OFFICIAL SAD NEWS:Michael Jordan lost a $500 million During the NBA draft lottery  within  a  seconds…

The star name up for the draft last year was France’s Victor Wembanyama, who stands at a staggering 7ft 4in and is now the joint-tallest active NBA player.

He led France to winning the silver medal in the men’s basketball event at Paris 2024, with the side losing out to the United States in the final.

He was picked up by the San Antonio Spurs last year – with Jordan’s Hornets missing out on him by a single pick.

ESPN claimed that Wembanyama would be worth $500 million to any NBA franchise’s value – meaning it was a bitter blow for the Hornets to not secure their – and every other team’s – prized target.

Speaking about the Frenchman back in February, basketball legend LeBron James claimed he could be one of the greatest players in the sport’s history.

He said: “He doesn’t have a ceiling. He can do whatever he wants to do in his career.

“It seems like he enjoys the game. It seems like he puts the work in, just from the outside looking in.

“I said a long time ago how special he was, and it’s really that simple.

“He has an unbelievable coach [Gregg Popovich] that’s going to make sure that he does things the right way, play the game the right way.

“He’s already special, but he’s going to continue to get better and better and better each and every game.”

Despite their successful pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Spurs had a nightmare season.

They lost 18 consecutive games between November and December, which was the longest losing streak in their history, and finished 14th in the Western Conference at season’s end.

Incredible simulation shows what would happen if Michael Jordan played in the modern NBA era

The 61-year-old retired in 2003 after a career which spanned almost two decades in the NBA and which cemented Jordan’s name as among, if not the, GOAT in the sport of basketball.

The shooting guard and small forward spent the bulk of his career with the Chicago Bulls, becoming an NBA champion six times and being crowned the NBA Finals MVP on six occasions.

He was also the NBA’s most valuable player five times.

He brought the curtain down on his illustrious career in 2003 after two seasons with the Washington Wizards.

Jordan also won two Olympic gold medals thanks to his efforts with the United States men’s basketball team at Los Angeles in 1984 and Barcelona in 1992.

Away from the court, Jordan hit the heights in acting with the 1996 hit film Space Jam, on the small screen with the Emmy-winning documentary series The Last Dance and in trainers with his iconic Air Jordan sneakers by Nike.

Whenever sportspeople have been retired for some time and a new era comes about, the question if often posed how someone would perform if they were still playing.

Last year, a simulation was run on the video game NBA 2K23 to see how Jordan would fare in the current Bulls roster, with some interesting results.

The first year saw Jordan help his side reach the play-offs, leading the Bulls in the scoring and coming second to Luka Doncic in the MVP race, though Jordan did win the Defensive Player of the Year award.

He helped the Bulls beat Orlando Magic in the first round of the play-offs to set up a meeting with the Atlanta Hawks, with the latter emerging victorious.

In his second year in the modern NBA, the Bulls impressed again and finished second behind the Hawks, with Jordan being the MVP.

In the play-offs, Jordan helped the Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons and in the second round, the opponents were the Miami Heat.

The Bulls beat the Heat before coming up against the Hawks in the semi-final, this time Chicago coming out on top and advancing to the final to take on the Denver Nuggets.

However, the Bulls were beaten and Jordan’s second season ended in frustration.

For his third season in the modern era, Jordan was again voted as MVP and the Bulls easily beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the play-offs first round.

The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers were beaten in the next two rounds, and it set up another final against the Nuggets.

It was a better ending this time as Jordan won NBA Finals MVP as the Bulls won the NBA Championship.

His fourth season with the Bulls saw Jordan’s side take on the LA Lakers with LeBron James in the NBA Finals.

And the Bulls emerged victorious for the second season in a row, with Jordan taking another NBA Finals MVP crown in the process.

In fact, the simulation also mentioned that James would retire in the aftermath, while Jordan continued on.

