Paul Pierce, known for his unfiltered honesty and long-standing rivalry with LeBron James, has now offered a surprising twist in the ongoing GOAT discussion, one that puts LeBron above Michael Jordan in a key area.
His remarks caught fans off guard, but for Pierce the point is about the impact each player has on the game.
“I saw them in person. Go James, man,” Pierce told Club Shay Shay with a grin, before explaining his reasoning in detail. What followed was a rare moment of respect for a player he once battled fiercely.
“LeBron has, he has the greatest of all time influence on winning. From day one, you put him on this team, they’re a threat. His influence on winning is greater than Jordan.”
Pierce highlights LeBron’s ability to lift every team
Pierce‘s argument centers around how LeBron transforms any roster he joins, regardless of talent level. He pointed to the Cleveland Cavaliers squads of the mid-2010s, teams that reached the NBA Finals despite lacking star depth.
Players such as Timofey Mozgov and Matthew Dellavedova, he said, found themselves competing for championships simply because of LeBron‘s presence.
In contrast, Pierce argued, Jordan never faced that kind of uphill battle.
“LeBron, Jordan was never asked to do what LeBron has been asked to do. Jordan had a specific task,” Pierce explained, suggesting that LeBron’s success came under far more fluid and unstable circumstances.
Longevity as LeBron’s greatest edge
Where Jordan‘s career was defined by dominance in two distinct eras split by retirements, Pierce believes LeBron‘s endurance and continued excellence at age 40 tilt the discussion in his favor.
“OK, we’re going to take the 15 years or 13 years Jordan played, and let’s match him up with the 15 years… My guy’s still playing. My guy’s still playing,” Pierce said, emphasizing LeBron‘s sustained production across multiple decades.
That kind of longevity, Pierce noted, has forced the basketball world to rethink what greatness looks like. Unlike Jordan, whose peak came with the stability of Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen, LeBron has thrived across different organizations, coaching staffs, and systems, each time becoming the engine that drives success.
“LeBron elevated the coach, right? So did Jordan. Phil won five championships after he left Jordan. I mean, come on. You inherited Kobe and Shaq,” Pierce noted, implying that Jordan benefited from the right circumstances, while LeBron built winning environments wherever he went.
For anyone familiar with Pierce‘s career, the shift in tone is striking. As a member of the Celtics’ Big Three with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, Pierce often stood directly in LeBron‘s path during the intense playoff rivalries of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Their competitive history included trash talk, heated moments, and Pierce‘s reputation as one of LeBron‘s most stubborn adversaries.
Read the full article here
