MICHAEL JORDAN is widely considered the greatest player in basketball history.
But the NBA and Space Jam icon has someone hot on his heels – LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers star, still just 35, is already seen as the second best player of all-time with plenty of his fans claiming he has already surpassed Jordan.
Now the billionaire owner of the Charlotte Hornets, Jordan was in Europe to see his team take on the Milwaukee Bucks.
The NBA is back in Europe but after a decade of playing in London’s O2 Arena, the league has set up camp at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France.
Jordan faced the global media in a rare press conference and was, inevitably, compared to LeBron.
The six-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic champion was not overly impressed with being put on the spot and although tried to be as diplomatic as possible, the fiery competitiveness that defined his career came to the surface.
After being asked about the star he joked: “What was the name again? Pardon me, who?
“Is he playing? I didn’t know he was playing.
“I just think we played in different eras. He’s an unbelievable player.
“He’s one of the best players in the world, if not the best player in the world.
“I know it’s a natural tendency to compare eras to eras, and it’s going to continue to happen.
“I’m a fan of his. I love watching him play.
But as you can see, our league is starting to expand [with] very talented players. I think he’s made his mark.
“He will continue to do so over a period of time, but when you start the comparisons, I think it is what it is.
“It’s just a stand-up measurement, and I take it with a grain of salt.
“He’s a heck of a basketball player without a doubt.”
Paris Saint-Germain superstar pairing Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were courtside to see the Milwaukee Bucks take on the Charlotte Hornets.
On the court, many of the arena’s 20,000-strong had come to see reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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The ‘Greek Freak’ started slowly, however.
At half-time the forward had just 11 points as his Bucks – who entered the game with the NBA’s best record – trailed the Hornets.
It didn’t take long for the 25-year-old to take over and wrestle control away from Charlotte.
A series of crowd-pleasing dunks had the French crowd on their feet, chanting ‘MVP’.
But the full-time whistle, Giannis had cruised to 30 points and 16 rebounds as the Bucks won 116-103.
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