LeBron James New GOAT, Better Than Michael Jordan, JR Smith Says

J.R. Smith believes Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James has surpassed Michael Jordan in the debate for who basketball's greatest player of all time is.

Jordan is widely considered the greatest player of all time as he not only won six NBA championships as well as six most valuable player (MVP) awards during his time with the Chicago Bulls, but also popularized the sport into the mainstream due to his marketability.

Since his retirement in 2003, many believe if any player could surpass Jordan as the "GOAT," it would be James, who was touted as his successor as early as his debut season, coincidentally, the same year that Jordan left the sport.

However, there are many arguments against James as well, the main one being his losing record in the NBA Finals with just three titles in eight appearances compared to Jordan's 100 percent record.

Many players are also against the idea that the Akron, Ohio, native has surpassed "MJ" with former Miami Heat teammate Ray Allen recently claiming Jordan is "by far" the best player in history.

Smith disagrees as while he idolized Jordan growing up, he believes his teammate surpassed him two years ago when he notably helped the Cleveland side win a first-ever NBA championship after remarkably coming back from 3-1 down to beat the Golden State Warriors 4-3 in the 2016 Finals.

"By far? Absolutely not," Smith told Uninterrupted, as quoted on Uproxx. "Obviously, don’t get me wrong, growing up, obviously. And I got the jersey tatted on my stomach. MJ was the greatest of all time, in my opinion, up until two years ago.”

Smith added he was not being biased either, as he agreed with Allen's viewpoint until the last couple of years where James continued to break records and play at the highest level even at 33 years of age.

He recently went his 867th consecutive regular-season game with at least 10 points, surpassing Jordan's previous record, became the youngest player to reach 30,000 points, the third player in NBA history to record 10-plus seasons of 2,000 points, played all 82 regular season games for the first time in his career this year and is a candidate to win a fifth MVP award this season.

“And I was with Ray Allen. By far," Smith added. "The last couple years, at 33 years old, averaging a triple-double a whole month walking into the playoffs. Just hit 31,000 points the other day. Hit 30,000 points earlier this year. What, 8,000 rebounds? 8,000 assists? It’s insane. What more do we have to keep going whether it’s numbers, or just ability? At what point do we just say ‘when?’”

Meanwhile, James believes he should win the MVP award this season despite the performances of Houston Rockets guard James Harden given the circumstances of the Cavaliers' season.

"I would vote for me," James said. "The body of work, how I’m doing it, what’s been happening with our team all year long, how we’ve got so many injuries and things of that nature, guys in and out, to be able to still keep this thing afloat, I definitely would vote me."