Michael Jordan and LeBron James
Stephen Curry (DR) / Today (DR)

As LeBron James looks to get another ring in his career, many people still struggle to place him in the GOAT debate.

But for the Sonics legend, he shouldn’t be compared to Michael Jordan.

Retirement is slowly approaching for LeBron James and yet, his ambition remains the same in the NBA today: to win the championship once again with the Lakers.

It seems very bad, the franchise having missed its summer until now, but some fans want to continue to believe.

With a duo composed of James and Anthony Davis, the Purple and Gold remain a real threat in the West.

A fifth ring would be quite an achievement for the King, especially at his age.

Enough to end the GOAT debate with Michael Jordan, for example?

We know that a new title could be a game-changer for a lot of people, but that’s not the case for everyone.

For many, James simply doesn’t deserve to be compared to His Airness.

LeBron James challenged in GOAT debate

This is for example the opinion of the legend Shawn Kemp, who was on a recent podcast this week. James is a great player according to him, but he should not be compared to Jordan.

A rather surprising opinion and one that is likely to get people talking, although the King does not attach too much importance to all these comparisons. This is in any case what Kemp explains.

Shawn Kemp : “I think LeBron is right up there (in the debate). But I don’t think he’s the best and I don’t think he should be. I don’t think he should be compared to Michael Jordan either, but rather Magic Johnson.

Whoever started that debate, they got it all wrong. LeBron is not a Michael Jordan, he’s more Kobe.”

“I guess these people wanted to create a buzz by throwing out a name like that, because I don’t really understand how you can compare those two players.

I don’t think LeBron could have done everything he does when we were playing.”

Comparing players from different eras in the NBA is often a bad idea. The fact is that the game has changed a lot and no one can know what James would have done in the 80s/90s.

But this criticism against the King is likely to make a lot of noise, especially if he manages to win another championship. But then again, it looks very complicated for the Akron native.

Shawn Kemp has a strong opinion when it comes to the GOAT, and he believes that LeBron James should not be compared to Michael Jordan. He’s probably not alone in that, but a fifth ring could be a game changer.