Players poll: Michael Jordan is still the GOAT but gap with LeBron James closing

What’s more noteworthy is that the gap between His Airness and King James is closing — and is closing fast, fast, fast. When The Athletic polled NBA players four years ago, Jordan won 73.0 percent of the vote, with James a distant second, at 11.9 percent. So, what’s changed? James has added to his incredible list of accomplishments, winning his fourth NBA title (with a third team) and passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s career points leader. No one in league history, with the possible exception of Abdul-Jabbar, has played as well at 38 years old as James played this season. But there’s something else at work: New players have entered the league over the last four years, and with their arrival, an increasing proportion of current NBA players grew up watching James when James was the league’s most dominant player. As one player who voted for James told us: “I grew up in the 2000s.”
Source: Sam Amick, Josh Robbins, Sam Amick and Josh Robbins @ The Athletic