Why LeBron winning gold medal changes nothing in the heated GOAT debate

Yes, LeBron James was sensational at the Olympics, and yes, the USA won gold. Both are true. Did we really expect otherwise? Let's pump the brakes. LeBron James is a phenomenal basketball player, but he is not the greatest of all time. That title belongs to Michael Jordan.

Can someone inform Mike Greenberg, Shannon Sharpe, Kendrick Perkins, and the rest of the LBJ worshippers that reside at ESPN that their hero is not the GOAT over Michael Jordan because of this Olympic run? Just because MJ has two gold medals and LeBron has three, all of a sudden, this pushes him over the hump. The times we are living in show a flat-out recency bias. But what could you expect from the hot-take artists that reside on television?

Also, can we stop the notion that this team could beat the Dream Team? Nobody with common sense would believe that. This current team is extremely talented and legendary, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, along with LeBron, are three of the greatest we have ever seen in the history of the sport. No doubt about it. But last time we checked, the Dream Team didn't even come close to a near loss. Their margin of victory during the Barcelona Olympics was astounding. This current group nearly got beaten by South Sudan, Serbia, and even France.

Yes, the game has evolved with the shooting and other countries have started to catch up to the US, but the expectation is that in basketball, the USA is the one that will take the gold medal. Several times this year, that thought was in jeopardy. Unlike in 1992, when Jordan and his friends made it 100% clear that there was no one in the world that could stop them, and that includes Christian Laettner on the bench (if they wanted a college kid, why not take Shaquille O'Neal?).

Additionally, it was Steph Curry who had the biggest impact on winning the gold medal thanks to his performances in the two games that really mattered: the semi-finals and the gold medal game. LeBron, while efficient, was not as prolific as Curry, even though LBJ won the MVP over Curry. Although an argument could be made, it was for a rating reason.

LeBron James was great in the Olympics and won a gold medal, but it doesn't make him better than Jordan

MJ never lost an Olympic game, while LeBron did. Before his supporters come out and wail that it is not true, look up the 2004 Olympics. LBJ won the bronze medal with the 2004 team. Jordan always took gold, even though he only had two appearances in 1984 and 1992. If we really want to consider gold medals in the debate, how about Kevin Durant? KD just got his fourth gold medal but where's his place in the debate? Does it only work with Lebron? It certainly feels that way.

What will it take for LeBron to eclipse? The answer is nothing. 4-6 in the NBA Finals with two sweeps, including building stacked teams. But if he were to get another one with the Lakers, that would make five titles and only then could you have a debate. Sure, people will bring up Tom Brady and Joe Montana in that debate, and yes, Montana, like Jordan, was unbeaten and beat Hall of Famers to win his Super Bowls like Dan Marino and John Elway.

But Brady beat Kurt Warner, Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, and Patrick Mahomes as part of his seven titles. LeBron beat KD, Steph, Tim Duncan, and others who are great, but not all of them are Hall of Famers. In the case of Jordan, it was Magic Johnson and James Worthy, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, Gary Payton, John Stockton, and Karl Malone, all while denying players like Reggie Miller and Patrick Ewing.

No one with a brain will ever say LeBron James isn't great, unless it's Skip Bayless to a degree. But, he's not Michael Jordan. The way that Jordan dominated the global world and the fact that Jordan was a key player in the greatest collection of talent that the world has ever seen—that alone makes him the greatest. Forget the titles; his persona and aura do it. The gold medals are great, but they don't make LeBron the GOAT. Sorry to his fans, but deal with it.