Michael Jordan Left Out as NBA Champion Picks Between LeBron James & Kobe Bryant in GOAT Debate

Michael Porter Jr. used his own podcast to make the case that a certain four-time MVP’s leadership separates him from Kevin Durant, even while he praised Durant as arguably the more gifted pure scorer. This week, Porter put a former teammate on the spot with an even tougher version of that same debate, and left one legendary name off the table entirely.

On the “Curious Mike” podcast, Porter asked Cleveland Cavaliers forward Peyton Watson to choose between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. He asked the question without including Michael Jordan as an option at all. Watson didn’t hesitate. 

“Kobe was my inspiration to play,” he said. “But Bron is my GOAT. He’s the greatest ever to me.”

Jordan's absence from the question is worth noting on its own. Given how central he typically is to any greatest-of-all-time conversation involving Bryant and James.

The late Kobe Bryant himself once weighed in on it. Asked to rank himself against James and Jordan on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” Bryant didn’t hesitate either, saying: “Alright, fine, I’m the best, Michael’s second-best, LeBron is third.”

That ranking was delivered years before James would go on to pass both Jordan and Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. It added an interesting layer to Watson’s answer of a player citing Bryant as his direct inspiration while still placing James above him in his own personal GOAT conversation, a reversal of the order Bryant assigned himself.

Porter’s Own History With the LeBron-Jordan Debate

This isn't the first time Porter has brought up where James stands among the superstars of his era. When talking about what sets James apart from Durant, he put it simply:

“There’s also a whole thing of being a leader in the NBA, like a leader and putting people in position to win and be successful, that I feel Bron, that just takes him over the top.”

He also pointed out that Durant's Rockets were missing exactly that last season, a strong, vocal presence driving the team forward. In Porter's eyes, that's the kind of thing LeBron brings that goes beyond just talent.

Watson's answer is pretty telling of a bigger trend among younger NBA players. A lot of them, like Watson, grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant - he was their first basketball hero. But when it comes to defining the modern era of the sport, most of them point to LeBron James, whose career has been the longest and most statistically impressive of his generation.

Now heading into his 24th NBA season, this time with the Philadelphia 76ers, LeBron's legacy continues to influence how today's players talk about the all-time debate. That conversation isn't going anywhere anytime soon.