Mario Elie , despite being selected in the 1985 draft, did not make his NBA debut until 1990. By this time, Michael Jordan had firmly established himself as the league's best player.
Even though the battles against His Airness were tough, Elie recently emphasized how players in the '80s and '90s strived to compete hard against each other in order to attain success. Conversely, the 6'5" shooting guard used this perspective to argue against LeBron James ' GOAT candidature, highlighting how the four-time MVP has repeatedly prioritized joining forces with superstar teammates in order to attain success.
Mario downplays James' credentials in the GOAT debate
While some neutral fans have started to consider LeBron's case in the GOAT debate more seriously ever since he led Team USA to another gold medal, all while being the MVP of the tournament at the age of 39, old-school players like Elie remain unconvinced. For the former Houston Rocket, the mere fact that the Akron native has won all his NBA championships alongside a star No. 2 player indicates how James is incapable of achieving success alone.
In an interview with Willie D, the three-time NBA champion highlighted how players in the '90s were driven to compete fiercely against one another to win it all. In contrast, modern-day stars want to avoid beating the best but join forces in order to add to their resumes. Moreover, Mario used the same criteria to downplay LBJ's credentials in the GOAT debate against MJ.
"None of us backed down from him. We loved competing against him. That's what you're in the NBA for. All these guys want to join each other and play with each other. No, I want to beat you! LeBron, you say you're the GOAT, why are you joining Bosh and D-Wade? We weren't doing that in the '90s," Elie said .
"Like Dream calling Jordan up saying, 'You want to link up?'... I want to beat you! I don't want to join you. These boys want it easy right now.... LeBron wants Anthony Davis, and you're talking about you're the GOAT? Come on, man," Mario added.
Related: "Frequently it was heated" — Steve Kerr claims Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen's conversations in practice usually had tension
LeBron and Jordan followed different routes to reach the GOAT debate
While Elie is correct in noting that all four of James' championships were won alongside elite teammates such as Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, and Anthony Davis, he definitely overlooks LeBron's ability to effectively alter his playing style to attain success with different HoF players.
Furthermore, while MJ is often lauded for not demanding specific teammates, this can be attributed partly to the nature of the league in the 1990s and the fact that former Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause never allowed Jordan to possess such leverage in making these decisions.
So, it does seem safe to assert that LeBron and Michael both reached the GOAT debate through their respective routes. However, the ultimate decision of who ranks supreme depends on the individual. Certainly, for Elie, it will always be Jordan.
Related: Mario Elie says Hakeem Olajuwon was more skilled than Tim Duncan: “This guy doesn’t get enough credit for how good he was”
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