Where Does LeBron's Longevity Factor in the GOAT Discussion? | THE ODD COUPLE 

Y’all don’t realize that longevity arguement is weak in terms of Goat debate . Jordan did more in less time Lebron played way more years than Jordan yet to win a DPODY , No 3peats , less mvps , 1 scoring title , 1 assist title , been apart of 100 trades each season 6 finals loses had more chances to win & didn’t capitalize . When did lebron seriously get into the goat conversation

MJ's 13 year with the bulls includes his second season(missed most of season with foot injury) and 1995 when he came back after baseball(played 17 games)

Longevity has never been a real topic of discussion with any of the other Greats so why should it be with LeBron?

People act they rather have 4 rings 4 finals mvp 4 league MVPs 1 scoring title 1 assist title over 6 rings 6 finals mvps 5 league MVPs 1 Defensive player of year 10 scoring titles 3 steals titles

Does anyone want to admit that Lebron stopped playing one side of the floor back in 2018. The man don’t play defense and plays 55 games a year since joining LA! If MJ played one side of the ball and only played 55 games who could played until he was 45

Lebron left miami without telling wade and he got wade traded in Cleveland dam thats a good friend. The man wants to win the ez way

At this point, Bron's longevity claim is beginning to hurt him. Yes, having the most points is great achievement enabled by longevity so is the most turnovers, most missed shots and most free-throw misses.

Longevity =/= body of work. MJ's body of work in 15 years was more dominant than LeBron's in 21 years.

There's a reason why The Beatles are regarded higher than The Rolling Stones. Greatness in a shorter period of time is better than less greatness for a longer time.

Jordan played in multiple 82 game seasons. While still competing at an incredible level, not even counting the playoffs. I think playing in playing so many 82 game seasons is something people don’t give MJ enough credit for in regard to longevity.

He never plays 82;games

Longevity just shows you can be the all-time points leader while winning only ONE scoring-title.

6 championships in 15 seasons is objectively better than 4 championships in over 20 years. Also DPOY, many more scoring titles and 1st team All-Defense selections. Jordan is the GOAT!

10 years after retired Kareem had played with 53% of the league.. SO WHAT?!!!!

LeBron played 20 years won 4 rings. Jordan played 15 and won 6. If Jordan played now with modern day recovery, better medical staffs, less back to backs, longer all star breaks, less physicality overall, "load management", he'd play just as long as LeBron, gotten more numbers.

It’s like KD said… Longevity is APPRECIATED! that’s it. If your favorite player is around a long time, you’ll appreciate that greatly. But you’ll appreciate your favorite player winning more championships, scoring titles, MVP’s, game winners, and final MVP’s much more than JUST longevity.

If you’re not winning chips, not playing defense and just stat padding and not affecting winning then it means nothing!

Longevity hurts Lebron. He did less in more time. Only 4 championships in 20 years. This isn’t like Brady where he won 7.

You already know Robs answer on anything lebron without watching.

MJ has more accolades in fewer seasons and he more often than not played every single game in a season. Bron did it one time in a hundred years. 😂

This season King Turnover leads the Lakers in turnovers also is NBA leader in turnovers in history.with over 5100 turnovers no one will break it.

Longevity is easy when u playing 65 games

LeBron don't play defense. So what's incredible about dominating shot attempts to keep your point average.

Longevity would matter if it was the same game, I'm pretty sure if LBJ played in 1960,he would not last 22years.

LB still hobbling around stadiums affecting very little on the court is only hurting his legacy.

It hurts his GOAT debate...all those years and 4 chips lmao

These guys just completely destroyed the longevity argument. And they didn't mention the fact that Kareem dominated the NCAA for 3 years prior to joining the NBA.

Jordan, Kareem, and Kobe should be the Goat conversation.

If his longevity had won him 7 rings, then he'd be the goat. But he isn't and never will be. This is a manufactured discussion, it's cringe.

