The NBA icon is deserving of the title of greatest of all time, but Irvin, a legend of the Dallas Cowboys, once stated that an American football player was more deserving of the honor than Jordan.
And Tom Brady, the NFL legend, is that man.
The 46-year-old quarterback, who was just retired, spent 23 seasons in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots, where he set a record seven Super Bowl victories.
After Brady won his seventh Super Bowl, Irvin spent a lot of time explaining to Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take back in 2021 why he thought Brady should be crowned the GOAT rather than Jordan.
“Tom Brady is the greatest of all time,” he declared.
“[..] This man has now won seven Super Bowls, making his total wins six. It’s over with that. We don’t need to discuss the differences between what it takes to win an NBA title and an NFL championship.
“This man has more championships than [Jordan] has in his career, yet winning an NFL championship is far harder than winning an NBA championship. You may put an end to it, stop tampering with it, take ownership of it, and give it to him.”
Smith responded by defending Jordan as the “elite scorer” and “elite defender” in basketball, citing his attributes that Brady did not need to possess.
He said: “Last time I checked, Tom Brady can throw, but when we talk about athlete, when we talk about the GOAT, Tom Brady ain’t gonna be accused of out-running anybody.
“He won’t be charged with blocking someone else. […] He doesn’t play defense or special teams, by the way.
“Michael Jordan was undoubtedly the best scorer in the history of basketball, but he was also one of the game’s best defenders. He was undoubtedly a leader.”
The argument over who is the greatest sportsman of all time will probably never end, even though they are unquestionably the GOATs in their respective sports.
Leave a Reply