Chris Canty says the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions proved why Michael Jordan is the GOAT over LeBron James because players at the NFL Hall of Fame Induction ceremony made an effort to acknowledge Jordan, while LeBron was never mentioned.
The 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class was enshrined in Canton over the weekend. WR legend Andre Johnson, sack master Julius Peppers, linebacker Patrick Willis, return king Devin Hester, Randy Gradishar, Steve McMichael and world-beater Dwight Freeney were the honorees.
In a room full of stars, all Canty could do is rave about MJ on his ESPN radio show.
“Not sure anyone had it on the board that the Hall of Famer that would steal the show at this year’s ceremony never played football,” Canty opened.
According to Canty, Michael Jordan’s appearance stole the show.
In his acceptance remarks, defensive end Julius Peppers said:
“This isn’t in my speech, but I’m gonna say it anyways and while I’m talking about Chapel Hill and North Carolina and I know this is the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but I’m not going to sit up here and act like my idol and one of the reasons I went to Chapel Hill isn’t in the building. The GOAT is in the building. Michael Jordan, MJ I want to thank you for the inspiration and the memories. Love you, big bro.”
Canty added: “Even amongst the greatest football players of all-time, the reaction and the reverence that they showed for Michael Jordan is next level. LeBron could never. LeBron could never.”
Canty says legends from Rod Woodson to Emmitt Smith — all GOATS in their own regard with gold jackets — were reveling in Jordan’s presence, saying, “Hey Big Dog it’s been a long time. Literally fanboying out for Michael Jordan who was there to celebrate lil’ bro Julius Peppers getting into the Hall of Fame,” Canty gushed.
“I’m sorry, LeBron James could never, and that’s why MJ is the GOAT,” the praise continued. “We saw that at the NBA Top 75 Anniversary, when all of the players from the Top 75 were announced and then Michael Jordan was the last one and everything parted like the red sea to let Michael Jordan get to the middle of the podium, where they had him standings alone, with everyone else around him. But this was just an extension of that…We are at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio with Devin Hester, Dwight Freeney and all these guys going into the Hall of Fame and yet Michael Jordan was the center of attention.”
“He steals the show.”
Chris Canty Is Right About Reverence People Have For MJ
Canty has a point, MJ is held in the highest regard by other athletes, entertainers and fans. LeBron has that presence in some sectors, but he’s still playing and building his legacy.
Still chasing Jordan’s ghost despite his standing as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and the first player-billionaire.
We do, however, have to be cognizant of the fact that Jordan and LeBron played in two different eras. Jordan was in the ’80s, so of course any person that would be Hall of Fame eligible now would have played in the ’90s or early 2000s.
So naturally, MJ would be their GOAT. Peppers, for instance, also attended Jordan’s alma mater UNC, so he has a personal relationship with MJ which heightens the reverence and the connection.
Peppers was a standout defensive end at UNC from 1998-01, and he also was a walk-on for the national powerhouse basketball squad. As a reserve, he helped UNC’s 1999-2000 team get to the Final Four and the following year he dropped 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a loss to Penn State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
LeBron and Jordan Capture Different Generations
Peppers and MJ have a relationship that transcends fandom. Jordan has actually touched Peppers’ life in ways that we can only imagine. Air Jordan had the NBA on lock in the late 80s, 90s and a large part of the 2000s. Newbies such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James entered the league and began to capture a new generation, but the Jordan brand, name, logo and overall impact on the world of fashion, sport and entertainment is still as strong as ever.
Especially with the athletes who came one generation after him. He was everybody’s hero regardless of the sport because he defined excellence for several generations and kept it going as an owner long after he left the court.
LeBron has captured another generation, a younger generation, but he shares that place with Kobe Bryant, who has personally touched and advised and inspired some of today’s greatest ballplayers, including Jayson Tatum and Sabrina Ionescu.
Chris Canty’s Anti-LeBron Rant Is Biased
While you can’t deny the reaction that MJ gets when he walks into a room with the GOATS of any industry from sports to business, Canty’s rant could have just a twinge of bias in it. Canty was born in the Bronx, New York, but moved to Charlotte, North Carolina at age 15.
He started playing football in his junior year and helped lead Charlotte Latin School to the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association State Championship in 1999 as a tight end and defensive end. He chose the ACC, attending Virginia, before being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 and retired in 2015 after winning a Super Bowl with the New York Giants in the 2011-12 season.
Canty’s allegiance to North Carolin and Jordan is understood, same as Peppers’. There’s surely plenty of LeBron fans who feel the same way about The King.
Generation Z has been carrying the LeBron James GOAT banner for years now. Many refuse to accept their father’s GOAT as their own and speak down upon players of the 1990s as forcefully and confidently as 41-year-old Chris Canty pontificates about the unchallenged greatness of Michael Jordan.
Score one for Team Jordan in what has become a never-ending debate. The most captivating debate in sports.
