Gilbert Arenas claims Jordan was crowned the GOAT before winning titles.
Gilbert Arenas made a bold claim on the 'Above The Rim with DH 12' podcast, arguing that Michael Jordan was already being heralded as the greatest of all time (GOAT) even before he won his first NBA championship. Arenas stated:
"They gave Jordan the GOAT in '89-'90 with not one championship. You broke the code and said, 'None of this s**t matters,' so stop using it then because you didn't use it when you removed Kareem, you didn't use it when Bill Russell got moved, you didn't use that s**t against Magic Johnson and Bird."
"You remove these dudes from the GOAT debate because how Jordan looked. So you cannot use it against Kobe, LeBron, and all these guys. You can't use six championships, you can't use that because you read this n***a's accolades and you gave it to somebody who didn't have none of this yet." (2:16:28)
Before the 1990-91 NBA season, Michael Jordan had already established himself as an extraordinary talent, even though he hadn't yet led the Chicago Bulls to a championship. By the end of the 1989-90 season, Jordan had already won the NBA Rookie of the Year award (1985), was a five-time NBA All-Star (1985-1990), and had been named to the All-NBA First Team four times (1987-1990).
He was also a three-time NBA scoring champion (1987-1990), leading the league in points per game each season. Additionally, Jordan had won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest twice (1987, 1988) and was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the 1987-88 season. He also earned his first NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 1988, solidifying his reputation as an elite two-way player.
However, despite these individual accolades, Jordan's greatness was often questioned because he had yet to win an NBA title. This changed in the 1990-91 season when Jordan led the Bulls to their first championship, sweeping the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals and defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Jordan was named Finals MVP, an award he would go on to win five more times as the Bulls secured six championships in the 1990s.
After that first title, Jordan's accolades only grew. He went on to win five more NBA championships (1991-1993, 1996-1998), five regular-season MVP awards (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998), and became a 14-time NBA All-Star. He also led the league in scoring ten times and was named to the All-NBA First Team ten times. Jordan's defensive prowess was further recognized with nine NBA All-Defensive First Team selections.
Gilbert Arenas' argument centers on the idea that Jordan was considered the GOAT before he amassed his championship rings, largely due to his unparalleled skill set, dominance on the court, and global influence.
According to Arenas, this early anointing of Jordan as the GOAT set a precedent that should be considered when evaluating the legacies of other all-time greats like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, who have faced different criteria in the GOAT debate.
