Rich Paul: LeBron James Had Harder Path Than Michael Jordan Due to Outside Criticism

The debate as to whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time has many layers, but James' agent and longtime friend Rich Paul offered an interesting perspective that he believes gives his client the edge.

During an appearance on Gils Arena Show, Paul explained that he feels James has had to overcome a level of criticism that Jordan never faced, which gives him the advantage in the GOAT debate:

"Mike transcended the game. When Kobe came, Kobe was a silhouette of Mike. That's everything, which is great. But LeBron is the first player to have to deal with a 24/7/365 news cycle of sports and opinions from those that's not even capable or carry the expertise to give a valid opinion.

"In addition to, 'I'm not really gonna do it how y'all want me to do. I'm probably going to decide how I wanna do it.' We all know that don't go over well, right? And so then, you have this environment in this sports society that's created and so now you have to root against. That's a whole other thing Mike never had to deal with because his hardest critic was probably, Peter Vecsey.

"I just think LeBron's antlers is in platinum and Michael Jordan's may be in gold. Why? Because he had to be compared to Mike. Who did Mike have to be compared to?"

Paul's bias toward his friend aside, he does present an interesting point. While Jordan did face his share of detractors over his legendary career, the advent of social media did create a different environment for athletes to navigate. James has done so flawlessly, which is something to be admired.

Still, the GOAT debate will remain ongoing until James is ready to ride off into the sunset after his own historic career.