Longevity means nothing in the GOAT Conversation

Check this out in LeBron’s era Curry has 4 titles, Kawhai has 2 titles, Durant has 2 titles, Duncan has 2 titles, Giannis has 1 title, Jokic has 1 title, Garnett has 1 title, and my MAVS with Dirk has 1 title. Who’s the goat again????

This topic is the golden ticket for cheap clicks in a low sports news cycle 😂

LeBron should be at least 5-5 in the finals. That 4-6 is just lackluster.

It's a different league. You can play longer the way the game is played today. The All Star Game tells you where we are.

Longevity is important however there are factors such as impact on winning which will always be more important

When Lebron realized he could not surpass Jordan in chips and personal accolades. The only honest debate was the longevity. Now, as Chris already stated, what did you do when you were when you were dominant or at your peak? What did you achieve in that span? Longevity is a new topic, so LeBron has a position in the GOAT debate. Why does Kevin Durant say that should be part of the goat conversation? But what is impressive is that Jordan has never responded to anyone from Pippen to Thomas. His game speaks for itself. However, who is always talking?

Lebron never had the eastern conference on lock. He played zero defense and rested regular season games while coasting to the playoffs in the east every year because the east was incredibly weak. I’m talking about after 2011 when he started his finals run. The toughest competition he faced in 8 straight years in the east was the Paul George baby pacers and the old as dirt Boston Celtics. The bulls were good in 2011 as well. But think about it. Every year he went to the finals between 2011 to 2018 he only faced a few good teams.

Dude doesn't even have one 3 peat.

If you playing longer than the Goat you chasing just to have a losing record when it matters most and has accomplished significantly less in more time played then common sense says not only are you not the Goat but has never been realistically in it despite the heavy media push since 2003. It's been over for a long time now realistically for more than a decade and change and I'm glad even his most loyal fans can see that.

The longevity factor only hurts his case. The fact that he has played for so long and still achieved way less than MJ. Lefraud is like number 12th all time, he is still far away from Magic, Kobe, Duncan, Bird. Lefraud should debate wether or not he is better than Curry, cause I'm not sure he is.

If u gonna weigh in longevity u have to compare it to results…. It’s a personal accomplishment but if u not winning then u might as well put Vince Carter in the discussion 🤷🏾‍♂️

Longevity is a double edged sword. You play longer than someone is good but if you still can’t achieve the things the person you are being compared to playing longer hurts

The key here is doing more in less time and that's amazing. Longevity hurts Lebron in the long run because he's in season 21 and he's chasing title number five.

Peak def outweighs longevity. But when peak and longevity is blurred it’s hard to argue.

They diss Magic, who statistically, had the most successful career of all of them!

If your going to take longevity into the equation (which you should), then you have to also take the softness off the league (which you should) in the equation, where it allows for longer longevity and opportunity for a healthier and longer career.

Body of work???? Scoring championships, DPOY, chips, etc. playing and playing ... look at Kareem at lbj’s age ...

This is like TB12 playing at 40. That was impossible in the 80s-90s. QBs were protected in the final 10-15 years of his career.

Bill Russell did that for 11 years but not in the goat discussion

Big shout out to Rob Parker about mentioning Jaromír Jàgr next to Wayne Gretzky as an ice hockey GOAT. I really appreciate it. Czech Republic 🇨🇿 🎉❤

It should matter just like it does for all the other great "longevity players"; Kareem, Duncan, Kobe, Shaq, Malone, Stockton, etc. all played 19+ seasons. What do they get? A slight bump over players that were *AS ACCOMPLISHED AS THEM* in a shorter time. You don't get to put Malone over Bird or Shaq over Magic or Stockton over Oscar *JUST BECAUSE THEY PLAYED LONGER* . Which would put LeBron 2nd or 3rd, depending on how you view Kareem, FIRMLY behind Jordan.🤷‍♂️ The idea that he deserves special treatment is nonsense.

