Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest of all time (GOAT) in basketball, with an illustrious career that includes six NBA championships, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and five NBA MVP awards. However, American sports commentator Michael Irvin once suggested a rival for this title, stating emphatically, “That’s it.” Jordan, now 61, achieved legendary status during his tenure with the Chicago Bulls and later with the Washington Wizards, leaving an indelible mark on the sport of basketball and becoming one of the most famous sports stars in history.
Even off the court, he amassed fame and wealth thanks to his acting prowess in the film Space Jam and, of course, his collaboration with Nike on the Air Jordan sneakers.
Although the Dallas Cowboys icon Irvin once stated that a player from his sport, American football, was more deserving of the moniker than Jordan, the NBA legend is undoubtedly a legitimate candidate to be crowned the GOAT.
And that man is NFL legend Tom Brady.
The recently retired 46-year-old quarterback played for 23 seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning the Super Bowl a record seven times.
After Brady won his seventh Super Bowl, Irvin spent a lot of time explaining to Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take back in 2021 why he thought Brady should be crowned the GOAT rather than Jordan.
“[..] This man has now won seven Super Bowls, making his total wins six. It’s over with that. We don’t need to discuss the differences between what it takes to win an NBA title and an NFL championship.
“This man has more championships than [Jordan] has in his career, yet winning an NFL championship is far harder than winning an NBA championship. You may put an end to it, stop tampering with it, take ownership of it, and give it to him.”
Smith responded by defending Jordan as the “elite scorer” and “elite defender” in basketball, citing his attributes that Brady did not need to possess.
“He ain’t gonna be accused of blocking for anybody. […] And oh, by the way, he does not play defense nor special teams.
“Michael Jordan was one of the elite defenders in the game of basketball; he was clearly the elite scorer in the game of basketball. Obviously, he was a leader.”
The argument over who is the greatest sportsman of all time will probably never end, even though they are unquestionably the GOATs in their respective sports.