Michael Jordan calls GOAT debate an ’empty comparison’

Michael Jordan is reportedly finished at NBC after just one season as a special contributor to the network’s NBA coverage.

So perhaps it’s worth revisiting one of the few subjects on which we actually heard Jordan’s thoughts. Namely, the GOAT debate.

Jordan, of course, is generally placed alongside LeBron James at the center of that never-ending argument. Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and others get mentioned, too.

Jordan himself doesn’t seem particularly interested.

“The GOAT term is something I will never get high or low about,” Jordan told Mike Tirico during NBC’s MJ: Insights to Excellence series. “It just doesn’t exist with me.”

His reasoning is pretty simple. Jordan never played against some of the greats who came before him, just as today’s stars never faced Jordan at his peak. Different eras produce different players, styles and circumstances.

Jordan said he learned from players such as Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, then helped pave the way for Bryant and James.

“To me, that’s the beauty of the game of basketball that a player after a previous player can evolve the game further,” Jordan said. “But don’t then use that against the player that you learned from.”

Jordan admitted he would’ve loved to face James and Bryant in his prime. But he also acknowledged something that probably won’t stop anyone from arguing about it.

We’ll never know what would’ve happened.

“It is an empty comparison because you’ll absolutely never find the true answer to that question,” Jordan said.

He’s right, of course. But good luck getting basketball fans to stop trying.

RELATED | Stephen Jackson says LeBron no longer belongs in MJ, Kobe conversation