The End of the NBA’s G.O.A.T. Era

Since LL Cool J released his album G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) in 2000, the acronym has been a cultural touchstone—used to spark arguments about who deserves the title in any given profession. Perhaps nowhere is the debate over who holds that honor more intense than in professional basketball. Determining which NBA player is the G.O.A.T. requires consideration of both objective statistics (such as championships won or points scored) and subjective criteria (such as who was a true leader or managed to be more successful with worse teammates). As the sport changes, so do the arguments and rubrics. In the 1960s—before the acronym was conceived—debates about the NBA’s best centered on nigh-seven-footers such as Bill Russell, who won 11 championships in his career, and Wilt Chamberlain, who once scored 100 points in a game and averaged 50 points for a season. In the 1980s, the honor went to showmen such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Now the contenders for G.O.A.T. have been whittled down to two opponents who have never even set foot on a court together: