In sports there is always an acronym that seems to be tossed around loosely. The acronym G.O.A.T stands for the “Greatest of All Time”. The topic of who is the “G.O.A.T” in their respective team sports is a debate that happens in the cafeteria, to all of the bars across the world. What really makes an athlete great at their respective team sport? Is it the amount of championships they’ve won? Is it the amount of records that they’ve broke? People define being “great” in a sport in too many ways and we’re here to finally break down what it really means to be the “G.O.A.T”. Being the greatest of all time in a respective sport doesn’t need to be all about the amount of championships that were won. Being the greatest of all time should be a combination of championships, skills, and statistics. However being defined great does not only need to be centred around championships.
Someone can be the worst person on a team and still win a championship while someone can be super talented and not win any title throughout their whole career. For example Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing played for the New York Knicks, Seattle Supersonics, and the Orlando Magic from 1985 to 2002. Patrick Ewing gained many accolades throughout his 15 year tenure in the NBA. Patrick Ewing was an 11x all star, 6x NBA second team, and 2x unanimous all american. Patrick Ewing did all of this while averaging 21 points on better than 50% shooting, grabbing 9.8 rebounds per game with an addition of 2.4 blocks per game as well (Hoop Hall). Patrick Ewing completed what seemed to be impossible to millions of people who have dreamt to make it to the league. Some people may claim that although he did make it to the pro league while accomplishing many personal feats he did not bring in what really mattered: An NBA Championship. There seems to be this ongoing stigma in professional sports whereas if you don’t win the most important title that strips away the fact that you can’t be considered “Great”. To contradict that stigma there are players who have way less talent, and less personal accolades who have accomplished the greatest feat in the NBA. An example of that is Sun Yue. Yue played one year with the LA Lakers. In that short term with the Lakers Yue played ten games while averaging 0.6 points, 0.2 assists, with 0.1 steal and blocks (Complex). It is clear to see that he is a complete opposite than Ewing. Yue however did something that Ewing didn’t accomplish and that was win an NBA Championship. The one championship many claim is necessary to be “Great”. The stats prove that Yue was nowhere close to the player that Ewing was. This is why we shouldn’t dictate who should be labeled “great” strictly off championships because the least talented player can win while the most hardworking, talented player may not have won it.
The best athletes and the GOATs in their respective sports all have attributes that make them considered “Great”. It may take time for them to develop them or they have shown in the early stages that they don’t have it. However true “greats” have the ability to show growth. An athlete can have zero championships but have all of these attributes. In the article Sports: What Makes the Great Ones Great? Jim Taylor a professor at the University of San Francisco claims that the “greatest” athletes have five psychological qualities that make them who they are. The qualities are drive, focus, calmness, emotion, and confidence. He also claims that these athletes also have “great innate physical abilities”. The combo of god gifted traits and the five qualities can make athletes “great”. We know this because there are many examples that Jim Taylor lists. One of those examples is Lebron James. Many people claim that Lebron can’t be considered a G.O.A.T because he lacks some of these qualities such as confidence. One of Lebron’s biggest antagonists sports analysts Skip Bayless claims that he is a “crybaby” and “folds in big moments”. What is left out of a lot of arguments is that was when Lebron was young. By enduring these criticisms as a young pro athlete. It has made him become a stronger leader strengthening those five qualities that Jim Taylor was talking about. This has allowed Lebron to become considered in a lot of conversations about truly being the G.O.A.T in the NBA. Lebron ended a 50 year drought in Cleveland by bringing them a championship. Some still claim that he can’t be considered a goat because his record in the NBA finals is 3 and 5. However Lebron has started a historic streak of being the only player in NBA history to be able to go to the finals eight times consecutively (CBS Sports). To conclude an athlete should still be considered “great” regardless of their history of the lack of their psychological traits. “Greatness” should not only be defined by the number of championships or record in a championship but it should also be about the growth of a player as a true leader.