NBA player Kelly Oubre Jr. maintains that no contemporary basketball player deserves the title of the Greatest of All Time (GOAT).
Fed up with the NBA GOAT debates, Kelly Oubre Jr. speaks out
The ongoing argument about who is the best NBA player of all time (GOAT) just got a fresh voice – Kelly Oubre Jr., the Philadelphia star. In his opinion, the conversation ought to have ended with the retirement of legends like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
"The game today is a bit softer," Oubre Jr. commented when discussing the generational changes in the sport. "To call anybody a GOAT nowadays is disrespectful to the accolades [MJ] and Kobe have earned."
His stance became public in 2021, even when he was a Golden State Warrior, sharing a team with Stephen Curry. While he acknowledges modern icons, he doesn't believe they can match the true legends.
Similar sentiments have been echoed by players like Kevin Durant. "I watch a lot of '90s and '80s footage, and they played physical, but I think they got away with a lot of flagrant fouls," he said.
However, does this mean players like LeBron James should be excluded from the conversation? Durant clarified, "There's more space, but guys still play physical. We have strong, athletic players too. But I've watched some of those games – the paint was clear; nobody was getting touched, it wasn't much help defense."
Durant added that increased physicality in the past doesn't necessarily mean it was tougher. "But you did get a lot of flagrant fouls [that] didn't result in fines or ejections, so it seemed a bit rougher."
Background insights:The debate about the NBA GOAT remains heated, with Michael Jordan holding a strong position, particularly due to his 6-0 Finals record and peak dominance. LeBron James, on the other hand, keeps the conversation alive with unprecedented longevity and career milestones.
Debates about modern-era physicality compared to past eras’ toughness often inform the GOAT discussion. For example, current player Anthony Edwards called LeBron James “the best ever” after eliminating him from the 2025 playoffs, indicating shifting generational perspectives.
Anonymous NBA player votes still favor Jordan by a significant margin, emphasizing his clutch performances and legacy. Newer milestones (LeBron’s 2025 scoring record) challenge this narrative. The GOAT debate persists due to evolving achievements, era-specific biases, and the absence of a universally accepted criterion for “greatness.”
- Kelly Oubre Jr., the Philadelphia 76ers players, believes the conversation about the NBA's best player of all time (GOAT) should have ended with the retirement of legends like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
- Oubre Jr.'s stance resonates with his fellow player, Kevin Durant, who acknowledges the physicality of the past but argues that it hasn't made the games tougher.
- Durant shares that increased physicality in the past doesn't necessarily mean it was tougher because players got away with a lot of flagrant fouls that wouldn't fly in today's NBA.
- However, Durant does not discount the physical play of modern stars, stating that while there is more room on the court now, strong and athletic players still play with intensity.
- interestingly, a growing number of modern players consider LeBron James to be the best ever, like Anthony Edwards, who eliminated him from the 2025 playoffs and went on to call James "the best ever".
- Despite anonymously recorded NBA player votes still favoring Jordan by a significant margin due to his clutch performances and legacy, milestones like LeBron's 2025 scoring record present a challenge to this narrative, keeping the GOAT debate alive.
