With 43000 points and counting, LeBron James owns a record that feels untouchable, but Kevin Durant isn’t convinced, as he brought Michel Jordan into the conversation, which left fans divided.

While speaking to The Ringer a couple of days ago, Durant made a bold claim, stating, "He [Jordan] could’ve played past 40, too. I would say MJ took off four to five years combined. You give him 300 more games of 30 points a night. That’s not an exaggeration. That’s what he averaged: 30!”

Throughout his NBA career, Jordan scored 32,292 points, averaging 30.1 PPG across 1,072 games. But while 'His Airness' tried different things, LeBron never left, crossing 40,000 points in 1,500+ games to lead all-time.

Michael Jordan is undoubtedly a GOAT contender in the NBA, if not the winner. But it’s fair to say he had a somewhat fickle approach to his career. While being at the peak of his form in 1993, Jordan sidelined himself from the NBA for 17 months to try baseball.

However, this wasn't the end of Jordan's to-and-fro between basketball and other ventures. He bade goodbye to the paint once more in 1999, only to return in 2001, after which he finally retired in 2003.

Durant’s words sparked a firestorm across the NBA sphere, with fans diving into heated debate.

How Did Fans React to Kevin Durant’s Statement?

Durant's comments bifurcated the NBA community, with fans supporting their own party, LeBron or Jordan. However, the support for Jordan trumped the backing James received from his fans.

One follower expressed, “No doubt! MJ’s longevity was the only thing stopping him from chasing 40k. The GOAT energy never fades.” Another fan chimed in with an intersting stat. His comment read, “Michael Jordan: 1,072 regular-season games, 32,292 points (30.1 PPG). LeBron: 1,609 games so far. If MJ played 1,609 games at his career average: ~48,468 points.”

While there was immense support for Jordan, a LeBron fan backed his idol, saying, “Lebron would have probably been at 50000 if he took more shot attempts and didn’t play with Wade and bosh and Kyrie. The fact that Lebron takes way fewer shots and differs shows his ability to score.”

Well, while Jordan's prowess is a worthy criterion to consider him the GOAT, this fan's comments also cannot be ignored.

The statistics support LeBron James here. According to the data, James has attempted fewer field goals (FGA) than Michael Jordan in his career. LeBron’s career FGA stands at 19–20 per game, while Jordan’s is about 22–23 per game.

So, after considering all this, would you like to agree with Durant's views? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Souvik Roy