So though the current Chicago Bulls side is not necessarily a vintage one, it shows what the impact of the GOAT can do.

Former NBA player aims brutal dig at LeBron James over Michael Jordan GOAT debate

James and Jordan are unquestionably two of the best to have graced a basketball court, and their exploits certainly stand up.

The now-retired Jordan is a six-time NBA Champion following a legendary spell with the Chicago Bulls and as well as winning six NBA titles, he was crowned the MVP in the NBA Finals a total of six times.

He was also named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player overall on five instances after playing for the Bulls and the Washington Wizards.

Jordan also won gold medals at two Olympics with the United States men’s basketball team in Los Angeles in 1984 and Barcelona in 1992, while he even turned down the opportunity to represent his country at the 1996 Games.

In comparison, James, who is still playing with the LA Lakers, has become NBA champion on four occasions with Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Lakers, also being the NBA Finals MVP a quartet of times.

James also has a trio of Olympic gold medals with the United States men’s basketball team, the most recent of which was this year in Paris, and followed being on the top step of the rostrum in both Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

Other players who could legitimately feature in this conversation are the late Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal

But one man who believes James is not as good as Jordan was is former NBA player and current head coach of the Beijing Royal Fighters, Stephon Marbury.

Taking to social media, Marbury believes James ‘shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as MJ’.

It followed an interview Marbury featured on with Scoop B Radio earlier this month, where he made it clear he thinks James is a ‘great player’ but feels Jordan is top of the tree in the GOAT debate and that the others slot in behind him.

He said: “LeBron’s a great player. Don’t get me wrong. A great, great player. Unbelievable. Amazing.

“But better than Michael Jordan? – it’s not even the same. It’s just different.

“In fact, it needs no explanation or explaining because we can’t talk about Jordan’s game. It’s like we need to talk about what people are not.

“People wanna rank Jordan? Jordan shouldn’t even be ranked. It should be Kobe, then LeBron and then you can pick guys after that.

“There’s just no comparison man. It’s not the same. It’s just different worlds. Different mentalities.

“I don’t know why Jordan’s name is mentioned in the same conversation sometimes. I’ll clear that up real quick…there’s really no need to talk about that.”

Kobe Bryant gave brilliant verdict on who would win one-on-one between him and Michael Jordan

Bryant and Jordan are both regarded as two of the greatest basketball players of all time alongside icons like LeBron James, Larry Bird and Steph Curry.

Both men won five or more NBA Championships and several Most Valuable Player awards during their careers.

But when asked who was better out of him and Jordan, Bryant did not hesitate with his answer.

Speaking on The Last Dance Netflix series in 2019, Bryant said: “He’s like my big brother.

“I truly hate having discussions about who would win one-on-one… what you get from me is from him. I don’t get five championships without him ‘cause he guided me so much.”

Bryant won five NBA Championships during his 20 year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and claimed the MVP award during the 2008 season.

Whereas Jordan won six Championships and was received five MVP awards in his 19 year career, which included two retirements in the middle of his NBA career.

Additionally, ‘MJ’ won all six of the NBA finals that he competed in, further highlighting his ability and explaining why most people would argue that he is the GOAT.

But debate remains over who follows him in the rankings of the best basketball players of all time, with many choosing between Bryant and James.

And Jordan himself has previously weighed in on this debate as, when asked to pick between the two by veteran sports analyst Ahmad Rashad, he explained his thought process.

“In terms of dominance of the game of basketball, at this stage it’s LeBron,” Jordan said in 2013.

“Championship-wise, it’s Kobe Bryant. He wants it so bad and he’s willing to go to the extreme. Guarding a point guard at the age of 34, playing 38 minutes, 40 minutes, that’s ludicrous.

“He’s cursed as much as I am.”

But when pushed to decide, he concluded that, at the time, Bryant’s five championship rings were better than James’ one.

However, since then James has gone on to win a further three NBA championships, keeping the debate alive.

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