In the LeBron vs. Jordan GOAT debate, Reggie Miller picks nuance

Reggie Miller is known for bombast and hyperbole on television broadcasts but his LeBron vs. Jordan take is surprisingly subtle.

You can’t open social media without getting dragged into some variation of the GOAT debate. LeBron’s power and humanity vs. Jordan’s robotic, unblemished excellence. Or maybe your standards are wide enough to wedge Kobe Bryant in? Or maybe you love history and size and just can’t let go of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

It’s impossible to avoid and everyone has a take, even a lukewarm one. That includes retired players, and particularly those in broadcasting, who are either asked to weigh in or use it as a measuring stick to talk about some other modern player.

Last night, Reggie Miller got mired in the discussion and presented a surprisingly lucid and well-reasoned take.

Who did Reggie Miller pick in the Jordan vs. LeBron GOAT debate?

Recognizing that there may be different answers to the question for different scenarios is a level of nuance we may not have expected from Miller, who has built his broadcasting reputation mostly by repeatedly bulldozing nuance in all its forms.

However, it’s interesting that Miller’s answer probably runs counter to the conventional wisdom, even in this decided scenario. For most people, using winning as the criteria leads to Jordan and his perfect 6-0 record in the NBA Finals. Jordan had a flair for the dramatic but LeBron has the same level of athleticism with an added 50 pounds of force behind it, often making his highlights even more unbelievable.

Either way, Miller’s answer is entirely defensible and NBA fans everywhere are just grateful he didn’t use the discussion to launch into an extended monologue about the indelible brilliance of Bradley Beal or James Harden.