love Denver. I think I think Denver does. I'm going to pick Denver every time, but I was sitting here before the preseason and you picked the Lakers, you had faith in them even with how you feel about LeBron, so the fact that that happens now is very interesting like you said. they were the team you thought they should be and they accused me on this show of having some hidden agenda. I do not have any. I just like this team, but I liked it last year after the trade deadline. big fan of Rob Pinkis, I think he did a sensational job on the Fly last year just flipping the script on this team and then the pieces that he had in the off-season, if they had him healthy they would really have a team. but to Paul's point, if LeBron is able to win this year with all the things you just said, they are a complete roster, all that, Anthony Davis, excellent, excellent player, it would still be an achievement for LeBron, okay, I will give you an achievement. but it wouldn't surprise me because I thought they were going to do it before the season started, that's a testament to how good LeBron actually is, it's Mar versus good, obviously no one, no one in the history of this game has come close to playing at the level you are playing at this last stage, when did you stop?

You played a toast of Time after 33 33 okay, sorry, I was toast, okay, so being with Paul on his last season was amazing, he was like me. not running back there I'm not going to do that I didn't know if I was going to wake up with a pain in my toe or a sore hip on any given day at 34 so you certainly appreciate appreciate the longevity the longevity is just amazing it's surprisingly more important to you, okay, because I'm just going to go player vs. player, if I had a game in my life, I know who I'm going with and I think you would know it too, but Michael could have done this right.

Michael Jordan was at such a high level, he didn't have to quit when they got rid of Phil Jackson. LeBron has had situations where the front office ownership or coaching situations haven't been to his liking, he's continued to play and by the way, if the situation were the other way around, I feel like there would be people sitting here saying, well, LeBron he gave up, Michael Jordan didn't give up, well we don't say that about Jordan and I understand it, and there were a lot of extended circumstances, but as someone who sat and watched Michael Jordan play at the age LeBron is now, I can tell you that neither It wasn't even close to closing, it wasn't even the same Arena.

I'm the biggest Jordan fan and they hurt my eyes. He averaged 20 and six, which is fine, but just in your eyes they're like God who doesn't count CU he hit on the cigarettes and whatever that's a choice but that's a choice talk about what makes a great athlete right Paul how much effort you put in how long you do it for what your dedication is what your toughness is and what your kind of mental focus is there was a point and I'm kidding about your last season, but you were ready you were like I'm here I'm doing mine, but I am.

I'm done, we were talking about you coming to work with me on TV from November onwards, we were like, oh, when I kept going, I kept coming to Paul's Locker, being like you're ready, but you're ready, but you're ready, but that was a decision. and you said great, I'm ready to move on to this phase of my life, it's a decision with Michael Jordan, too, okay, but you get exhausted, you just get tired of trying, you have to try. To Lebronhe loves to play. basketball, that's why he still played the fifth-most minutes this year in the league.

That's like, what are you doing? Doesn't that come into this discussion? We're talking about the best player, if you want to talk about who played better for the longest time, it's like it's over, it's over, why can't that be part of the other discussion? And by the way, I'm not sitting here ready. say today that LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan because I think that now we are crossing eras. I'm talking about Kareem, you know, you know Wilt was a more accurate shooter than Michael Jordan, so if we're going to start here he's doing finger movements, they could DK, that's part of it when we talk about Michael Jordan, he could fly , okay, that's part of it, so someone's physical abilities, who they are on the court, are part of this discussion, think about this.

As we speak, if we combine the regular season and postseason minutes, LeBron James has played 15,300 more minutes than Michael played 15,000, 300 more minutes, so obviously the points are going to add up and add up and add up, and here it is the irony of this discussion. I'm not done yet, I don't even think he's around. I think he's going to take a hit. They're making the case for LeBron now. Yes, are you doing? No, no, I'm not going to make it. I'm just saying the longevity I give you. okay, but listen, if we could do the hypothetical, you know, one-on-one fantasy, this is just me.

