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Michael Jordan and LeBron James hug each other at the 2022 All-Star Game.

LeBron James proclaimed himself as the G.O.A.T. nearly a decade ago after he overcame a 3-1 NBA Finals deficit against the 73-win Golden State Warriors. James felt he had surpassed Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and every other all-time great for achieving “something special” on the biggest stage in basketball.

The 2026 version of James has a different stance on the G.O.A.T. debate.

In a recent interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James said he had no problem with critics calling him or Jordan the G.O.A.T., citing personal preference as a deciding factor over which of the two deserves the honor.

“I think it’s a very tiring conversation. It’s barbershop talk,” James said.

“You can look at both of us and say that you love both of us without trying to s— on the other person. And usually, it’s s—ting on me.

“But I know for sure that I’ve done my part in this journey and more than anything I hope — I don’t know — but I hope I made him proud at least, wearing that No. 23.”

What LeBron James Previously Said

In 2018, James said that, by beating the “greatest team ever assembled” — the 2015-16 Warriors — he had elevated himself to a level no player had ever reached.

“That one right there made me the greatest player of all time,” James told ESPN+ series “More Than An Athlete.”

“That’s what I felt,” James continued.

“I was super, super ecstatic to win one for Cleveland because of the 52-year drought. … The first wave of emotion was when everyone saw me crying, like, that was all for 52 years of everything in sports that’s gone on in Cleveland. And then after I stopped, I was like — that one right there made you the greatest player of all time.”

Michael Jordan Has Similar Stance

Jordan has never considered himself the G.O.A.T. of basketball, as he refuses to compare his accomplishments to the all-time greats who preceded him.

“The GOAT term is never going to be something that I will ever get high or low about. It just doesn’t exist with me,” Jordan told NBC’s Mike Tirico earlier this year.

“I never played against Oscar Robertson or Jerry West. I would have loved to—absolutely love to. Just a competitor that I am, and I actually learned from them. We paved the road to the Kobes and the LeBrons. To me, that’s the beauty of the game of basketball: a player after a previous player has evolved the game further.”

Jordan said he feels “no animosity” with today’s players, but takes offense when the NBA G.O.A.T. debate gets reduced to just him and LeBron James.

“I would love to have played against LeBron and Kobe in my prime. We’ll never know.

“That’s part of the marketing, part of the hype, part of the things that try to elevate one generation above the other. I think it creates animosity. I have [nothing] against today’s players, but some players do because of the forgottenness of what their contribution has been to the game of basketball.”