The 3-time NBA Champion criticised LeBron James for his Miami Heat decision when talking about the GOAT debate.
The GOAT debate comes down to two players in the eyes of most basketball fans: Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Of course, cases can be made for and against each of them.
One thing that continues to chase LeBron like a shadow though is his habit of forming superteams on the way to his four Championships.
Who can forget his infamous ‘Decision’, as he chose to take his talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat?
Not only did LeBron move to the Heat, but he teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. They made four straight trips to the NBA Finals and won twice.
Mario Elie won three NBA Championships in the 1990s, an era dominated by Jordan. Two with the Houston Rockets and one with the San Antonio Spurs. And it is clear that he does not consider LeBron the greatest of all time.
According to Fadeaway World, Elie said during an interview with Willie D: “All these guys want to join each other and play with each other. No, I want to beat you! LeBron, you say you’re the GOAT, why are you joining Bosh and D-Wade? We weren’t doing that in the ’90s.
“It’s like Dream calling Jordan up saying, ‘You want to link up?’… I want to beat you! I don’t want to join you. These boys want it easy right now. LeBron wants Anthony Davis, and you’re talking about you’re the GOAT? Come on, man.”
LeBron’s decision to join the Heat certainly had a long-term effect on the league. Superteams became a lot more common and superstars were a lot more open to joining up with others in search of a Championship rather than looking to lead their own team to glory.
LeBron would change teams two more times in his career, returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 and then joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. He won a Championship with each and had superstar teammates like Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis along the way.
So, whenever it comes to the GOAT debate, that is something that LeBron will always be criticised for, just like his record in the NBA Finals.
Of course, Jordan had world-class teammates in Chicago as well but he never moved teams in search of them.
