Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant didn’t do it
While a lot of basketball fans keep arguing that LeBron can’t be the G.O.A.T. because MJ and Kobe never called themselves that; they’re completely wrong. Whether LeBron publicly announces he’s the best ever or not wouldn’t determine his all-time rank; stats, accolades, level of competition, records, etc will backup those claims. However, it’s important for LeBron to separate himself from the pack with his comments. One reason, because it furthers the MJ vs LeBron debate which is beneficial for his brand, second reason is because he is now a Laker and this comment makes a distinction between himself and Kobe as the greatest player of all-time vs the greatest Laker of all-time.