Why is The GOAT discussion exponentially more prevalent in the NBA?

[BigFin]

How often has the GOAT debate been a thing in the NFL or MLB? It’s not discussed that much in their fandom, but in the NBA it’s always been a hot button issue.

In the NFL, I think a case could be made for other players, even after Brady rattled off those last few titles. But we can all tolerate the opinion that Brady is the GOAT for now. Still, even before that, there was never a big debate (compared to the NBA) over who was the GOAT, even though there was no consensus. Is that because the comparison between different positions on both sides of the ball made it too difficult? How does one compare a QB vs WR vs DE vs CB?

What about MLB? There’s no big debate, even with no real consensus about who the GOAT is. Bonds and the PEDs muddle things. You also still have the pitcher vs hitter, apples vs oranges issue.

Why is the GOAT debate so much more hot in the NBA? Is it due to the egos, or brands, or self-glorification more prevalent in the NBA? Do fans just get more attached to the players because they don’t wear hats or helmets? Is it because there’s less NBA players and a single NBA player has the most disproportionately important role on team compared to the MLB and NFL?

 

[Clayton]

5v5, 2 way players, not single elimination.

Seems obvious to me

 

[trojanfan12]

How often has the GOAT debate been a thing in the NFL or MLB? It’s not discussed that much in their fandom, but in the NBA it’s always been a hot button issue.

In the NFL, I think a case could be made for other players, even after Brady rattled off those last few titles. But we can all tolerate the opinion that Brady is the GOAT for now. Still, even before that, there was never a big debate (compared to the NBA) over who was the GOAT, even though there was no consensus. Is that because the comparison between different positions on both sides of the ball made it too difficult? How does one compare a QB vs WR vs DE vs CB?

What about MLB? There’s no big debate, even with no real consensus about who the GOAT is. Bonds and the PEDs muddle things. You also still have the pitcher vs hitter, apples vs oranges issue.

Why is the GOAT debate so much more hot in the NBA? Is it due to the egos, or brands, or self-glorification more prevalent in the NBA? Do fans just get more attached to the players because they don’t wear hats or helmets? Is it because there’s less NBA players and a single NBA player has the most disproportionately important role on team compared to the MLB and NFL?

Seems obvious.

Basketball is the one sport where bringing in 1 player can completely change a teams fortunes. At least in part because it's the one sport where players can be impactful on both offense and defense.

In Lebron's first few years in the league, he took a roster of scrubs on deep playoff runs...without him those were lottery teams.

Same can be said for MJ's early Bulls teams.

In the NFL, you can have the greatest QB in history...but if the defense sucks, the o-line can't block or the receivers can't catch...they aren't winning many games.

MLB...Shohei Ohtani might be the best baseball player ever...but how many times did he make the playoffs with what was otherwise a pretty subpar Angels team?

 

[Thruthefog]

GOAT discussions are stupid.

Everyone has their own GOATs, and no one is changing anyone's mind.

 

[rmilia1]

Because the NBA is almost entirely dependent on how old the person is to name their GOAT

Other sports aren't really like that

A lot of that stems from hoops being the only sport where fans think ( for whatever reason ) that thev teams they grew up watching are the best ever

You may love LT but no one alive thinks the 86 Giants are beating the 23 Chiefs in a football game

You may love Mickey Mantle but no one alive thinks the 58 Yankees are beating the 24 Dodgers

But scads of people truly believe the 93 Bulls could beat the 17/18 Warriors ( for example ) because hoops fans are the only subset of fans who think the guys now are "worse" than the guys 30 years ago

And it's always been that way. In the 80s and 90s every old person in the world thought the 60s Celtics would beat those eras great teams too

This frankly hugely misguided belief causes much much more debate over hoops than other sports for the "greatest" labep with every generation advocating for "their guy"

 

[eaglesnut]

GOAT discussions are stupid.

Everyone has their own GOATs, and no one is changing anyone's mind.

Wilt is the GOAT. No discussion.

 

[BigFin]

I don’t care for the GOAT discussion. All these great (and merely good) players deserve the fans’ appreciation.
I don’t follow the NBA anymore but there’s so much great content from yesteryear on YouTube, wether it be full games, profiles on players, or just interesting or important things that happened some time ago. I’ve tried to become more knowledgeable, or an aficionado, about the past NBA stuff. I just watched a great vid on the 1980’s Suns drug trafficking saga.