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'Michael Jordan is not GOAT': Former Seattle SuperSonics Legend Stires Controversy on Podcast
The GOAT debate is something that will never end in basketball and it's often between Michael Jordan and a different player.
Although most basketball fans and even many of his peers have deemed Michael Jordan the undisputed GOAT due to his prolific scoring ability throughout his 15-year NBA career and his flawless record in championship finals, Shawn Kemp was a notable exception to this consensus.
The 6'10" forward proposed an alternative set of requirements for GOAT status, which, in his opinion, His Airness does not meet. The six-time All-Star claimed that Bill Russell more closely fits these requirements.
Kemp clarified his viewpoint when he appeared on the podcast All the Smoke, claiming that Russell had a more dynamic and all-around impact on the game. His influence was restricted to his scoring ability, even though he acknowledged how heroically MJ led the league in scoring in 10 of his 13 seasons with the Chicago Bulls and even averaged 15 points per game more than Bill the Hill.
Kemp contended that Russell voluntarily forwent individual recognition in favor of the team's success. Bill improved his team's overall winning ability in several ways, even though he did lead the league in five seasons and had eight fewer selections to the All-defensive Team than Jordan.
Kemp said, "People get mad at me for saying this… but Bill… Bill Russell. You hear what I'm saying? The best to ever play the game is not going to be the leading scorer. The best would be in the middle, doing a lot of different things because he's going to be able to help people out. Keep the ball in play. Bill Russell was the first one blocking shots, keep the ball in play."
He added, "Absolutely man, when I look through the years of basketball Wilt Chamberlain was a beat but sh*t Bill Russell was wearing his a** out. So let's keep it real when you talk about the all-around best player in the game… he's gonna be up there."
The legend of the SuperSonics concluded by saying that the only reason Russell isn't at the top of the discussion about all-time greats is that fans of today don't have enough evidence to see him dominate perhaps the most dominant center for several years.
Jordan scored a series-high 27.3 points per game on average during the 1996 NBA Finals, helping the Bulls defeat the SuperSonics. But The Reign Man is adamant that Dennis Rodman—rather than the six-time MVP of the Finals—was the key to beating Seattle. Kemp is free to have his opinion, but it appears that he is constantly leaning away from giving Mike the best pace in the basketball world.
ALSO READ: When Michael Jordan Called 1996 USA Team For Olympics 'Duplicates'; All You Need to Know
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