The NBA GOAT explains whether LeBron or Steph would be a tougher opponent

Widely considered to be the greatest NBA player of all time, Michael Jordan feared nobody on the basketball court during his illustrious playing career.

The Chicago Bulls icon won six NBA titles, was a 14-time All-Star and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player five times.

Jordan retired for the third and final time in 2003 after a short spell with the Washington Wizards.

He later went on to own an NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, and is these days more focused on his NASCAR team, 23XI Racing.

But since the legendary shooting guard hung up his Nikes, LeBron James has established a formidable case to be considered the GOAT, while Steph Curry has changed the way the game is played with his three-point shooting.

Steph Curry and LeBron James hit a celebration during France vs. USA. Image: Getty

James, now 39 years old and in his 22nd NBA season, has not quite matched Jordan’s haul of titles and MVP awards, with the LA Lakers star boasting four of each.

Curry also has four titles to his name, plus the Golden State Warriors No.30 has two MVPs.

His most recent championship came in 2022, when he led the Warriors to victory against the Boston Celtics and earned his first Finals MVP award.

Regarded as the two most influential players of their era, comparisons between Curry and James have been inevitable throughout their careers, and the two have also figured highly in debates over who could dethrone Jordan as the NBA GOAT.

In 2019, Jordan was asked whether, in his prime, he’d rather have faced off against Curry or James in a one-v-one contest.

The Bulls legend unsurprisingly backed himself to beat both.

But he provided an interesting breakdown of why he thinks James would have been a tougher match-up for him and why, at the time, he felt Curry still had some catching up to do in terms of his legacy.

“Well, I’d go against Stephen Curry because I’m a little bit bigger than him so I could back him in, but LeBron’s a little bit too big,” Jordan said.

“If I was in my prime, could I beat LeBron in a one-on-one game? No question.

And he’s going to say no question. [Curry] is a great player. Not a Hall of Famer yet, though. He’s not.”