4 championships in 21 years with 6 finals losses. Thats 40 precent in 10 finals. Where as Jordan is 6 championships in 15 years with two threepeats ( nba record). 6 of 6 never lost in finals . 100 precent. 6 Fmvps (nba record) While Jordan average 30.1 ( nba record). Playoff average 33.4 (nba record)

Tim Duncan is the goat of longevity he was still winning championships and making all nba/ all defensive teams into his late 30s. Brons been finished and not been competitive since 2020

Kobe 🐐

To say it’s not about just winning and then talk about winning every 2 years 😂is halarious.

Not at all after about 12yrs it is what it is! He didn't GO to college like most of the last decade not because of greatness in the beginning but because it's just the way of time!! We will see 15-20yrs more common place!

If he won more like Brady with 7 wins in 10 super bowls it would be a bigger factor for me but he hasn't instead it's kind of a negative to be that great that long and win only 4.

This odd couple is a great show I like the way y’all keep it real

Sandy Kofax only played 9 seasons and he's a GOAT...

LeBron played in a horrid conference for a long time and was able to make it to 8 finals in a row because of it while being on the best team. That is a disqualifier along with the league trying to gift him a championship against the okc and the warriors in 2016. Not to mention Jordan was clearly a better player than him

KD's comments are to prove his place in the GOAT conversation because he is going down the same path of longevity without winning and must create the narrative that longevity is even better than winning.

Longevity is a bad argument. It just says he played a long time. It's taken him a while to try to pass different stars. Yes he's broken some records. However he's accomplished less in playing longer. Jordan did more in 11 seasons than LeBron did in 21 seasons. LeBron also has load management, super teams, meltdowns, and losing when he has had stacked teams. Jordan's PER is higher, his playoff record is better. Finals record wins-losses is better. Not just 6-0, but overall games. Jordan holds more stat titles, more defense accolades, etc. So Longevity hurts LeBron because he's played longer but doesn't win. His stats doesn't lead to the stat titles. He just has accumulated stats and it doesn't prove he's better. He ran away from contests lime the dunk Contest. Because he was afraid of losing. It could be respected if he did it and lost but to never try? No skills challenge? No 3 point Contest? Even Jordan did the 3 pt contest and has the record for worst performance. So it wouldn't be held against him If he lost. Jordan lost a dunk Contest and it's rarely mentioned. So it wouldn't be held against Lebron if he tried. What's used against him is NOT trying. LeBron has some of thr most in missed shot attempts, most shot attempts in history of the sport, most turn overs in thr history of the sport. Do I need to keep going? Some of what I mentioned is never brought up not even by fox sports. Klutch sports influence has been admitted and yet many of you still think Nick Wright isn't feeding you BS.

All the problems in the league today are reflected in the all-star game. Players are more interested in looking good and having fun, not so much in winning. There are no more rivalries, just friends having a good time!! That's what Durant reflects in his comments...it doesn't matter how much you win, the important thing is to play a lot and play well.

Longevity is great and all, but accomplishment during the prime years and beating your competition to win the championship should be the ultimate determining factor in the argument. Curry, Kobe, Duncan, Durant and others beat Lebron during the championship title.

There is a reason why athletes are playing longer. When there is no contact or resistence, bodies last longer. There is no comparing physicality years back to now; it’s irrelevant and the numbers are inflated. Period!

I'd never trade longevity for 2 three peats, nobody comes into the league saying I'd like to play a long time.

How can you say it's incredible when half the game isn't getting played ie Defense, he spent most of his career in the Leastern conference and split everytime something got hard. Not interested in the struggle.... That's part of your legacy and he's failed at that.

If you can play mostly on one end of the floor, and also load manage for multiple games per season, then of course you will be able to play longer, and it diminishes whatever you are accomplishing, if you want to be honest. Otherwise, it's all narrative..again.

