Michael Irvin claimed once that former NFL star Tom Brady dethroned the NBA icon as the greatest sportsman of all time
Few would dispute that Michael Jordan is the GOAT in all sport – but American sports commentator Michael Irvin once suggested a rival and even went as far as saying “that’s it”.
Jordan, 61, is one of the most famous sports stars in history thanks to his extraordinary career in the NBA, which has seen him acclaimed as the greatest player ever to grace the sport.
Success on the basketball court saw him become NBA champion on six occasions, six times being crowned the MVP in the NBA Finals, and being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player overall on five instances after playing for the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards.
He even developed his fame and fortune off the court such as through his acting skills in the movie Space Jam, and of course his partnership with Nike on his Air Jordan trainers.
The NBA legend is a worthy candidate to be declared as the GOAT – but Dallas Cowboys legend Irvin once made it clear a player from his sport of American football was more worthy of the title that Jordan is.
And that man is NFL legend Tom Brady.
The recently retired 46-year-old quarterback played for 23 seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning the Super Bowl a record seven times.
Back in 2021 when he was speaking to Stephen A Smith on ESPN’s First Take, Irvin explained at length why he felt Brady was more worthy of being named the GOAT, rather than Jordan, after he had just clinched his seventh Super Bowl.
He said: “Tom Brady is the GOAT of all GOATs.
“[…] This man won six [Super Bowls], and he just won a seventh. That’s it; it’s over. We don’t need to talk about what it takes to win an NFL championship versus what it takes to win an NBA championship.
“It is way more difficult to win an NFL championship than it is to win an NBA championship, and this man has won more than [Jordan] has won in his. You can stop it, stop messing with it, go ahead and claim it, give it to him.”
In response, Smith defended Jordan as the “elite scorer” in basketball and an “elite defender” as he spoke of the qualities he had which Brady did not have to display,
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 ain’t gonna be accused of blocking for anybody. […] And oh, by the way, he does not play defence nor special teams.
“Michael Jordan was one of the elite defenders in the game of basketball; he was clearly the elite scorer in the game of basketball. Obviously, he was a leader.”
They’re clearly the GOATs in their respective sports, but the debate for who is the greatest sportsman of all time will likely rumble on and on.