{"id":1161432,"date":"2020-05-03T14:11:21","date_gmt":"2020-05-03T18:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1161432"},"modified":"2020-05-03T14:11:23","modified_gmt":"2020-05-03T18:11:23","slug":"lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James' Former Coach Picks Michael Jordan in GOAT Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It's possibly the most contentious debate in professional sports today. LeBron James or <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/michael-jordan-gave-kobe-bryant-a-huge-wake-up-call-in-their-first-matchup\/\">Michael Jordan<\/a>? Who's the greatest of all time? We'll never have a definitive answer, but one of James' former coaches recently cast his vote, and it's not for who you might think. Former <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/nba-4-big-games-left-for-tyronn-lues-cleveland-cavaliers\/\">Cavaliers' head coach<\/a> David Blatt threw his former player to the side and picked Jordan as the GOAT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">David Blatt coached LeBron James for over a year<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2015 NBA Finals Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors Game 3 Full Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/avVHBBABzro?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>David Blatt served as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the entire 2014-15 season. It was his first head coaching job at the NBA level, and he made the most of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blatt coached the Cavaliers to a No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and an NBA Finals berth. Cleveland lost just two postseason games in the East before losing to the <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/chris-paul-was-almost-traded-to-the-warriors-for-steph-curry-and-klay-thompson\/\">Golden State Warriors<\/a> in the Finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was an impressive debut for the first-time NBA head coach, but one could argue the team's success had more to do with Cleveland's big three than Blatt himself. LeBron James, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/why-did-kyrie-irving-get-banned-from-a-state-tournament-in-high-school\/\">Kyrie Irving<\/a>, and Kevin Love were all in the primes of their careers in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Cavs fired Blatt halfway through the 2015-16 season and replaced him with Ty Lue. Lue ended up leading the team to a championship later that season. Blatt is evidently still jealous that he couldn't bring Cleveland to the promised land. Or maybe he's still upset at LeBron for getting him fired. Either way, Blatt just voted for Jordan over James as the greatest of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Blatt gives his reason why Michael Jordan is better than LeBron James<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Former Cavs HC David Blatt is using MJ doc to take shots at LeBron \u2014 Shannon | NBA | UNDISPUTED\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aXBrMiM0MGM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite coaching LeBron James and witnessing his greatness up close, Blatt believes Michael Jordan is the NBA's true GOAT. He could have some ulterior motives for stating that opinion, but a ton of basketball fans would agree with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blatt recently spoke to Israel Hayom and expressed his Jordan preference. He also threw a subtle jab in James' direction along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Michael Jordan is greater than LeBron James,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.israelhayom.co.il\/article\/755393\">Blatt told\u00a0Israel\u00a0Hayom<\/a>. &#8220;He won the most championships with one single team and did not focus on the &#8216;I' but on the &#8216;us.' But surely, in terms of ability and influence, they are both included in the top five best players in history.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/teams\/CLE\/2015.html\">led the Cavaliers in points, assists, and steals<\/a> during Blatt's only full season with the team, so Blatt's comments on James caring more about himself than the team don't add up. It's possible Blatt knows some behind-the-scenes information about James that the public has yet to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">There is no right or wrong answer in the GOAT debate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jordan vs Lebron - The Best GOAT Comparison\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tl3mR6eoEa8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you're <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/lebron-james-nearly-brought-to-tears-by-michael-jordans-last-dance-documentary\/\">team Jordan or team LeBron<\/a>, there's no statistic or story or single moment that proves one player is greater than the other. Jordan has the championships. LeBron has the all-around stats. Choose your preference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fact of the matter is there's no time machine that can send LeBron James back in time to play against MJ in his prime. Then, and only then, could we dub one of the greats the true GOAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until time travel is invented, however, we just have testimony from players and coaches who knew both superstars the best. Blatt spent an entire year and a half with James, and he still believes Jordan is definitively the greatest ever. Maybe that should tell us something. Or, maybe he's still salty about how his tenure in Cleveland ended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NBA GOAT debate will never have a definitive answer, but LeBron James' former head coach recently chimed in with his surprising thoughts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":1161433,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4815,4848,4828,4817,4835],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>LeBron James&#039; Former Coach Picks Michael Jordan in GOAT Debate - Sports7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LeBron vs. Jordan will never have a definitive answer, but James&#039; former head coach recently chimed in with his surprising thoughts.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LeBron James' Former Coach Picks Michael Jordan in GOAT Debate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LeBron vs. Jordan will never have a definitive answer, but James&#039; former head coach recently chimed in with his surprising thoughts.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports7\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-03T18:11:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-03T18:11:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/GettyImages-461609334.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jack Dougherty\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jackdoc13\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jack Dougherty\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/\",\"name\":\"LeBron James' Former Coach Picks Michael Jordan in GOAT Debate - Sports7\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/GettyImages-461609334.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-03T18:11:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-03T18:11:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/2276c8a25d4f1efa30fa05e9189cf805\"},\"description\":\"LeBron vs. Jordan will never have a definitive answer, but James' former head coach recently chimed in with his surprising thoughts.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/GettyImages-461609334.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/GettyImages-461609334.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":730,\"caption\":\"David Blatt doesn't think LeBron James is the greatest ever | Harry How\/Getty Images\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/lebron-james-former-coach-picks-michael-jordan-in-goat-debate\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"LeBron James' Former Coach Picks Michael Jordan in GOAT Debate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/\",\"name\":\"Sports7\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/2276c8a25d4f1efa30fa05e9189cf805\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/author\/jack-dougherty\/\",\"name\":\"Jack Dougherty\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6bededbb7aec4e78e193c0d2d2d32afa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6bededbb7aec4e78e193c0d2d2d32afa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jack Dougherty\"},\"description\":\"Writing professionally since 2015, Jack Dougherty spent six years as a sportswriter with publications such as GoPSUSports.com, the Centre Daily Times, and the Associated Press before joining Sports7 in 2020. He covers the NBA, the NFL, and the world of golf extensively and has added expertise on any team located in or around his hometown of Philadelphia. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies. When Jack isn't writing about sports, he's watching them or playing them as he regularly heads to the gym for some pickup basketball or the golf course to hit the links. 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He covers the NBA, the NFL, and the world of golf extensively and has added expertise on any team located in or around his hometown of Philadelphia. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies. When Jack isn't writing about sports, he's watching them or playing them as he regularly heads to the gym for some pickup basketball or the golf course to hit the links. He's also an avid participant in the sports betting scene who worked at a casino sportsbook for a year and learned the ins and outs of the industry before bringing his expertise to Sports7 with one excellent gambling recommendation after another.  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