It has to be peak bro. Rob gave a great example with baseball. The guys with the all-time stats are not the best baseball players to ever play the game. If you see two great boxers in their prime but one retires takes a couple of years off, gets out of shape then comes back to fight the only guy we thought could have beat him in his prime, it's not the same. Jordan only played 14 full seasons in the NBA and that resulted in 14 All-Star seasons, he gave away 4 years of his prime 29-30 and 35-37. The Jordan that retired the second time was still averaging 28.7 pts a game. Us comparing 39 Jordan to 39 LeBron without LeBron coming from sitting on the couch for 3 years is crazy. We have to stop moving the goalpost. LeBron lost this conversation when he came to LA and couldn't get it done with the young guys.

Longevity shouldn't be a part of the GOAT debate but a solid career with individual accolades and team success. Furthermore, why is Longevity important now when it applies to Lebron but it wasn't when we talk about Kareem who was the all time scoring leader and played 20 seasons along with winning 6 championships. Lebron has only 4 championships and Kareem was never considered the GOAT. It's Jordan at no. 1 and there is no GOAT debate...

It's always Quality over Quantity for me.

Longevity means nothing if you don't win championships in half of those years. 4 chips in almost 22 years!? I mean come on. Get the F outta here. He also refused to play elite defense throughout his tenure, it is all sizzle and no steak. Jordan embraced both ends of the court with same elite intensity.

Three words for Lebron's "Longevity"... HUMAN GROWTH HORMONES

Participation Goat

Bill Russell is the greatest defensive player in NBA history. He won 11 NBA championships four league MVPs and three consecutive league MVPs. John Havlicek, and Bob Cousy are the Hall of Fame players. The other players played with are not all time great. All of his teammates would tell you he was the main defensive anchor of the Boston Celtics dynasty. He deserves to be in a conversation. I actually have a fourth because I think Kareem is’s number three LeBron James is number two and Michael Jordan is the GOAT! Those are the only four players that deserve to be in the conversation.

This same conversation may come up again in about 10 years with Mahomes and Brady.. Higher peak (Possibly Mahomes) especially if he Three-peats. Versus the insane longevity of Brady..

At the end of the day nobody is gonna care about longevity look at kareem it's who was the best at their best and everybody thinks that was jordan

Longevity was never MJ's focus. He retired twice in his prime both times after threepeating. Longevity doesn't factor into the GOAT debate. A player's peak is what matters in the GOAT debate. Not how good he was or wasn't at 40 years old. Peace.

The HEALTH GAME is far more superior today then yesterday. Jordan woulda played 20 yrs had they had the technology in the health field that's available today

longevity only matters if youre winning chips since thats the end goal. i think maybe longevity could tie break close careers but in general i think its a small factor. its like how i think nearly everyone would rank pat maholmes over brett favre at this point

Top 4 players EVER in basketball. 1 Jordan. 2 Kareem. 3/4 in either order is Kobe and Tim Duncan. YES TIM DUNCAN. Best pf ever, 5 titles, beat lebron twice , and beat laker teams and other west conference teams which were power houses.

Walter Payton is the greatest running back of all time.. please continue 5:05

Bruh is the best mind in sports media in my opinion. He breaks it down and makes sense.

Longevity is great but if we're putting a standard in Longevity then we have to have put Kareem in there.. there are so many factors that go into being the 🐐.. Bron has passed Kareem in Longevity but Kareem's resume is still a bit better than Bron.

I give it up to Rob, don’t like what he is saying but I’m always on the floor 😂 when he speaks

I totally agree with Bro. The biggest factor is how good the player in his peak and that peak of MJ is at least 8 to 10 years. When Mj got in to the finals he never lose.

5 rings or more would be great conversation. Definitely need one more ring.

