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Rich Paul fires back at Michael Jordan’s agent in LeBron James ‘cherry-picked’ GOAT debate
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- Rich Paul fires back at Michael Jordan’s agent in LeBron James ‘cherry-picked’ GOAT debate
The Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James GOAT debate will never die.
But it's rare to hear their agents weigh in on the evergreen discussion.
In a recent conversation with the Sports Business Journal , which reignited the perennial debate over the NBA's greatest player, David Falk — longtime agent of Michael Jordan — stood firmly in the corner of His Airness.
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Falk asserted that Jordan's unparalleled achievements and influence solidify his status as the greatest basketball player of all time.
"I really like LeBron, but I think if Jordan had cherry-picked what teams he wanted to be on and two other superstars, he would've won 15 championships," Falk said, referring to James playing with multiple "superteams" over the course of his career.
LeBron James just completed his 22nd NBA season. Getty Images
James, of course, joined the Miami Heat in 2010, forming an alliance with Hall of Famers Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh while following the braintrust led by Pat Riley and a young Erik Spoelstra, making four straight runs to the NBA Finals, winning titles in 2012 and 2013.
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When James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, he teamed with a burgeoning star in Kyrie Irving , and the team traded for a perennial All-Star in Kevin Love .
Michael Jordan drives the ball up court during the first quarter against the Washington Bullets on Sunday, April 27, 1997. ASSOCIATED PRESS
And upon joining the Lakers in 2018, James won a title in 2020 alongside future Hall of Famer Anthony Davis , among others.
Falk emphasized that Jordan's six NBA championships, five MVP awards, and transformative impact on the sport, both on and off the court, are unrivaled.
Agent David Falk sits with Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls in Los Angeles, California. NBAE via Getty Images
Rich Paul appeared on the "Rich Eisen Show" and responded to Falk's claims.
"I just thought that was very unfair and a little beneath David Falk for a number of reasons," Paul said Thursday. "We can't have revisionist history, and we all want to determine who's the GOAT and who's the best and so on and so forth. But I just thought that was a little beneath David to say that."
Rich Paul watches during the first half in Game 4 of an NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors Monday, May 8, 2023. AP
Paul later added that while James played with other stars, he says Jordan did as well, he just never had to leave Chicago to do it.
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"When you look at that, right, again the cherry-pick, I've discussed that. The two other superstars — Michael never had to leave," Paul said. "Michael's never been the underdog in any Finals. Not one time. Michael never had a 24-hour-365 news cycle. He never had shows built strictly to criticize him. People made millions of dollars criticizing LeBron James . That was their entire job.
"And when you talk about the difficulty of it all, Michael played for Dean Smith, Michael played for Phil Jackson, and Michael had Jerry Krause. I'm the biggest Michael Jordan fan ever, love Michael Jordan, and I don't think Michael Jordan would've used the term 'cherry-pick,' so I'm not up here to discredit Michael Jordan. I think Michael Jordan transcended our game to a level that we all benefited from."
