Terrence Ross on why he thinks LeBron is better than MJ: "The second time he came back, he was not the same player"

LeBron James ' MVP-winning performance in the Paris Olympics had the entire basketball world gushing once again about his incredible longevity and consistency. Despite being the oldest player on Team USA, James was arguably the best individual on the most dominant team in the world.

However, for former NBA player Terrence Ross , LeBron wasn't just the best performer in the Paris Olympics; he is the best basketball player ever.

"LeBron is literally, to me now, he's the GOAT," Ross said during a live stream on Twitch. "I don't know how you can put Jordan over him. If Jordan would have done what he was doing for 20 years, 'I'm like, yeah. Like, LeBron has a long way to go.'"

Longevity and consistency do it for Ross

Michael Jeffrey Jordan , the player that the majority consider the basketball GOAT, played a total of 15 NBA seasons. However, Jordan retired a total of three times while coming back twice. MJ won three championships before his first retirement and another three during his first comeback, but he did not even make the playoffs after his second return.

Meanwhile, LeBron has played 21 consecutive NBA seasons and won four championships along the way. He will match Vince Carter's record of 22 seasons played this upcoming campaign. Whereas Vince was already running on fumes in Year 22, LBJ still looked as good in Paris as he did during his rookie season.

"The truth of the matter is he played basketball twice and returned twice. Got a three-peat on his first return, and the second time he came back he was not the same player. LeBron has literally been on a peak his entire career. I mean, he just gets older, but he still is as effective as he's always been," added Ross.

Related: Michael Jordan on why guys shouldn't be able to jump from high school to NBA: "Something is affected by leaving college early"

LeBron's Level of competition was tougher

Aside from the above-mentioned arguments, the 2013 NBA Dunk Contest champion also contended that the NBA's talent level is better than ever before. Because of that, Ross seemed to imply that LeBron's four rings are worth more than Michael's six because of tougher competition.

"I mean, the level of competition he's doing it against is, to me, more impressive than the competition that Jordan won against, if we're gonna be honest about it," Terrence concluded.

The skill level of players during Jordan's era has also been a hot discussion topic since Anthony Edwards recently took a shot at it. It looks like Ross agrees with Ant-Man, but that's his opinion, and he's entitled to one.

Related: "It's hard to comprehend LeBron's longevity" - Michael Redd on what blew him away while watching LeBron James at the 2024 Olympics