Michael would destroy him in a one-on-one game because of Michael's mental toughness. The killer will be the ultimate basketball killer. I think he psychologically destroyed LeBron. LeBron is not a one on one player let me ask you what he has to do to catch Michael, let's say he plays another four years, can he catch Michel? He's lost six finals and Michael finished 6 and 0, okay, like this, listen, this is just me after 2011. finals after witnessing what I witnessed, I just said it's over, you can't remind me of that now because Michael had no That, yeah, they got swept by the Celtics, but you remember what happened in the first game, it went to overtime, but he was 63 and Larry Bird says: I think I just saw God dressed as Michael Jordan God dressed as Michael Jordan God, is there anything I can do right?

I don't know, can he play 10 more years or I guess maybe after 10 years he would? Finally I have to say, well this is not human anymore right, it's not human anymore yeah 10 more years wow so in my opinion I don't necessarily buy the G that played for so long so of course , it will be better. Michael Jordan played a lot. longer than other players, so of course he will be better. I look back at Grant Hill, if Grant Hill hadn't gotten hurt, would he be Michael Jordan? No, but we talked about him that way right when it started, we kept talking about him.

He is the next Michael Jordan. Different things happen to guys throughout his career. Some of them are bad luck. Others are the decisions they make. Michael made decisions. Jordan's final part was also much easier. Jordan was the number one favorite. in pretty much all of their mhm championships except one, two, Phoenix and Utah, so their path to the finals versus LeBron's path is fine, but the Eastern Conference was Beasts from the East in those days, the finals were easy one time they got there. It was the easiest round of the playoffs for them, but if you look at everything they had to fight starting with Detroit, it took a long time, but once they broke through and Boston and then obviously you went through everything I did, but No.

Don't insult his Celtics, I mean, LeBron was able to do, but no, no, but what LeBron was able to do eventually with you, right? And think of all the franchises that at least got their title and finals appearances before he actually got into it. theirs, but think of all the franchises they ended up parting ways with. Toronto finished, yeah, once it rang and fell, it was the Eastern Conference, right, but I'm just saying that was partly a LeBron influence, that no team could compete with Atlanta, the Pacers, just no one. I might even come close to your point about Jordan, he made a decision, but I actually honor the decision he made because you have to give him this.

He quit because he loved that coach so much, he said if you kick him out, I'll just walk off into the sunset You, who am I, challenge me, I'll show you and I didn't think he would do it and he did it out of pure principle, and I even had a recent conversation with Jerry Rinor and he said. Look, Phil wants this to go out like Phil Phil is over and that's why Michael quit for the wrong manager, you can argue, but he quit for a manager, so you know I've been critical of Michael off the pitch and whatever.

I would like to contribute to society. or the community and it wasn't much, but still his principle, his basketball principle, was extreme, so he just said, "I go to my coach, you expel him" and, of course, Phil went straight to Los Angeles and continued forward. while Michael sat through three of his best moments because he was 34, so from 34 to 37 he looked and I'll say this about Michael Jordan and his time in Washington DC because I don't think this side is mentioned as much. enough. I see it real. Honor for what he did coming back to DC and not only do I see it because, wow, the franchise needed a boost and all that stuff, I see it for him in talking to him at that time before he came back, one of the greatest.

What people were telling him was, how can you not let that last shot in Utah not just be the last shot that he was? Quote the perfect ending, if that expression has never been used more than the perfect ending for Jordan and he kept saying for me. My perfect ending is to play more basketball, see the max of my ability, stretch it and see how far I can run, what I can do, and for me, seeing a professional athlete of his caliber take that approach shouldn't worry me. about what people thought of him, I knew he wouldn't come back the same player and say: I want to play basketball, even if he's at the end of the chain.

I don't think we talk about that enough. When we talk about Michael Jordan and I think he is very admirable, it is fair to summarize what you say: you are going to wipe the slate clean with LeBron and I can't because there are too many great mistakes here. failures along the way those failures there are monuments monumental records that he achieved there will never be anyone who scores more than 40,000 points in our lifetime that adds to the legacy, yeah, I mean, unless it's a whim and Yama is so special that he just , but I don't see erasing some things when we look at the records and at the top, people are going to chase our children, the children may never see, yes, it will be broken, understand that it is a fifth title at that age, at that age it will be. it's going to be too undeniable Conclusion Paul Pierce says it's not happening I don't think it's happening, although you better not do it or you'll be depressed KN, that's exactly it, you heard it here, we have it available, thanks. to watch on feuding fans, want more highlights from the show?

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