There's a main factor to me, which is barely discussed almost to none, it's the effect to the audience, the viewers, the fans. Aside of all the accomplishments, Jordan crushed boundaries and crossed borders. His name became a brand, and people all over the world became associated with the sport, and he's known even to people who are not related to this sport. It's hard to imagine that anyone can catch up to this. But this is just my point of view. Everyone needs to determine for themselves what it is, what is the meaning behind the term GOAT.

This G.O.A.T. conversation is a 24/7 quest for news media creation...pre career sports journalists the conversation used to be MVP on a year to year basis....

It does NOT matter!! We are not talking about top 20, top 10. We are talking about the one, the greatest!! Lebron isn’t anywhere close! The matter of fact, he would have ranked higher if he retired back in 2016.

Michael Jordan in 15 years: PLAYOFFS: Still holds Highest points per game average, Most 50-point games, Most 40-point games, Only player to score 15+ points in every single career playoff game, Only player to record consecutive 50-point games, Most consecutive 45-point games, Most consecutive 20-point games, and Most consecutive 15-point games. REGULAR SEASON: Most seasons leading league in points, Highest points per game average, Most seasons leading league in points per game, Most 30+ point games, Most seasons leading league in field goals made, Most blocks by a guard (career 893), Most blocks by a guard (season 131), One of the only players to record 200 steals and 100 blocks in the same season, One of the only players to lead the league in scoring and steals in the same season. 6× NBA champion (Back to Back 3-Peats)‬ ‪6× NBA Finals MVP‬ ‪5× NBA Most Valuable Player‬ ‪14× NBA All-Star ‬ ‪3× NBA All-Star Game MVP‬ ‪10× All-NBA First Team‬ ‪1x All-NBA Second Team‬ ‪NBA Defensive Player of the Year‬ ‪9× NBA All-Defensive First Team‬ ‪1x ROTY‬ ‪10× score champ‬ ‪3× steals leader‬ Longevity is good but it doesn’t put you over someone who’s accomplished more in less time. Mike played 3yrs of college and missed a total of 3yrs due to injury/retirement. LeBron started at 18 and is still chasing Mike’s ghost like a Forza game. Mike also played 82 games 9 separate times over his career, an unbelievable feat that no other top-10 player comes close to.

Longevity isn’t easy half of these people commenting can’t run half the distance they could 10 years ago but will tell you its easy to be great for long makes no sense

Anyone who thinks the Lakers would be any good at all this year without LeBron is clearly just a LeBron hater. You guys are saying LeBron doesn’t affect winning, where would the Lakers be in the standings without LeBron??? Probably bottom two seats in the west if we’re being completely honest and objective now LeBron haters lol

The longevity is impressive. Lebron has the greatest longevity we’ve witnessed. Longevity also loses it’s potency when you realize how many games these players are actually playing. A lot of off-days being taken in this era, on top of just all-around greater accommodations for the players. If we’ve learned anything from the All-Star game disappointment, the stars missing games, the defensive effort throughout the regular season - the wear and tear just doesn’t quite compare. Fans have to ask themselves, does it matter to you more that your favorite player gave their all to win, perform, and entertain us viewers and the legends before them? Or does it impress you more if your favorite player keeps their stats preserved at the cost of missing back to backs, and important rivalry games, ultimately giving you as a fan strategy over effort?

Without mentioning Jordan, what does Lebron's longevity and consistency in sports mean in Chris and Rob's minds, surely it has to mean something, at 39 Lebron is putting numbers, COME ON GUYS

If Jordan didn’t have to play through the gruesome 90s he would’ve lasted 20yrs also

MJ did more in less time, Lebron has less MVPs, less FMVPs, less scoring titles, less all defensive selections, no DPOY, never had a 3peat etc. MJ is the goat and it’s too late for Lebron to surpass him. Let it go!!!!!!

This would have work if LBJ didn’t loses so many times.

They have this debate every week now lol

In the GOAT conversation, efficiency trumps "longevity" by far, and good performance at an advanced age only matters if it translates into championships.