NBA fans debated which team would come out on top if the players were at their peak.
We have had countless Michael Jordan-LeBron James GOAT debates, but who would win if the two were heading superteams of some of the best players they played against, with all at their peak?
Michael Jordan’s Team: Magic Johnson, Jordan, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal
LeBron James’ Team: LeBron, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic
NBA fans debated which team would come out on top.
One believes Jordan’s team would easily win, “Those guys on the right don’t stand a damn chance. You have the overall GOAT, the GOAT point guard, the GOAT center, and then two other consensus top 11 players of all time in Bird & Shaq. You’re not beating that. Ever.”
A fan gave an interesting strategy for LeBron’s team to win, “Realistically speaking only Bird is a 3pt threat, so just send a triple team at Shaq every time.”
One says LeBron’s team has some weaknesses on defense, “Jokic, Steph, and KD aren’t good Defenders so I will pick the old school.”
A team with Curry, Giannis, and Durant won’t lose, a fan said, “If a team has Curry, KD, and Giannis then they’re not losing.”
A fan is siding with LeBron’s team just for the spacing, “I’m going Team B for the sole purpose that they have better spacing.”
NBA fans ended up being quite split on the topic, and I don’t blame them, as it is really hard to pick. You can honestly see either of these two teams coming out on top if they faced off.
Who Would Win?
What makes this so difficult to predict, is that the teams are so different. I can see Jordan’s team having a lot of success near the basket, as Jokic isn’t a great rim protector. The Serbian also doesn’t stand much of a chance of bothering Shaquille O’Neal or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the post.
On the flip side, as one of the fans mentioned, you can expect constant double teams and with the exception of Bird, Jordan’s team just doesn’t have excellent outside shooting to make you pay for it.
As for LeBron’s team, there is really no one except Giannis that you can afford to leave open at any time. They have a big edge in terms of outside shooting, and it helps to somewhat cancel out the issues on the inside. The spacing would be terrific, and it would open up driving lanes for the likes of James and Giannis Antetokounmpo too.
If this was a seven-game series, I think it would go the distance, and it ultimately comes down to just how consistently LeBron’s team can hit the outside shot. Jordan’s squad is going to have success inside, but three does beat two in the end.
If we were talking about any other outside shooters except for Curry and Durant, I’d have given the opponent the edge, but those two are just that good.
Another factor in their advantage is that while Jordan’s team can defend the interior well, they don’t really have excellent perimeter defenders apart from Jordan himself. While he might help slow down one of Curry, LeBron, and Durant, the other two would have a lot of success against Magic and Bird.
If you just compare the individual players, Jordan’s team has the edge, but I think the pieces just fit that little bit better for LeBron’s squad.
